Help for extreme phobias/anxiety

[Confuzzleduzzled]

12yo DD has really bad phobias/anxiety related to illness particularly pus, vomit, blood amongst other things.

She fainted in history when learning about the Black Death and can’t cope even say the word pus now. School have been great and said she can leave the class if something upsets her but it is starting to affect her education.

In English, the topic is currently monsters and they showed a picture of a monster with spots/boils and she is now scared of going to English. I’m not sure exactly what the picture was as she is too scared to tell me.

She missed out on a school trip as she was scared that someone might be sick on the coach.

She also struggles to eat meals with the family as she is worried that the topic of conversation will put her off her food. Even the slightest hint of something related the illness makes her feel sick.

She is having counselling but she can’t talk about these subjects without feeling ill so it isn’t helping.

I’m wondering whether hypnotherapy will help or is there some other kind of therapy that would help. Can anyone advise?

Sounds like a form of OCD. Can you get her GP to refer you the psychiatry team at your hospital?

It’s a really tough condition to live with, and most GPs I’ve encountered have absolutely no clue about it, so a referral will be your best bet.

This sounds so so difficult for you and your child, you honestly have my full sympathy. I have emetophobia (fear of vomiting) since childhood, back then there was no help with that kind of thing. My ds also has blood phobia and faints at the sight of it, he had counselling with school which got him to the stage of being able to hear/say the word blood and also to occasionally look at fake blood in movies through very slow exposure therapy, however if he sees real blood he still does panic and sometimes faint so it's not a cure all but it has certainly given him some control over it. Hypnotherapy might be a great start for her.

Emetophobia is notoriously difficult to treat. Look into EMDR - that seems to have some success with it.

I have had OCD and emetephobia since childhood but it was brushed under the carpet as a child so didn't receive any help. As an adult I went to my GP whor referred me to a psychologist and I had CBT which has really helped. I've had relapses and am not 'cured' but so much better than I was. So if you haven't already I would speak to GP about referral to children's mental health services. It's difficult if she finds it hard to speak about. Sometimes medication can be used in conjunction with therapy to 'take the edge off' making the therapy possible.

Has she ever had recurrent tonsillitis? Or did it start after a viral infection? PANDAS is something you could look into. It’s a neurological condition caused by strep/scarlet fever/chicken pox etc and results in severe OCD. Although not many drs are 100% clued up about it yet so you’d need to do some research first.

My daughter developed an extreme fear of vomiting around the same age - she was in the second year of secondary school.
It was really terrible to see her so scared, so you, your daughter and your whole family have all my sympathy.
Initially she saw the school counsellor.
Then we got a referral to CAMHS and my daughter first had CBT, but it was not enough, so she then saw a CAMHS counsellor for two years.
It made the world of difference. Combined with the therapy, I also think that in some ways she simply "grew out" of her fears
Now, about 10 years on, my daughter still has some anxieties, but nothing like previously. She moved away for uni, then went to work abroad for a year and has grown into a confident, lovely and compassionate young woman.
All the very best for you all

I’m a bit confused about people mentioning OCD. I don’t think she has this, just phobias. She isn’t displaying any obsessive or compulsive behaviour.

We have had a chat and she knows she has to speak to her therapist about it in order to get help, so hopefully that will start to have some effect.

I was mentioning OCD in relation to myself but there are similar behaviours and coping strategies

Posted too soon...in both and emetephobia is often co-morbid with OCD, but I wasn't suggesting that your DD has OCD.