5 TOP TIPS - How to support someone with Emetophobia

This week Michelle Johnson is joined by Bree Billington (ex-emetophobe and Emetophobia-Free Programme Coach) and her girlfriend Sy. Sy was Bree’s significant other on her journey to overcoming her fear. A ‘significant other’ is any person who is important to an individual's life or wellbeing. Significant others are usually someone’s spouse, best friend, or parent.

In this brilliant episode, Sy and Bree give tangible, real-life examples of how to be a supportive ‘significant other’ and discuss 5 top tips for supporting Someone with Emetophobia. 

5 TOP TIPS

1. Don’t collude. 
Colluding is when you are unintentionally agreeing with your loved one about their phobia. It can look like them saying “I’m so terrified of being sick, it’s the worst thing in the world’ and you replying with, ‘ I am so sorry you’re frightened, being sick is awful’. It could also look like helping them avoid situations for example, ‘Don’t worry, you don’t have to come to dinner tonight, I know that would be too much for you to handle’. You want to be loving supportive but without buying into their belief system. So, for the above example, you could say something like ‘I know you are really suffering at the moment, but you are going to beat this thing. Remember that this thing isn’t happening to you, all we need to do is help train you out of it’.

2. Help them gain perspective. 
Emetophobia sufferers tend to catastrophise, lose perspective and create a lot of panic and anxiety. A great way to help is to enable them to think things through in a logical, rational way or gain perspective. For example, if they are creating anxiety about going out for dinner, discuss why people go out to eat in the first place and how unlikely it is that they will be ill from going out. 

3. Help them build coping skills
Emetophobia is actually nothing to do with being sick. It is all about tolerating uncomfortable emotions. In order to believe that your loved one can tolerate discomfort and uncertainty, it is important they step outside their comfort zone. One way to do this is to start a new hobby! As a significant other, you could step outside their comfort zone with them! 

4. Know when to challenge and when to distract
If your loved on is panicking or too highly anxious they are unlikely to be able to process the logical, rational things that you are saying and your words won’t help. Instead offer comfort and support. You could b

Find out more: https://www.emetophobiafree.org
https://linktr.ee/emetophobia

Connect with us at the links below:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emetophobiafree/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emetophobiafree​
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@UCF6vCMhoF98TKKe7DKBlfgw

Thanks for watching :)

------------------------

Emetophobia is the fear of vomiting/sickness: either yourself, other people, or both. Research suggests 0.1 to 8.8% percent of the population have a fear of being sick (Hout & Bouman, 2011). Emetophobia is a debilitating phobia, which significantly impacts your life: sufferers are chronically anxious and go to great lengths to avoid encountering anything sickness-related, which provides temporary relief but often results in a rollercoaster of anxiety, fear and exhaustion. Issues associated with emetophobia include: OCD, eating difficulties, anxiety-related gastric problems, phagophobia, tocophobia and more. Our goal is to raise awareness of this severe phobia and provide a solution for sufferers and their families.

You do not need to live with Emetophobia - you can COMPLETELY overcome it. The Thrive Programme for Emetophobia (also known as Emetophobia-Free) is the single most successful and predictable method for getting rid of your emetophobia. It has helped over 20,000 emetophobes around the world overcome their phobia.

You can study the programme at home by yourself wit...