Feeling sick is worse than being sick. This  is a debilitating condition for those who suffer with it and , although this term might be new to many, is one of the most common phobias in the world..

Its many different faces includes the fear of vomiting in front of others, of seeing it happen, fear of watching or hearing the action of vomiting or of actually being nauseous.  Take a look at the Case Study elsewhere on this blog to see how being sick can impact how we behave.

It need  not be triggered by witnessing the actual event, but can be induced by seeing someone getting sick on television or cinema.

A vicious circle

It can also be a phobia by association. The sufferer may witness someone being sick that triggers a thought process based on:

“What if this happened to me?”

“How would I cope?”

“What bad things would happen after I was sick?”

Sufferers may become phobic as a result of health problems as they try to control the sense of vomiting or due to food intake or environment. Once they have experienced the unpleasant feeling on needing to vomit, or indeed that initial panic of “what if…”.

This is the start of the cycle that reinforces the feeling of panic and behavior that emetophobes might experience. This phobia may begin at any age and can be felt for any number of years.

It  can affect the social life of the sufferer to a major extent and there are a number of linked conditions such as OCD, panic attacks, depression etc.

The results may be nausea, headaches and stomach upsets. At this point it is easy to see how a vicious circle of anxiety, feeling sick, which further compounds the problem. The sufferers will show increasing anxiety to situations in which they feel vulnerable to being sick. Many people will have this sensation during long distance travel, which will have further negative impact on their career and personal life.

But the real truth is that the patients suffering from this phobia rarely throw up. They are usually affected by something that has happened somewhere and sometime in their life and its possible that it could have happened even a long time back. Some women face an extreme situation of avoiding the childbirth to  avoid morning sickness. The behavioral pattern and habits of the sufferer will change so as to keep themselves away from any environment that drives this phobia.

The effects can be mild to severe. Doctors say that like any other phobia this is concerned with the mental condition of the patient. In extreme situation this phobia leads to many other cases like Cibophobia, which is food phobia, or agoraphobia, which means staying away from people.

If we look for an appropriate treatment, it is complicated as there is little research or intense diagnoses in this field as often affected  patients simultaneously suffer with other illnesses, making the situation even more complex to diagnose and treat.

Psychotropic and gastrointestinal medications may help some patients but again emetophobes might tend to avoid taking it out of the fear of getting nauseous.

A psychological approach can help affected patients. Cognitive behavioral therapy, such as the Emetophobia Recovery System, works best with these patients. It is based on the fact that what you think affects the way you behave.

Of course recovering from any phobia is a challenging task that takes a lot of effort but like may other phobias, this is curable for many if approached with the right method, dedication and full support from people around.