Anyone conquered/learned to live with emetophobia? What helps?

[longtallsally2]

Ds2 is 10 and has been terrified of vomit - his own or other people's for three or four years now. It started one night when he was asleep and his brother started vomiting. We didn't realise that ds2 had woken up and found him an hour later, sitting in bed in the dark, shaking and terrified, poor little soul.

I been sympathetic - of course - but not fussed or drawn attention to it, merely agreed that vomit is 'not nice' and suggested that 'no-one likes it'. As a survival mechanism I have suggested that if it happens, I know that he doesn't like it but he now knows that he will survive, he (or the other person) will be OK. We have a big cuddle and try not to dwell on it too much.

Am I saying the right things? I don't want to draw attention to it and intensify his feelings, but I don't want to dismiss his very real fear as nonsense. Anything else I could/should be saying to him?

Thank you

Hopeful bump?

I don't know but my friends dd developed a fear of wind after camping on a windy night. It got worse and started affecting her day to day life as she was worrying in case if became windy.

Eventually my friend had to take her to a counsellor and she has made enormous progress.

I'm not as bad as I used to be. I've been emetophobic since I was in my teens, not even sure what started it.

I can now cope (although I really don't like it) if others are sick around me so long as there's no chance I can catch anything from them - so OK if someone is drunk or pregnant for example.

I think it's a hard phobia to cure in that ppl who are phobic of spiders can spend time sitting in the same room as a spider during therapy :S

I'm emetophobic and so is my dd.

I have been petrified of vomiting since I was small. I think it's with me forever

My dd had a severe bout of vomiting a few years ago - it came on really suddenly and every time she moved her head she was violently sick. It's a constant source of worry for her now. She is seeing a therapist and I'm looking into hypnotherapy for her now.

I think that people who have never experienced it have no idea of how dibilitating it is. It affects every aspect of my life and I'm so scared that dd will be the same