Treatment for fear of vomiting includes anti-anxiety medication, therapy for underlying issues, and exposure to vomit or images of vomiting. Talking to someone can help, and medication can control physical symptoms. Therapy involves discussing fears and gradually exposing patients to vomiting. Fear of vomiting can be debilitating and related to deeper issues such as OCD or low self-esteem.
Getting treatment to overcome your fear of vomiting includes anti-anxiety medications, therapy for the underlying problem, such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), or slow exposure to vomit or pictures of people vomiting. The first step you can take to overcome your fear of throwing up is to find someone to talk to about your fear. While simply hearing about how other people have similar issues may not be enough for a cure, it can help you feel less alone.
The simplest medical treatment to overcome the fear of vomiting is to take prescription anti-nausea medications. If the fear of vomiting stems from an actual physical problem, medications can help control symptoms. Anti-anxiety medications can also help someone in stressful situations where the fear of throwing up is aggravated and they are unable to relax.
If your fear of throwing up stems less from a physical problem and more from shame or disgust, you may need help through psychological therapy to master your phobia. The fear of vomiting can also go hand-in-hand with OCD or agoraphobia, and it may be necessary to find a specialist who has a wide range of experience to solve the intertwined problems.
In therapy, a common treatment begins with describing the fear and discussing the underlying anxieties. The therapist will then guide you in showing you pictures and videos of people feeling nauseous and moving to actual vomiting. Many people find that this desensitizes them to something that has been their worst fear up to that point, as if their avoidance has made the phobia worse.
The fear of throwing up can be a debilitating phobia. It can range from simple embarrassment to an all-encompassing fear that keeps you from taking long trips or even leaving the house. Someone who has had an unusually traumatic experience with vomiting, such as being stuck with a sick brother in the back of a car on nearly every family road trip, may develop a fear of vomiting in general. Other times it is related to a deeper issue; people prone to OCD, for example, might conduct elaborate food preparation rituals to avoid tainted food. People with low self-esteem can become paralyzed at the thought of suddenly losing control of their body and people looking at them with disgust.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
