Emetophobia (fear of vomiting): symptoms, causes and treatment

A type of anxiety disorder associated with an extreme fear of vomiting.

Both the act of vomiting and vomiting itself are not one of the most pleasant experiences a person can go through, as they are often associated with other discomforts or pains. However, it is a natural act that our body performs when it believes it must eliminate the agent that causes the discomfort, so it does not always involve any pathology or disease.

However, there are a small number of people who experience an absolute and intense fear of everything related to vomiting. This is known as emetophobia, a type of specific phobia which we will talk about throughout this article.

What is emetophobia?

Emetophobia is a psychological condition categorized as a specific anxiety disorder. Like the rest of specific phobias, it is distinguished because the person who suffers from it experiences a deep fear towards a specific object, person or situation.

In the specific case of emetophobia, this exacerbated fear occurs In the specific case of emetophobia, this exacerbated fear is presented to any stimulus related to vomiting.. Although any person can manifest feelings of aversion towards it, in emetophobia the person experiences a deep sense of fear, which is also irrational, uncontrollable and remains over time.

The situations that can provoke this anxiety response in the person range from the act of vomiting, both their own and seeing others vomit, as well as the sensation of nausea that precedes vomiting or the vomiting itself.

It is estimated that approximately 5% of the world's population suffers from this exaggerated fear of vomiting and vomiting behavior, appearing with almost equal incidence in people of different ages and sexes, with cases reported in childhood, adolescence and adulthood.

Some of the characteristics shared by most people with emetophobia include anxious personality traits and they tend to increase their level of tension and nervousness whenever they are in places such as health centers or with sick people, since they are faced with the possibility of seeing someone vomiting.

In the same way, these people tend to alter their eating habits, consuming only foods with what they can eat. eating only foods they are sure they will not vomit with.. In some cases, this behavior can become so severe that it can lead to eating disorders such as anorexia.

The reason is that the person restricts the amount of daily food or refuses to eat for fear of vomiting. This appears together with the feeling of anxiety caused by emetophobia every time they go to eat, which turns this act into a constant torment and suffering.

What are the symptoms of this phobia of fear of vomiting?

Since emetophobia is within the classification of phobias or specific anxiety disorders, its clinical picture is presented in a similar way to the rest. The symptoms included in this diagnosis can be divided into physical symptomatology, cognitive symptomatology and behavioral symptomatology..

These symptoms can appear either by the presence of the phobic stimulus or by the mere imagination or mental representation of it. As a consequence, the following symptoms may appear in emetophobia, ordered according to the above categories:

1. Physical symptoms

As a consequence of the occurrence of the phobic stimulus, in this case any stimulus related to vomiting, hyperactivation of the nervous system occurs.. The product of this increased functioning is all kinds of alterations and changes in the body.

Among the many physical symptoms the person may experience include:

• Elevation of Heart rate.
• Increased respiratory rate..
• Feeling of choking, suffocation or shortness of breath.
• Increased muscle tension.
• Headaches.
• Gastric disturbances and stomach pains.
• Increased sweating.
• Dizziness and lightheadedness..
• Nausea and/or vomiting.
• Loss of consciousness or fainting.

2. Cognitive symptoms

In addition to the physical symptoms, emetophobia is also distinguished by the presence of a whole repertoire of cognitive symptoms including thoughts, beliefs and imaginations about possible dangers or harm that vomiting or the act of vomiting can cause.

The development of these ideas and distorted beliefs, appear in an irrational and uncontrollable way, driving the progression of this phobia. To these ideas are added a series of mental images of catastrophic nature that flood the person's mind.

3. Behavioral symptoms

Finally, the effect of cognitive symptoms is reflected in the appearance of a series of behavioral symptoms. In this case, the symptomatology related to the person's behavior is manifested in the form of avoidance and behavioral through avoidance behaviors and escape behaviors..

Avoidance behaviors are all those behaviors that the person carries out with the aim of avoiding the phobic stimulus. In this case, the individual may refuse to eat, eat excessively slowly or eat only selected foods, or refuse to go to a place where he/she may witness something related to vomiting.

As for escape behaviors, these appear when the person has not been able to avoid encountering any event related to vomiting, so he/she will carry out all kinds of behaviors that allow him/her to escape from the situation as soon as possible.

What are the causes?

Although trying to discover the specific origin of a phobia is a rather complicated task, in the case of emetophobia a large number of patients report the experience of very unpleasant or dramatic situations in which vomiting or the act of vomiting appeared in one way or another.

However, there are many other cases in which the cases in which the person is not able to associate this fear with any traumatic experience.It is therefore hypothesized that there are other factors that may play an important role in the development and appearance of a phobia, such as genetic predisposition or learning by imitation.

Is there a treatment?

In those cases in which the phobia can become highly annoying or even dangerous, the patient can resort to psychological intervention, which can help to diminish the intensity of the phobia. can help to reduce the intensity of the symptoms to the point of making them disappear..

Although there are a multitude of psychological interventions and therapies that, carried out by a professional psychologist, can be effective. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the one that brings the best and fastest results.

This type of therapy usually includes three different and complementary types of actions. On the one hand we find cognitive restructuring, thanks to which the person manages to modify his or her distorted thoughts and beliefs.

In addition, techniques of live exposure or systematic desensitization are used, by means of which the person is gradually confronted with the phobic stimulus, either live or using theeither live or by using the imagination.

Finally, this is accompanied by training in relaxation skills, which allows the levels of excitation of the nervous system to decrease and helps the person to face the feared situation or object.