Podcast : 5 TOP TIPS - How to support someone with Emetophobia

A ‘significant other’ is any person who is important to an individual's life or wellbeing. Significant others are usually someone’s spouse, best friend, or parent.

In this brilliant episode, Sy and Bree give tangible, real-life examples of how to be a supportive ‘significant other’ and discuss 5 top tips for supporting Someone with Emetophobia.

5 TOP TIPS

1. Don’t collude. Colluding is when you are unintentionally agreeing with your loved one about their phobia. It can look like them saying “I’m so terrified of being sick, it’s the worst thing in the world’ and you replying with, ‘ I am so sorry you’re frightened, being sick is awful’. It could also look like helping them avoid situations for example, ‘Don’t worry, you don’t have to come to dinner tonight, I know that would be too much for you to handle’. You want to be loving supportive but without buying into their belief system. So, for the above example, you could say something like ‘I know you are really suffering at the moment, but you are going to beat this thing. Remember that this thing isn’t happening to you, all we need to do is help train you out of it’.

2. Help them gain perspective. Emetophobia sufferers tend to catastrophise, lose perspective and create a lot of panic and anxiety. A great way to help is to enable them to think things through in a logical, rational way or gain perspective. For example, if they are creating anxiety about going out for dinner, discuss why people go out to eat in the first place and how unlikely it is that they will be ill from going out.

3. Help them build coping skills. Emetophobia is actually nothing to do with being sick. It is all about tolerating uncomfortable emotions. In order to believe that your loved one can tolerate discomfort and uncertainty, it is important they step outside their comfort zone. One way to do this is to start a new hobby! As a significant other, you could step outside their comfort zone with them!

4. Know when to challenge and when to distract. If your loved on is panicking or too highly anxious they are unlikely to be able to process the logical, rational things that you are saying and your words won’t help. Instead offer comfort and support. You could breathe with them, go out for walk or offer them a hug. However, it is ALWAYS important to come back and address the thoughts they had initially that allowed them to create the panic in the first place so that they can learn from it and avoid responding in the same way in future.

5. Help them feel powerful as an individual. As a significant other you are not fixing your loved one. They are getting themselves over their fear you are simply along for the ride to help guide, encourage and support them on their journey. You can help them feel powerful by pointing out their progress and keeping a record of the times in which they have put in effort and moved forward with their goal of being Emetophobia-Free.