How to cope with emetophobia, the unusual fear of vomiting
The NHS estimates that around 10 million people in the UK have one. Some are very common, such as the fear of spiders (arachnophobia) and the fear of heights (acrophobia).
But some phobias are more unusual than others, and this spooky season, GK Barry is highlighting a rare form of the anxiety disorder. She revealed on Monday’s Loose Women that she has emetophobia; the fear of vomiting or seeing others vomit.
Barry, 25, told the other panellists on the show that her phobia makes her fearful of both being sick herself or others being sick near her.
"I didn’t realise it was a thing because no one actually likes vomit, no one sits there and enjoys that time," she explained. "I went to go see someone because I was so scared of flying and I had no idea why, and they were like, ‘Were you unwell when you were younger?’
"When I was younger, I used to get really bad travel sickness and it used to make me panic when I would be sick because I didn’t know what to do, and now I just associate that panic with sick."
Barry adds that her emetophobia also made her fearful of public transport - particularly after a stranger threw up on her on a bus - and being around children because they "carry loads of germs".
Asked if she has undergone any treatment to address her phobia, Barry said she tried "a bit of hypnotherapy", but it wasn’t for her.
"But I think [what helped] was, I went to uni and I was so surrounded by it that I had to just force myself to be like, ‘Yeah, vomit. What now?’," she added.
What does emetophobia look like and how prevalent is it?
Emetophobia is generally considered a rare phobia, with research suggesting just 0.1% to 8.8% of the population has it. According to Emetophobia-Free, a programme that helps people overcome the fear, it can "significantly affect 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," the programme explains. "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."
The programme adds that some emetophobes also have tocophobia, which is a fear of being or becoming pregnant due to worries about morning sickness.
How do you cope with emetophobia?
There are ways to help people with emetophobia overcome the fear and live more comfortably.
One of the most effective ways to treat emetophobia is with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). This is a type of talk therapy that aims to reduce psychological distress by working with people’s thoughts and actions, said Prof David Veale, consultant psychiatrist at Nightingale Hospital.
"Research has shown that CBT is an effective treatment for emetophobia," he said. "In emetophobia, people usually believe those body sensations are a sign that vomiting is about to happen, that they will lose control and that vomiting will be totally hideous.
"People with emetophobia often want to know for certain that they will not vomit. Such thinking styles are associated with extreme anxiety, safety-seeking behaviours, and avoidance. CBT aims to help reverse these patterns of thinking and behaving."
Aside from CBT, some people swear by hypnotherapy. However, there is little research into how effective this form of therapy really is.
Read more about phobias:
I have a debilitating fear of vomit – and it affects every part of my life (The Independent, 7-min read)
Mum-of-four has monthly severe panic attacks as a result of her phobia of baths overflowing (PA Real Life, 6-min read)
From creepy clowns to the dancing plague – when phobias are contagious (The Conversation, 5-min read)
