How do I Overcome a Fear of Vomiting?

Getting treatment to overcome the fear of vomiting includes anti-anxiety medication, therapy for the underlying problem, such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), or the slow expose to vomiting or pictures of people vomiting. The first step you can take to overcoming a fear of vomiting is to find someone to talk with about your fear. Though simply hearing about how other people have similar problems may not be enough for a cure, it can help you feel less alone.

The simplest medical treatment for overcoming fear of vomiting is having anti-nausea drugs prescribed to you. If your fear of vomiting stems from an actual physical problem, then medication can help control the symptoms. Anti-anxiety medication may also help someone in stressful situations where the fear of vomiting compounds itself and she can't make herself relax.

If your fear of vomiting stems less from a physical problem and more from shame or disgust, you may need help through psychological therapy in order to master your phobia. Fear of vomiting can also go hand in hand with OCD or agoraphobia, and you may need to find a specialist who has a wide range of experience in order to accommodate the entwined 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 video of people nauseated and moving up to the actual act of vomiting. Many people find that this desensitizes them to something which has been their worst fear up until then, as if their avoidance had made the phobia worse.

Fear of vomiting can be a debilitating phobia. It can grow from simple embarrassment to an all-encompassing fear that keeps you from going on long trips or even leaving your house. Someone who has had an unusually traumatic experience with vomiting—such as being stuck with a sick sibling in the back of a car on almost every family trip—can develop a fear of vomiting in general. Other times, it's tied to a deeper problem; people prone to OCD, for instance, might conduct elaborate food preparation rituals to avoid contaminated food. People with low self-esteem may become paralyzed at the thought of suddenly losing control of their bodies and people looking at them with disgust.