Emetophobia and Teenage Boys who have overcome it - must-see videos...
Emetophobia when you're a teenage boy can really impact your life, preventing you from being able to make the most of your teenage years and do things that you would otherwise be able to. Emetophobia can appear in different ways. You might:
• Fear other people being sick
• Fear being sick yourself
• Fear both
• Mainly fear being sick in public
As a teenage boy with emetophobia, there is often a lot of shame and embarrassment around it, and you probably feel isolated and 'different' to your peers. It can be hard to explain the daily struggles and constant anxiety you're experiencing to people - maybe they've put you on the spot and challenged you about why you can't do something, or told you 'being sick isn't so bad.'
This is frustrating, but it's important to recognise your feelings are valid and this is a very real phobia.
Symptoms such as these...
- Excessive worry
- Anxiety and Panic Attacks
- OCD behaviours (constant checking)
- Low self-esteem
- Social Anxiety
- Eating difficulties (which can lead to disorders)
- Persistent feelings of nausea
- Lacking confidence
... can develop into...
- Avoiding going to school
- Trouble sleeping
- Avoiding car journeys/public transport
- Self-harm
- Feeling suicidal
- Social withdrawal
- Avoidance of food/objects
- Avoidance of social gatherings
If you can relate to some of the symptoms and behaviours listed above, then you may very well be aware of the significant impact that emetophobia can wreak on not just your life (as a teenage boy) but also on the lives of your friends and family.
Emetophobia has a severe impact upon sufferers’ lives. Research studies have indicated that emetophobic individuals show impairments across many domains of their lives. Many teenage boys engage in a range of safety-seeking and avoidance behaviours in an attempt to prevent themselves from vomiting, including, for example, avoiding school, particular forms of transport, restricting their food, maintaining very high levels of hygiene, avoiding social gatherings and keeping away from people who are ill.
These safety-seeking and avoidance behaviours, whilst despite giving emetophobes some temporary, short-term relief, will in the long run help solidify the notion/belief that sick is a terrible thing and that they cannot face it under any circumstances. Which then develops further into more severe avoidance behaviours, creating a very unhelpful cycle-of-behaviour. Unchecked, these cycles of behaviour can last a lifetime.
Teenager Marc talks about beating emetophobia after five-year ordeal
"I can now do anything I want! I can go out whenever I want, meet up with my friends, eat whatever I want without feeling anxious!
Also, I can travel now on planes, trains and cars without any anxiety. For over 5 years I had emetophobia but now I feel free and I have more confidence and low social anxiety!"
Sadly mental health services often aren’t aware of emetophobia and the devastating impact it can have on teenage boys, leading to misdiagnosis or a long road to recovery. It’s extremely confusing and distressing when your son, seemingly out of nowhere, stops eating enough, starts getting panic attacks and avoids things he once enjoyed. Seeking help from trained professionals who fully understand emetophobia is essential.
One of our messages is that the parents’ mental health is just as important to help both yourself and your sons. This is something we firmly believe. After many years of doing this, we have learned how beneficial it is for the parents to also go through the programme (reading the manual or with a coach). This is to reinforce what the child is learning, but it also has huge positive benefits for the parents’ wellbeing.
We're not here to waste your time and money on short-term fixes. Our focus is on helping your son beat their phobia for good, so that he can get back to enjoying his life without fear and you can get your son back.
Emetophobia and Recovery
Nearly 20,000 people worldwide have overcome Emetophobia and their accompanying symptoms using our unique programme. By far the largest proportion of these ex-emetophobes are female, but despite that, a significant number of males suffering with emetophobia have also overcome it with us. Based on clinical experience, scientific research and applied psychology, we will explain how your emetophobia was created, and how you can - safely and carefully - get rid of it completely.
Although Emetophobia is serious psychological illnesses, you should not feel disheartened or overwhelmed. Over the past 30 years, we have successfully helped thousands upon thousands of sufferers - of all ages, from all walks of life and from all over the world - to completely overcome their phobia and take back control of their mental health.
We've created an easy-to-follow, 6-8-week, step-by-step programme that anyone can go through to overcome emetophobia completely and permanently.
The programme manual + support videos are inexpensive, easy to access and are inspiring and empowering from the very start.