Agoraphobia sufferer beats her phobias in just a few weeks: "My mentality completely changed!"

A few months ago, Jen's life, as she admits, was "a bit of a mess" and she suffered from various fears and phobias including agoraphobia and emetophobia, plus she smoked a lot.

After finding The Thrive Programme online, Jen was amazed at the results: "Within two weeks, my mentality completely changed!" It taught her how to beat her agoraphobia and emetophobia, which were ruining her life and causing problems with her work and relationships, to the point where she would rarely leave the house.

Now, after completing the Cure Your Emetophobia and Thrive Programme, Jen is living phobia-free and has recently qualified to become a licensed Thrive Programme Coach, which means she'll be able to help others who find themselves suffering with phobias, anxiety and panic attacks, depression or want to stop smoking.

In summary, Jen said: "You will be amazed at how your life will turn around! This really works - give it a go, you won't be disappointed...trust me"

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.”