Overcome emetophobia: How CBT and hypnotherapy can help

By Angelika Kubisa BSc(Hons) Psychology | Dip. CBH | Cert-I-CBT

Published 22nd April 2025

"A phobia is not a flaw — it’s a survival instinct that got stuck in overdrive."

For many people, vomiting is very unpleasant, but generally quite manageable and not necessarily anxiety or worry inducing, and they don’t necessarily become fearful at the sight, sound, or even the thought of being sick or someone else feeling unwell. But for someone that is struggling with emetophobia, the fear and anxiety is real and intense, and can become life-changing and very restricting.

While it's not as commonly discussed as other phobias, it can quietly influence every aspect of a life, from what you eat, where you go, to how you socialise and manage your health. 

Do you :

• Tend to avoid trying new foods or eating out in case it makes you ill?

• Are you highly sensitive to the physical sensations of nausea or being unwell? Scan others for signs of sickness?

• Get panicky when someone says they feel unwell or sick?

• Constantly check yourself for symptoms, even when you’re otherwise okay?

• Do you worry about losing control, especially in public?

• Do you find yourself avoiding going out to eat with other people or around other people?

If you find yourself answering "yes" to most of these questions, it’s possible that what you're experiencing is more than just discomfort — it might be emetophobia. 

The fear is not only about the potential for vomiting but also about the emotional and psychological toll it takes, controlling your actions and choices. It can feel like a continuous battle between wanting to live and enjoy the simple things in life and the need to protect yourself from something you fear most.

What exactly is emetophobia?

Emetophobia is considered to be a specific phobia in the DSM-5-TR, which means that it’s a type of anxiety disorder that involves a very overwhelming and irrational fear of a particular experience, and there are many specific phobias that are under this category. In this case, it’s being sick and vomiting, but the fear can extend beyond this. 

Some may be anxious about becoming ill in public. Others may avoid people who seem unwell or have been sick. Some people may worry about contamination and food poisoning. For many, even the sensations of nausea and feeling sick or seeing someone being sick are a powerful trigger that causes intense anxiety and worries. It can feel very real and often life-debilitating. 

And it’s not “just in your head.” Your body might respond as if danger is present, since it activates your fight or flight response and signals that there is something wrong to your body — you may experience a tight chest, racing heart, tunnel vision, nausea (ironically), and sometimes dissociation. Your nervous system is essentially on high alert, and just hearing someone mention being sick can send your whole system into a spiral of intense anxiety. 

Ask yourself :

• Is the fear about vomiting itself, or what vomiting might mean (loss of control, shame, embarrassment or danger)?

• When did you first start noticing that you are fearful and anxious?

• How does your body react when you feel nauseous, become ill or hear someone say they might be sick or feel unwell?

How it shows up:

Ematophobia can affect people in very subtle, day-to-day decisions and activities, or it can sometimes take over their lives entirely.

For example, you go out for dinner with friends, and what should be a fun and enjoyable evening turns into a series of mental calculations. You start thinking about the food, ingredients and how fresh or well-cooked everything is. You might obsess over what could trigger the feeling of needing to be sick or nausea. Every bite you eat, you feel anxious and find yourself in your head. Even though the likelihood of actually becoming sick is low, the worries end up taking over, turning the whole experience into something very stressful and daunting. You may know this is irrational but yet it feels so real. 

You might:

• Avoid public transport, restaurants, or places that are crowded, just in case.

• Strictly control what, when, or how much you eat.

• Stay away from alcohol, dislike the idea of pregnancy, or travel.

• Avoid medications with nausea and sickness as side effects.

• Constantly Google symptoms or ask for reassurance.

• Feel anxious, shut down and turn to avoidance or escape if someone looks pale or unwell.

• Experience panic or dissociation when you or someone else feels nauseous.

"When you make choices — like where to go or what to do — do they come from fear of being sick, or from a place of freedom and comfort?"

"What parts of your life do you find yourself avoiding or limiting to feel safe from being sick or being around others who might be?"

These behaviours aren’t about being dramatic or from you overreacting — they’re protective, unhelpful coping strategies from a nervous system doing its best to help you feel safe, even when there’s no real threat.

The role of trauma

For many people, emetophobia can begin after a traumatic experience. Maybe you were violently ill as a child, or saw someone be sick in a frightening situation. Or maybe you had to care for someone who was sick. Or perhaps it was more subtle — moments where you felt unsupported, shamed, or unsafe when unwell or forced into a caregiving role. 

But it doesn’t have to be one big trauma. Sometimes it’s a mini trauma or a slow build up — growing up in an environment where emotions and illness were shushed, mocked, or punished. Or living in a constant state of anxiety, where the body has learned to associate nausea with danger. 

Ask yourself:

• Did anyone ever shame or embarrass you for being sick, or tell you to hide it?

• Were you left alone, scared, or unsupported when you were ill?

• Did you have to care for someone who was ill or sick frequently?

• What feelings come up when you imagine yourself being sick or someone else sick – is it fear, helplessness, shame, panic?

Our bodies often remember what the mind forgets. Being sick may have felt unsafe, very unpleasant and even highly overwhelming once — physically, emotionally, or socially — and the body locked in that response.

Emetophobia is often not about the act itself, but may be more about what it represents: loss of control, vulnerability, exposure, being judged, embarrassment or being alone.

How cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy can help

Because emetophobia involves thought patterns and automatic, body-level responses, cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy (CBH) offers a uniquely effective route that can help you. 

Hypnotherapy helps you work with your nervous system and understand it, not against it. 

CBH can help you:

• Reframe old memories and body-held beliefs.

• Gently calm down the fight-or-flight response and find helpful strategies.

• Build a felt sense of safety using breath, imagery, and somatic awareness.

• Separate the idea of nausea and vomiting being dangerous.

• Create new associations with control, safety, and trust.

• Help your body stop bracing and anticipating an event that may never happen.

This isn’t about pushing you into exposure or trying to “tough it out.” It’s all about gently re-teaching the body that you’re safe now and that there is nothing to fear. CBH can help you develop the right strategies to do this.

Self help tips and first steps to overcoming the phobia

You can start supporting yourself right now, step by step and start this process.

Here’s how:

• Acknowledge your fear: Say it out loud. “This scares me ”

• Get curious, not critical: “What am I afraid will happen?” “Where did I learn this fear?”

• Try to use your body: Touch, breath work, meditation, reframing and challenging thoughts, tapping, and movement help regulate fear responses.

• Limit reassurance-seeking: Notice how often you check, ask, or Google. Try to slowly reduce it.

• Try micro-exposures: Read the word “vomit.” Watch a mild scene in a film that you are comfortable watching. Go slowly. Be kind. Especially if your fear is trauma-based.

• Track your story: When did it first start, and when did you first notice it? Who was around? What else was going on? Did it become worse over time? How did it become worse? How does it impact you now?

• Find support: Therapy, especially trauma-informed hypnotherapy or CBT, can make a big difference in helping overcome specific phobias. 

Tip: You might find it helpful to use a journal to write your reflections down and start tracking your triggers, along with how you think and act in situations that activate fear and anxiety. That way, you can slowly start identifying patterns and begin changing your thoughts, actions and how you feel. 

Final words

Your fear isn’t random, and it doesn’t mean there is something deeply wrong with you. Your body just learned that being sick = danger, and it’s been trying to protect you ever since, hence why you may have developed certain coping strategies, avoidance, which may have intensified the fear. 

But it’s possible to change and update that old pattern.

With understanding, care, and the right tools, you can teach your system something new: that you’re okay, that you don’t need to be scared anymore. That control isn’t the only way to feel safe, and we can’t always be in control. That your world can expand again, and you can reduce the fear. 

Contact me for support

If fear emetophobia is holding you back, self-help isn’t making a difference, or traditional therapies haven't worked for you – and you're curious about how Integrative Hypnotherapy and coaching could help you break the cycle and make some changes – feel free to get in touch. You’re welcome to book a free, informal chat using the contact form on the website, or email me at angelikakubisa@tranquil-minds.co.uk.