Emetophobia and Hypnosis
Many people have emetophobia, but this fear is rarely mentioned or discussed. This phobia is the fear of vomit. People with severe emetophobia will do anything to avoid throwing up or seeing vomit. Despite the fact that emetophobics typically cope by avoiding the source of their fear, it can be cured using techniques such as Ericksonian hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
Emetophobia is a common fear with significant consequences for its sufferers. Some people refuse to eat out or with other people out of fear of acquiring a foodborne illness. Expecting mothers with emetophobia may be terrified of experiencing morning sickness. The phobia also makes it hard for parents to tend to their babies or care for their small kids if they get sick.
Emetophobia can seriously affect a person’s willingness or ability to go on trips. A person might dread the thought of traveling to a foreign country and catching an illness. Many individuals will avoid public settings because they are afraid of falling ill or even seeing someone else getting sick. The condition also interferes with one’s capacity to have jobs in certain fields, such as medicine and healthcare.
The phobia is often caused by childhood illnesses. Sufferers may remember the undesirable experience of being sick and wish to avoid it at all costs. They may also fear illness because they associate it with a lack of physical control. The phobia affects people of all ages.
Serious emetophobia can lead to other phobias and anxiety disorders. Many sufferers will develop agoraphobia, a fear of unfamiliar places which can confine a person to their own home. People with emetophobia may also have a strong fear of germs or hospitals. What starts as emetophobia can quickly escalate into other serious issues stemming from the first fear.
Some sufferers try to cope with their emetophobia by avoiding it whenever possible, but emetophobia can be successfully cured with techniques ranging from counseling to medication. However, there are a number of unique challenges involved with treating emetophobia. The phobia usually becomes linked with powerful negative imagery in the unconscious mind. The feeling is so deeply rooted that it can’t be stifled by conscious effort or willpower alone. People with emetophobia may be willing to admit that their fear is illogical, but still feel helpless to treat their fear.
Hypnosis therapy is an excellent tool for curing phobias because it can dissociate a fear from negative associations in the unconscious mind. Hypnosis is a form of safe and non-invasive therapy that provides a permanent phobia cure.
Hypnosis treatments are often in the form of a program broken down into several, easy-to-use sessions. A well-designed program starts with relaxation therapy. This has a soothing effect and helps make the mind more open to hypnosis. Once a person feels at ease and worry-free, hypnotherapy directs the unconscious mind into adopting a new, fear-free line of thinking.
Ericksonian hypnotherapy works well for independent minded thinkers, such as the many emetophobia sufferers who always try to control over their their health and well-being. It uses indirect suggestions integrate in stories, metaphors, and dialogues. It differs from conventional hypnosis techniques, which utilize direct post-hypnotic suggestions to treat individual phobias. These conventional techniques may fail because of people’s tendency to question and resist direct suggestions. These issues can be avoided using Ericksonian hypnotherapy.
Since emetophobia is often accompanied by other phobias such as germophobia and agoraphobia, it is necessary for a good treatment program to work for all these issues. Ericksonian hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques work more effectively than conventional hypnosis programs because they aren’t specific to one phobia; they can be used to cure any phobia, or even more than one phobia. Moreover, the combined program works for most users because it contains a wide range of techniques to work for any individual.
Phobia sufferers are often surprised at how easily they achieve results using hypnotherapy. It has allowed many people easily beat their fears and it’s a leading form of phobia treatment. The techniques within Ericksonian hypnosis therapy and NLP are effective treatments for many anxiety disorders and phobias. The techniques are the key to success for helping many emetophobia sufferers vanquish their phobias and feel secure and in charge.
Alan B. Densky, CH has been curing phobias using Hypnotism since 1978. He offers phobia treatment hypnosis and NLP CDs plus a broad range of Self-Hypnosis CDs for stress & depression related symptoms. Visit his website for free NLP downloads.
- Alan Densky
