I have a really bad fear of throwing up(emetophobia)..please help?!
Question: i had this fear since i was anout 7 but it got really bad when i was 15 and now im 17 and threw up 3 weeks ago for the first time since august 1999 and now my fear is back and its keeping me from eating and i love to eat but im scared that if i eat im goin to throw up..its ruining my life..please help.
Answers: i had this fear since i was anout 7 but it got really bad when i was 15 and now im 17 and threw up 3 weeks ago for the first time since august 1999 and now my fear is back and its keeping me from eating and i love to eat but im scared that if i eat im goin to throw up..its ruining my life..please help.
Hey there, I have this phobia too, probably since the age of about 9 or 10 (I'm 31 now). It was when I had kids that I had to do something about it.
What I did was see a psychologist. Believe it or not, there are psychologists who specialise in this phobia because it's so common!
I need to go back and do more therapy, but my phobia is way less intense than it used to be.
So you can get over it, quite easily too. Don't let it ruin your life!!! xx
EMETOPHOBIA: Fear of vomit(ing)/throwing up, is the 7th most common of the phobias. For some people, it may be related to social anxiety (view section 9, here at http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris ). For others, stress, panic, or anxiety (sections 42, 8, or 6). See www.emetophobia.org/ & http://www.emetonline.co.uk/ & http://www.gut-reaction.freeserve.com/ (self help support group) & http://emetophobia.bravepages.com & http://www.emetophobiaeraser.com/ ($$$) & www.changethatsrightnow.com/emetophobia.... ($$$). Call: (USA) 1 800 828 7484. Phobia therapy is addressed in section 27, at ezy build, and I suggest that you seek immediate help. THERAPISTS: Closely examine the http://1-800-therapist.com website, and use the locators, in section 1, at http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris and phone book. Personally, I'd opt for a psychologist who believes in only recommending minimal necessary medication, if at all, because they don't issue prescriptions, so are considerably less likely to be involved with the rewards, and inducements offered by sales reps from "big pharma": the large drug companies, to psychiatrists (there are links to, or articles on how psychiatry has become corrupted by money from drug companies, and "how doctors are being manipulated", in section 1: worth reading!). It's important to not only feel comfortable with your therapist, but also to know about their qualifications, and the type of therapy used (read section 1). Some people are in therapy for many years, and pay a small fortune in fees, so recognise that therapists may have a vested interest in keeping their patients coming back. It pays the rent, and permits them to feel that they are fulfilling a useful function in life. For this reason, I believe that, unless there is a need for a specific type of therapy, such as Dialectical Behavio(u)ral Therapy, for Borderline Personality Disorder, or EMDR therapy, for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it is a good idea to start out with a psychologist who uses Cognitive Behavio(u)ral Therapy, which often can accomplish all it is capable of, in 6 months, and to fix that time limit in the first session. In that way, the therapist knows that there is only a limited window of opportuntiy to do what they can, and there is no unconscious motivation to attempt to draw things out. If, at the end of that time, you believe you could benefit from a little more therapy, then you can extend it, but I'd advise the therapist a few weeks before the final session, in case they are considering taking on a new patient, leaving you "high, and dry" committed, and without options, except to find someone else. Learn to assess, and rate your therapist, after a while: sometimes it's better to move on, and find someone who you feel can help you more, but not if you've just reached an unpleasant part of the therapy, which part of you would rather avoid. ~~~ In the meantime, use the technique for reprogramming negative thoughts and internal monologue (self talk), on pages 2, and 2L, to help you in this, if you find yourself backsliding into your former bad habits. Some people carry a wide rubber band in their pocket: put it on their wrist; stretch, and release, as a means of reinforcing it, and speeding up the process, re-pocketing it afterwards, but I regard this as being purely optional.