Emetophobia: A common phobia, which is often misdiagnosed

eleoscounselling_eating_disorderA recent article in the Independent’s tabloid I highlighted the difficulty people with a phobia Emetophobia (fear of vomiting or being sick) face. This phobia  is often misdiagnosed as anorexia, due to the sufferers reluctance to eat, due to their fear of vomiting.  The article talked extensively of CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) and mentioned little or reference to interpersonal therapy, better known as humanistic therapy and the benefits, this form of therapy can offer; the  therapy offered  by Eleos counselling. Recovery from any phobia can be a long process, and often it is the relationship with the therapist that is the real healing factor, not what the therapist does with the client.  As you would see challenging deeply held beliefs is part of the process of therapy and this is borne out of a close relationship which formed between the therapist and their clients.  You will see from below that challenging these in a non-judgement, and empathic way is key to a successful outcome.

Like just about all phobias and phobic disorders, Emetophobia most frequently develops in childhood fear having, by no means, really, ever been outgrown. Perhaps a frightening incident had been witnessed when  young, a person being sick close to them or perhaps on them, it’s possible that they themselves are sick or possibly that they have seen someone else being sick under frightening situations.

When a traumatic scene is witnessed the subconscious mind functions as being the body’s ‘protector’ calculates the simplest way to avoid the episode repeating itself. The way this specific works, in practice, is that the subconscious mind attaches negative feelings or thoughts to nausea or vomiting plus in along with  this specific teaches the person to steer far from this  ‘dangerous’ scenarios. Whilst the subconscious mind is doing all this ‘protection’, your conscious thoughts are desperate trying to work out exactly where this irrational behaviour is coming from.

The episode, which was encountered when young was initially your subconscious mind has construed, mistakenly, a rule that moment and the subconscious is causing the person to still to act like that worried two year old, regardless that she or he is now an adult. Whenever ‘stuff’ happens to all of us whenever we were young, we are relatively short on thinking ability as well as life experience – this deficiency makes us translate situations to the best of our ability together with the minimal information available. 9 times out of 10, this kind of understanding is incorrect, however ,because of the conscious mind’s  has issues accessing  the subconscious, it cannot determine the reason why you react to certain occasions within an illogical way.

 

If you would like to know more of this type of therapy that Eleos counselling offers then please visit our  website by clicking the link below.

www.eleoscounselling.com