Emetophobia- is there a cure?

[Marne]

If there is i would give all my money for it .

Has anyone managed to cure this phobia? I feel like i have totally lost control of my mind, i would rather die than go through what i did at the weekend (D&V) and i feel so upset that i feel this way, i feel i am letting my dd's down and my husband. Because of my phobia i have decided not to have anymore children as i don't feel i can support them fully. My phobia and anxiety effects me every day of my life, it effects where i go, what i watch on TV, what i eat and is constantly on my mind. I need help ASAP but i'm not sure what to do for the best.

I am trying to get an appointment with CBT and a hypnotherapist and i am willing to use every penny i have (or havn't got) to get help. I just feel like i need to sort this now as i am at my worst. I have had the phobia for as long as i can remember but since having children it has got worse, i worry that my children will have the same fear as me.

Please can i have some good stories about curing phobias? Any advice welcome?

Hey Marne,

I don't have any advice unfortunately as I have the same problem, so bumping really to keep this at the top of the Forums...

I have had the phobia since I was about 11 (about 25 years) although could actually have been long before that. I haven't been sick for 10 years but now have an 8 month old DD who is with a CM and my SIL for 4 days a week while I work. So I'm sure that I am going to face your predicament soon.

I will be watching this thread in desperation and hope that you get some good advice.

I'm so sorry that you had such an awful weekend.

Chin up hun. xxx

Thanks Dawn, just had a call from the Hypnotherapist, she said she has worked with and cured Emetopho's before and has helped a lot of people with anxiety. I could have cried when she phoned, it felt like there is some hope for me and my phobia, i am going to see her next tuesday to see if she can help, i can't wait to see her, i just hope it works out for me. Just need to tell dh how much its going to cost, if it works it will be worth every penny if not i won't be able to afford to try anything else.

Oh good luck sweetheart! I really hope that it goes well for you and can't wait to hear that you're cured!!

So far I am coping well with my DD as she has only been sick about 10 times (yes really, 10 times) in 8 months, which is pretty good for a baby! All those have been due to colds or too much milk so I haven't had to cope with the bug bit yet. But I am not looking forward to it at all.

Like you, my DH definitely understands my situation and knows not to joke about it. I will follow your lead and if the hypnotherapy works, I'll be looking for recommendations! xx

Thank you, i will keep you posted, fingers crossed it will work .

I have suffered from emetophobia most of my life but with varying degrees of intensity. My mother died when I was 25 and the stress of that period made my phobia really bad. At that point I was a wreck and could hardly leave the house or eat. My GP referred me to a brilliant CBT therapist. I had four months of weekly sessions (this is a lot for CBT and I was very lucky to have such a great therapist on the NHS). By the end I was sooooo much better.

When I started therapy I truly believed there was no hope. Four months later I travelled round Africa without any fear. I can't explain what a turnaround that was. Foreign travel, with the associated risk of bugs, was a huge fear of mine. I felt so liberated and like my life had been turned around.

Since then I have had ups and downs but my fear has never got as bad as it was. I have got through two pregnancies with morning sickness and several D&Vs. I still hate the idea of it all, and when I am run down and stressed I do obsess about it more than is normal, but that is so much better than I was. I even hug and hold my kids when they are sick - something I could never hace imagined before.

Try some CBT. See if you can find a recommended therapist as I think a lot depends on the skill of the practitioner.

Good luck.

Thank, i think the hypnotherapist i am seeing also uses CBT.

bump

Hi belgianbun- dd2 started with the D&V this morning so not feeling good today.

I am in the SW (quite far from London), i seemed to cope well up until dd1 started getting bugs (age 3-4), now dd2 has started getting them too so i'm twice as anxious.

I can't wait to see the therapist to gain some kind of control over this, i feel like i'm loosing my mind, i never knew how much mental health problems could effect people, dh suffers from anxiety and depression and i have never shown much sympathy . At the moment i am at my worst, i don't feel capable of looking after the dd's although i am trying my best and taking each day as it comes.

My hands are soar from cleaning and using anti-bac sprays, i'm anxious that dh will get it and i can't cope with looking after him or hearing him be ill so i have told him to keep out of the way. So now i'm stuck in the house (since sat) with dd1 (who has recovered), dd2 who is being very ill and i'm still recovering from being ill. Every time dd2 coughs i jump up.

The only thing keeping me busy is MN and cleaning the house.

Sorry for the rant, just needed to off load.

Hi Marne, just saw this thread - how is everyone now?

I've just started cbt through the nhs for this... we haven't made much practical progress yet, but it's early days, and I do feel like I can start to separate out different aspects of the fear and maybe deal with each of them kind of separately.. it's difficult to explain. I'll update you when I get a bit further with it. Just talking to someone about it has begun to help a little..

bb - what area of London is the support group in?

Hi Marne

I have suffered from emetophobia for the past 10 yrs (when my 3rd DD was born) before that I didnt like sickness (but then who does, just got on with it!)

Its awful! If a person has never suffered anything like emetophobia then its a very difficult thing to try and describe.

I have had treatment from CBT , I had a fab counsellor and she actually taught me to rethink. That was around 3 yrs ago. She certainly turned my life around - it was risking my job, family life, in fact any kind of life as I would panic!

I still have that fear run through me when there is sickness around, but I no longer go off and hide and shout "why me!" like I did previously. It was bloody hard work, and very painful at times, but if you get offered the help then take it and persevere, it is so worth it even if it doesn,t feel like it at the time.

Hope you can get some help, please go and see your GP and ask for help - its def worth asking, it may take a while as there seems to be a waiting list for everything as per usual!