Emetophobia Seminar - London 2015

What is Emetophobia?

Emetophobia is a fear of vomiting and/or other people vomiting. It is widespread; it is one of the most common phobias for which people consult The Thrive Programme.

Research into emetophobia suggests that around 0.1 to 8.8% percent of the population (Hout & Bouman, 2011) have a fear of being sick. These different figures probably depend upon whether the researchers assessed participants for any sort of ‘fear’ of vomiting or solely focused upon a severe ‘phobia’. These prevalence figures suggest that somewhere between around 63,000 and 5.5 million people in the UK suffer from emetophobia.

Emetophobia is known by many names (emetophobia, specific phobia of vomiting (SPOV), vomit phobia, sickness phobia, fear of vomiting…). It is associated with other fears and disorders, such as phagophobia (a fear of gagging, swallowing or choking), a fear of pregnancy, social anxiety and obsessional disorders such as OCD. People can fear vomiting themselves and/or others vomiting. Research suggests that 85-97% of emetophobes are women (Hout & Bouman, 2011; Lipsitz et al., 2001; Veale & Lambrou, 2006).

Emetophobia tends to be a severe symptom and often significantly affects the sufferer’s ability to lead a normal life. People with this fear often go to great lengths to avoid encountering anything that could expose them to vomit or lead to vomiting. They tend to avoid public transport. They may, for example, be teetotal or heavily limit their alcohol consumption and avoid pubs or clubs where others may drink heavily and then vomit. Sufferers may worry a great deal about hygiene, and be obsessive about cleanliness and sanitisation. They may take excessive time off work or school because they worry about being exposed to germs that will cause them to be sick, or the anxiety impacts their life so much they are unable to work. It is also common for emetophobes to be very careful about food preparation, taking excessive care to check use by dates and to ensure that food is cooked properly. Many sufferers avoid dining out or eating food that has been prepared by others. Tocophobia, the fear or phobia of being or becoming pregnant, is another common problem for emetophobia sufferers, mainly to the worries about the morning sickness. As a result, many avoid becoming pregnant or terminate a pregnancy. Those who do have children can become consumed by worry about them being ill. They may feel completely unable to look after their children when they are unwell. It can be a very serious and severe phobia, and is widely misunderstood. Sufferers are often afraid to share their fears with others for fear of being belittled or not understood, meaning it can be considered a 'secret phobia'.

Many emetophobes have unsuccessfully tried a range of treatments. Veale and Lambrou (2006), for example, found that twenty-nine percent of their sample of vomit phobics had received some form of therapy for their fear, which overall they rated as largely ineffective. Veale and Lambrou (2006, p. 139) have stated that “clinicians generally regard it as challenging to treat because of high drop out or a poor response to treatment.”

If you can relate to any of this, you're not alone! If you're interested in going through The Thrive Programme for Emetophobia, we have a breakdown of the options and how they work here.