I was meeting with a client the other day that I hadn’t seen for a while, and they were asking me some questions about how long it would take to fully recover. I found that almost all my responses began with “unfortunately.” Then earlier today I sent an email response to someone, and that, too, started with “unfortunately.” I started to reflect on how many times I said that word, and what it means for people with emetophobia to hear it.
The thing is, we all wish there were a magic cure, a quick fix, a pill, a mantra, a relaxation technique…something…. anything that would stop this cycle of anxiety and panic that we experience day after day after day.
I often get people in my Facebook group (“Emetophobia No Panic”) who ask for “tips and tricks.” I know it’s an expression, more or less, but I have to say I really don’t like it. I want to scream “THERE ARE NO TIPS OR TRICKS!” but instead, of course, I begin my response with “unfortunately…”
To save myself valuable time and energy, here is my list of “unfortunatelies” for folks with emetophobia, followed by a number of “the good news is-es”.
- Unfortunately there is no “cure” for emetophobia, because it is not a disease. We can cure pneumonia and gonorrhea but emetophobia we need to recover from, and we need to maintain our recovery.
- Unfortunately there is no drug that stops you from panicking with emetophobia.
- Unfortunately recovery takes time. Think years, not months.
- Unfortunately recovery takes dedication, commitment and hard work.
- Unfortunately you’re not afraid of puppies, so at the end of treatment the people with a puppy phobia are going to go get a puppy, and we just get to vomit.
- Unfortunately the only evidence-based treatment for emetophobia is exposure and response prevention.
- Unfortunately in order to recover you will have to give up all of your safety behaviours, and avoidance behaviours
- Unfortunately you will eventually have to watch videos and listen to sounds of vomiting as part of your treatment
The good news is…..
- You don’t ever need to vomit in order to recover
- Emetophobia is highly treatable
- CBT with exposure has been shown in scientific studies to help people with emetophobia lead normal lives
- Exposure therapy is done slowly and gently beginning with just looking at words and reading sentences
- More and more therapists are becoming aware of emetophobia
- There are several good self-help books on the market now
- My writing partner, Dr. David Russ and I wrote a clinical manual for therapists on how to treat emetophobia.
- I’ve been contracted to write a memoir/self-help book which is due out in 2026.
- Lots of people have overcome emetophobia, including me!