Struggling to Beat your Emetophobia? The Key is Putting in the Right Kind of Effort

Emetophobes are driven, hard-working people, but sometimes struggle when it comes to putting in the right amount of effort — often focusing too much on one area and less on areas that may hold the key to beating this fear. In this week’s episode, Rob and Joe discuss how to put in the right kind of effort for the right amount of time.

Re-evaluate the type of effort you’re putting in

Emetophobes know that hard work pays off and tend to excel at school and work. While studying books and making notes may work well at school, you can’t overcome emetophobia just by knowing the theory inside out — you have to put that theory into practice. It may feel like you’re putting in tonnes of effort when there are colour-coded notes scattered across the manual, but it’s futile if you don’t put what you’ve learnt into practice. The issue is, emetophobes often focus on what they can control, rather than challenging the areas where they feel wobbly.

Trust in the manual

If you read and practise exactly what the manual tells you, you’ll get there — so don’t skip any bits, even if they feel silly or like they don’t apply to you. This is a tried and tested method developed with constant feedback from emetophobes, so trust in the process and squeeze every bit you can out of it!

Build solid foundations

Challenging every thought daily, trying to identify paranoia, perfectionism or obsession, directs your focus toward what’s wrong. Instead, establish strong foundations rooted in internal power and high self-esteem. The first 5 chapters are the foundations of Thriving and the foundations of good mental health, so these should be your main focus. By channelling your energy into these, you won’t have to ‘firefight’ perfectionist or obsessive thoughts.

It’s all about learning to Thrive

Although ‘overcoming emetophobia’ is an aim, the true goal should be ‘learning to Thrive’. The Emetophobia manual was built upon the Thrive Programme, an essential programme developed over 25 years that helps people feel powerful in life. A ‘thriving’ person doesn’t focus on firefighting what’s wrong, they look at how they can build strong mental health. When you see Thriving as the goal, you’ll embrace the journey and won’t be caught up in overthinking.

Believe you can beat this, and trust that this process has helped thousands of emetophobes before you. Feeling powerful is the essential ingredient for progress, and that comes through taking action.

This episode featured discussion between Joe Manuel and Rob Kelly.