If you’re wondering if you might have emetophobia, or if you’ve just heard of emetophobia but you’re not sure what it is, this article is meant to answer the questions that you might have about this challenging phobia.
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What is emetophobia?
Emetophobia is an extreme fear of throwing up.
If you suffer from emetophobia there are many different situations where this can come up. For instance, you may avoid certain foods, places, or activities that you fear could lead you to feel nauseous, cause you to throw up, or put you in contact with someone else who might throw up.
If you have emetophobia, common situations that you might avoid include:
- Movie scenes where people throw up
- Eating enough that you feel especially full
- Parties, especially where drinking is involved
- Clubs, bars, concerts, or other events where drinking is common
- Theme parks and roller coasters or spinning rides
- Being around babies (as they tend to spit up)
- Being around animals (as they tend to throw up more often)
- Riding in the back seat of a car, especially on winding roads
- Eating certain foods that have become associated with the fear
- Medical facilities or anyone who is or might become sick
- Others who mentioned that they feel nauseous or sick
Emetophobia can also lead to many different kinds of safety behaviors, or actions that you might take to try and reduce your anxiety or feel more certain that you won’t throw up. Examples of possible safety behaviors include:
- Carrying a vomit bag with you at all times
- Taking anti-nausea medication even when unnecessary
- Excessively checking expiration dates on food
- Over-cooking meat to be extra sure it’s thoroughly cooked
- Mentally “scanning” your body for any signs of illness
- Asking for reassurance that you won’t throw up
- Researching situations that might make you vomit
Where does emetophobia come from?
Similar to other types of anxiety, emetophobia is usually a combination of genetics and environment. If you have a fear of throwing up it’s possible it was passed down to you by your parents genetically.
It’s also possible that you had a particularly bad experience related to throwing up that triggered this fear, although this is not always the case.
The fear of throwing up can also be reinforced by those around you, especially your caregivers growing up. If your parent or caregiver had a strong negative reaction towards throwing up when you were young, this can reinforce your fear or make it worse.
Why is emetophobia so bad?
Emetophobia can often become debilitating as you attempt to isolate yourself from any possible situation that might put you in contact with vomiting.
If you struggle with a fear of vomiting, numerous situations can start to feel “off limits” and these situations typically multiply over time. And the more the fear spreads, the more trapped you can feel by this phobia.
Unfortunately, the more you avoid the things that trigger this fear, the more this fear can snowball and take over your life.
As emetophobia worsens, it can lead to missing out on important experiences and even negatively affect your relationships.
What do emetophobia and OCD have to do with each other?
While emetophobia is technically a phobia (as is stated in the name), it often has more in common with OCD than with other phobias.
This is due to both the more “irrational” worries that can become attached to the fear as well as the many different safety behaviors that you might feel the need to engage in if you have emetophobia, similar to the compulsions that those with OCD feel compelled to do.
Can emetophobia cause nausea?
While emetophobia itself doesn’t directly cause nausea, it can absolutely cause anxiety. And one of the ways that anxiety can show up is the physical symptoms of indigestion and/or nausea.
This can be a self-fulfilling prophecy if you have a fear of throwing up as the original situation or trigger raises your anxiety, which can then trigger nausea, which can then increase your anxiety further, etc. In this case, the fear of throwing up can actually increase your chances of vomiting.
Can emetophobia cause panic attacks?
While not everyone who has emetophobia has panic attacks, emetophobia can lead to panic attacks in some circumstances.
Panic attacks usually occur when you hyper-focus on the uncomfortable physical symptoms of anxiety (such as nausea) and interpret these symptoms as dangerous. This in turn increases your anxiety, which increases your physical symptoms. And before you know it you are panicking.
Thankfully, this is not an irreversible process. There are strategies that can help with not only emetophobia, but with panic specifically. Check out my article How to Survive a Panic Attack in 5 Simple Steps if you’re interested in reading more about this topic.
Can emetophobia cause depression?
Similar to panic attacks, while emetophobia doesn’t necessarily cause depression it can definitely be related. As you feel your world shrinking and miss out on important or fun activities, this can lead to understandable feelings of sadness and disappointment. If this pattern continues, it can eventually lead to depression.
The good news about this cause of depression, is that usually treating the emetophobia cures the depression as your world starts to open back up again and you are able to engage in all the activities that you’ve been missing out on.
Can emetophobia be cured?
While I always hesitate to use the word “cure,” emetophobia is extremely treatable and can absolutely become a non-issue through proper treatment. Exposure and Response Prevention is highly effective at helping individuals overcome their fear of throwing up and get back to their lives.
If you’re interested in learning more about emetophobia and its treatment, I recommend checking out this Emetophobia Resources page and this Emetophobia Help website. And please feel free to reach out if you have any other questions about emetophobia or it’s treatment!
As a reminder, this blog post is not intended as professional counseling or clinical advice. This article is meant to provide you with some helpful information about emetophobia. If you are struggling with your mental health, I encourage you to consider reaching out for additional support, professional or otherwise.
-Kristel Roper, LMFT, LPCC
Kristel Roper is a licensed psychotherapist offering therapy services to individuals in the Sacramento area. She specializes in therapy for anxiety and OCD and especially enjoys working with young women as they navigate the challenges of relationships, college, career, and beyond. If you have a question for Kristel or are interested in therapy for yourself or your loved one, feel free to reach out.
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