Emetophobia in children - will this go away? (fear of throwing up)

[Anonymous]

My ten year old girl is dealing with some serious emetophobia, and it has been affecting her for six months.

I am hoping to hear from an experienced family dealing with this.
Any words of wisdom?

Some background:
It began in mid-winter when kids in school were getting sick, and summer break did nothing to calm her. Every single single day she complains of a stomach ache (which is nervousness). Her appetite has suffered (she doesn't want to eat for fear of throwing up) or go to sleep (for fear of throwing up in the night).
Now that we are back in school, she is anxious all over again... and it truly stems from this past winter and kids getting sick. She is happy with friends and other normal activities.

She has spoken with the pediatrician and the school counselor. Next step is to find a therapist / counselor, which I am fine with.

[Anonymous]

Definitely therapy. I will say that I still deal with this as an adult and it is HARD. I haven’t thrown up since I was 5 and DH handles ALL stomach issues, but it is still very scary for me if the idea or threat even enters my mind. Full-on panic attack if I hear it, see it on TV, etc.

[Anonymous]

Um, never. And I get pukey migraines and throw up fairly often, every month or two. I hate it more than anything else in the world except maybe really large spiders.

[Anonymous]

I came on here to point out that in late middle age I still feel terrified when I think I might throw up--but I only feel like I might throw up when it would make sense, i.e. actual GI or other acute shock. The poor girl, I hope you find a solution.

[Anonymous]

I’m sorry OP, it sounds really hard. Definitely therapy and I would get someone who has specific experience in anxiety and phobias if possible.

[Anonymous]

It is a variety of anxiety disorder, and she needs treatment for anxiety.

It is NOT a category of phobia for which experiential exposure is medically recommended.

[Anonymous]

Mental health professional here (although I don't practice in the DC area). Look for an expert in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders. Someone with extensive experience will likely have experience treating specific phobias.

[Anonymous]

My 11 year old DD suffers fro. This too. Thanks for raising.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is a variety of anxiety disorder, and she needs treatment for anxiety.

It is NOT a category of phobia for which experiential exposure is medically recommended.

Interesting that you say this. I'm currently in treatment for emetophobia and exposure is part of the treatment. Can you share some background about why you think exposure is not recommended?

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm an adult and am currently being treated for this. Oddly, I have no fear of throwing up, but am terrified of other people throwing up. Especially on airplanes or boats where I have no way of escaping. It's an anxiety and control thing, and there can be an aspect of OCD as well.

Here is a website with a ton of information about this:

http://www.emetophobiahelp.org/

I'm seeing a therapist at CICT for this: http://cognitivetherapydc.com/

I know several of the therapists there treat this, and I know at least a few work with kids.

My treatment involves a 2 pronged approach: 1) CBT and 2) exposure therapy.

With the exposure therapy, they start really, really slow. Like, hearing or reading the word, and then escalating from there.

Tell your daughter she's not alone. I lived with this forever and thought there was something so wrong with me. I was so ashamed about it. But it's actually fairly common.

Good luck OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a variety of anxiety disorder, and she needs treatment for anxiety.

It is NOT a category of phobia for which experiential exposure is medically recommended.

Interesting that you say this. I'm currently in treatment for emetophobia and exposure is part of the treatment. Can you share some background about why you think exposure is not recommended?

I am an emetophobe and have been treated for it (with some success, not 100%).

Exposure (to TV/film depictions of vomiting, etc.) was part of the treatment. The specific kind of exposure therapy that is not recommended, per multiple providers who have been involved in my treatment, is induction of vomiting in emetophobic patients. Take it for what you will!

I mention it because I think many people believe that if the person with the phobia just gets really sick and vomits a lot and gets over the illness s/he will realize it's not really a big deal. That does not work.

[Anonymous]

Please get her into therapy. My sister dropped out of medical school due to this (untreated) and has kept her from taking any public transportation for fear someone will throw up on her. It started in grade school and she was initially terrified of throwing up herself - then it moved to being thrown up on by others.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

Thank you all so much for your feedback.
Admittedly, I can not relate to this (for my DD) and your comments have helped me have some understanding.

Like many lessons learned from parenthood, this is another 'I had no idea this was a *thing*.'

I am looking into therapy options for her, and with ya'll help with the above comments, I have a better idea of what we should look for / expect.

I welcome more comments and feedback. Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a variety of anxiety disorder, and she needs treatment for anxiety.

It is NOT a category of phobia for which experiential exposure is medically recommended.

Interesting that you say this. I'm currently in treatment for emetophobia and exposure is part of the treatment. Can you share some background about why you think exposure is not recommended?

I am an emetophobe and have been treated for it (with some success, not 100%).

Exposure (to TV/film depictions of vomiting, etc.) was part of the treatment. The specific kind of exposure therapy that is not recommended, per multiple providers who have been involved in my treatment, is induction of vomiting in emetophobic patients. Take it for what you will!

I mention it because I think many people believe that if the person with the phobia just gets really sick and vomits a lot and gets over the illness s/he will realize it's not really a big deal. That does not work.

Okay thanks for the context. That's not part of my treatment plan, primarily because I don't have a fear of vomiting myself!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Thank you all so much for your feedback.
Admittedly, I can not relate to this (for my DD) and your comments have helped me have some understanding.

Like many lessons learned from parenthood, this is another 'I had no idea this was a *thing*.'

I am looking into therapy options for her, and with ya'll help with the above comments, I have a better idea of what we should look for / expect.

I welcome more comments and feedback. Thanks again.

Good for you for recognizing this and getting her treatment! A lot of people brush this off as a dumb fear and don't take it seriously, but as you have seen, the consequences are real.