Emetophobia Resources Video Three - Workshop with Rob Kelly

The video below is an emetophobia resource video for people going through The Thrive Programme to overcome their fear of being sick/seeing others vomiting. The workshop attendees are working through the Cure Your Emetophobia and Thrive Workbookwhich is available from our shop. (There is also a Cure Your Emetophobia Young Person’s Edition and The Emetophobia Workbook for Teenagers Danish Edition)

Cure Your Emetophobia and Thrive was created on evidence-based psychology and is fully backed up by extensive research into emetophobia and our own emetophobia research paper. It is the most reliable and consistent cure available - in our research survey into the efficacy of Cure Your Emetophobia and Thrive 88% of the 111 sufferers completely overcame their emetophobia, with the remaining reporting modest impact compared to previously.

This series of four videos were recorded during a live during day's emetophobia resource seminar on how to overcome emetophobia, at the Royal Society of Medicine, in London, in 2015.

Cure Your Emetophobia & Thrive was launched in 2007 by psychotherapist Rob Kelly, utilizing his 20-plus years of experience in curing phobias to design a reliable and predictable emetophobia resource for people with a phobia of being sick to fully overcome it. Since then, thousands have changed their lives and now live phobia-free (see some of our many emetophobia testimonial videos). If any of this resonates with something you're going through, please get in touch - it is possible to be cured of emetophobia!

To get the most from these videos, you need to have a copy of the Cure Your Emetophobia and Thrive Workbook which you can purchase from our shop. You can work through the book solo or locate a licensed Thrive Programme Coach for more support.

For further help, view our other emetophobia support videos

What is emetophobia?

Emetophobia is a fear of being sick or vomit and affects up to 8% of people worldwide, especially females. However, it is hugely misunderstood and various CBT or medical treatments are often used with little success.

Emetophobia is known by many names (emetophobia, specific phobia of vomiting (SPOV), vomit phobia, sickness phobia, fear of vomiting…) and is associated with other fears and disorders, such as phagophobia (a fear of gagging, swallowing or choking), a fear of pregnancy, social anxiety, panic attacks and obsessional disorders. People can fear vomiting themselves and/or others vomiting. Most individuals with emetophobia are female, with research studies revealing that 85-97% of their emetophobic participants are women (Hout & Bouman, 2011; Lipsitz et al., 2001; Veale & Lambrou, 2006).

Emetophobia tends to be a severe symptom and often significantly affects sufferers’ ability to lead normal lives. People with this fear often go to great lengths to avoid encountering anything that could lead to vomiting. 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. They may worry a great deal about hygiene, and be fussy about making sure everywhere is clean. They may take excessive time off work or school because they worry about being exposed to germs that will cause them to be sick.

Many sufferers of severe emetophobia have unsuccessfully tried a range of treatments, such as CBT, exposure therapy, CRT. 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.”