Emetophobia

By Rachael Shoemaker

 A phobia is an irrational, wild fear. As many as 5 out of every 100 people may have one or multiple phobias, with women outnumbering men. Phobias can be separated into two classes: Social and specific. Social phobias set in during adolescence, at about 13 years of age. Specific phobias appear earlier, during childhood. An estimated 19.2% of Americans are afflicted with one or more specific phobias. Emetophobia is a specific phobia and one of the top ten most common in the United States, though it is rarely discussed and many sufferers mistakenly believe they are alone in their fear.

What Is Emetophobia?

Emetophobia is the intense, irrational fear of vomiting. A person with this fear is called an emetophobe or emetophobic, though they refer to themselves as “emets.” Emetophobics may fear one, several, or all of the following:

• Vomiting themselves
• Others vomiting
• Vomiting in public
• Nausea
• Places or things that could cause or be associated with vomiting

The level of the phobia differs between people. Some sufferers become trapped in their homes, paralyzed by the fear. Others experience a lesser anxiety and are able to leave their homes, but panic at the slightest hint of illness in others or themselves.

The intense fear alters behavior. Emets often have rituals of making food, or avoiding certain foods they associate with past illnesses. The phobia may complicate their social lives as they turn down meals outside of their homes for fear that they will encounter a stomach virus or ingest something that will sicken them. The obsessive behavior with food may lead to “eating disorders.” However, with emets the condition is not a true eating disorder because emets usually eat enough to be nourished and aren’t very concered with weight gain or loss.

How Does a Person Become Emetophobic?

There is no specific trigger for the phobia, but usually a phobic develops the condition in childhood (ages 6-10) or early adolescence, though it is not unheard of for the condition to set in during adulthood. Usually the trigger is a bout of vomiting that they experience, or that they witness around them, that jumpstarts a primal fear.

Although many people suffer this phobia, making it a common phobia in the United States and around the world, few emets realize that they are among thousands afflicted. They may be ashamed of the fear and feel markedly different from those around them. It is likely that many non-emetophobics unknowingly know someone who has the fear but keeps it secret.

Curing Emetophobia

As with any phobia there is no way to instantly and easily cure the anxiety. It would seem to those unfamiliar with the phobia that it could be cured by forcing the emet to vomit. This has cured some emets, but more often than not the person goes through the act and finds only a brief respite from anxiety. The very next time he or she feels nauseous, or even mere minutes later, the emet may return to the previous level of terror.

Psychiatrists can prescribe medication to lessen the anxiety of the phobia, but these pills may actually have side-effects such as nausea and vomiting. Thus it is unlikely that an emet will be able to force themselves to take such medication. Other treatments could include hypnosis, behavioral therapy, and self-talk to bypass and calm the irrational fear.

Even if the fear is not cured, the most important and valuable goal for emets is to reclaim their daily lives. The method for achieving this is unimportant, but with effort and determination many emets have successfully shed their fear.