Emetophobia and can't find help - please tell me I'm not alone?!

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Has anyone else got emetophobia/know someone with it and can understand where I'm coming from with this?

My emetophobia isn't fear of ME being sick. I've known all my life I have control, early warning signs and always carry a bag or similar that I know I would keep it contained if it came to it. Even when blackout drunk or when I was severely poorly with sepsis I have NEVER once just been sick on a floor or bed etc. My anxiety over being sick myself is therefore very minimal.

My anxiety is over other people being sick near/on me - because I know others don't have the same control/warning/preparation as I do. I live in crippling fear of "OMG what would I do if someone was sick next to me right now". My baby niece visited yesterday and was sick on my carpet - the parents just mopped the excess up off the surface with a baby wipe. I sat there trying not to have a panic attack not knowing what to do until DH sent me to get the proper cleaning stuff, Dettol and marigolds etc. A baby being sick doesn't have the same impact on me at the time as when an older child or adult does (I'd have had a full blown screaming fit if they had) - its not the same smell, sound or projectile-ness but I still 100% want every bit of it gone afterwards and can't stand the thought of any trace of it being in my home at all. The parents just brushed it off and i fear that they thought I was being neurotic and DH said the same. I guess it is really unreasonable but I can't help it and I'd honestly never have sat still in my own living room till I'd scrubbed it for the hour or two that I did. I was in tears sobbing the whole time as now my home felt "dirty" and "contaminated" to me.

Problem is I want help with it as I want children in the future and hence I've come to MN hoping some of you have gone through this before and have some advice. As anything I can find online always talks about emetophobia in the sense of the sufferer being afraid of vomiting themselves and I'm not - so the advice is usually irrelevant and I feel stuck. It keeps going on about ways to cope when you feel sick but the issue is I don't know when others around me will be. I really want to get over this and DH says we can't TTC until I'm over this phobia. Please tell me some of you can point me in the direction of something that can help!

TIA x

My dd has this. SHe is 17 and been in therapy with the same lady for about 18 months with a gap in between courses. Sometimes sessions were weekly. Sometimes monthly.

She is hugely improved and can do most things except airplanes but I think she will one day do that again when the time is right

She did cbt emdr and exposure which is a very slow process.

She has had emet since approx 9 years old.

She has found school hard but I'm super proud she managed to do all her GCSEs and get good grades overall.

I would look for a therapist that specialises in ocd and emet Some people also find meds a big help. Dd hasn't done this but maybe if she feels she can't control it again

The sessions are not cheap however as we had to go private at £90 a session

However I felt we had no choice and it's the price of a nice holiday which we are unable to book anyway due to the emet

So your looking for

Emdr
Exposure therapy
Cbt

Ocd therapist. Or clinical psychologist

Thank you so much for your response. This is really helpful, did your DD find any self help books/sites etc that were any use? Mine doesn't sound as severe as hers bless her as I will go on planes etc just be on edge the whole time. Really glad to hear she's improving and that's really positive. I think before I go for pricey therapy I want to try and find some books or something! Hoping someone can recommend one that's focused on the "others being sick" fear. Is your DDs more a fear of her being sick or others?

You don’t necessarily need to go private, the NHS IAPT services treat lots of emetophobia.

A BABCP accredited CBT therapist would be your best bet, no need for a psychologist.

I think it's both tbh. But she seems fairly ok with people sick at parties being a teen that's happened a few times.

There are some books that have been recommended but we haven't really used books. I'll see if I can find the link.

There is a podcast from a lady called Anna Christie but somethings I find her a bit patronising even tho she is also a recovered meet herself

.

Thanks JudyGemstone, this is all new to me and I'll have to look into what all this means as I'm not sure of the differences really! I looked into it and found something that said the NHS doesn't treat emetophobia but I suppose I'll have another look and see if it's maybe Regional or something xx

The Emetophobia Manual: Free Yourself from the Fear of Vomit and Reclaim Your Life amzn.eu/d/gnIBBm7

Ooh that's something that really panics me and I actively avoid parties because of it now! Thanks I'll have a look at Anna Christie xx

Scared to be sick: A self-help workbook for Emetophobia amzn.eu/d/fC1jFft

I have emetophobia although I do also fear being sick myself. this helped a bit but it might focus on being sick yourself, I can't remember.
I have had therapy on the nhs for it but it did help at all because the woman doing it wasn't very good.
It can be really restricting and no one takes it seriously- I have come to think that's not such a bad thing though.
Good luck with dealing with it. Try lots of things and they will probably all have a small impact.

All phobias respond very well to remedial hypnosis/hypnotherapy because they are caused by an incident or series of incidents which have set up triggers in the subconscious. Once those triggers are identified and "stood down" you will remember having the phobia but the panic and anxiety will be gone.

Google your town and ‘IAPT service’ there should be one. You can self refer, no need to see GP first. Most initial assessments are within 4-6 weeks, could be longer for actual treatment to start.