CBT for emetophobia my experiences...

[mjh74]

Hi Meg,

Okkkkk....

I went to see the therapist and gave her my story. We had a long chat and the head psychy guy has apparently allowed me another 10 sessions to try and get through this!! 10 more!

So I've agreed to watch the tape in black and white in a small window on my computer without sound and see if I can get my way through it. Then with a bit of sound, then colour, then bigger picture etc etc. I am waiting until my cold has cleared up so I don't feel so grotty and will have another go.

At least I can chuckle about it though I have no idea why! (temporary insanity maybe??) lol

Mark

[tammyg]

It's good that you have another 10 sessions, at least you can build up slowly that way. Are you still building towards those last two sessions you mentioned?! Good luck with it!

Tammy x

[mjh74]

Hi Tammy and thanks,

Not too sure about the last sessions. I don't really think a one off vomit session is really going to help things so I may give that a miss. I think the helping factor is getting used to talking about vomit and seeing it and accepting that it isn't going to kill me. I've found the added familiarity so far has been the helping factor. I still think I'd cringe and try not to be near someone that was going to do it but then again I think that would be a realtively normal reaction for anyone!

Mark x

[carldourish]

Haven't you tried EFT for this?

[carldourish]

If you read other sections in this forum you notice that I have put together many different NLP techniques to follow.

Try this technique, however I recommend that you learn the process and read throughly first.

(1) FEARFUL SITUATION.

Take a minute and think of a situation that makes you have a phobic response. Think about it just enough to get a litttle bit of the feeling of fear. You want to be sure that you can get access to the part of you that creates the fear.

(2) MOVIE THEATHER

Now, in your mind's eye, imagine you are sitting in a large cinema. See yourself up on the screen in a still picture, just before you had the fearful response for the first time. (If you can't think of the first time you experienced this fear, think of the most intense time that you have had this kind of fear response.)

(3) LEAVE BODY

Now, imagine floating out of your body and go up into the projection booth, so that now you can look out and see yourself watching yourself on the screen. Stay in this projection booth until you are instructed to leave.

(4) WATCH A MOVIE

As you watch yourself watching yourself, begin to run a black-and-white movie of what actually occurred in that fearful situation, and see yourself going through that experience.Continue to watch that movie from the projection booth, until you reach the end of the situation when the trauma was over, and you can tell from the movie that you're safe again. At this point, stop the movie and make it into a still picture of yourself after the trauma was over with.

(5) RUN THE MOVIE BACKWARDS

Now, leave the projection booth, step into the still picture on the screen, and go through the whole experience backward, but this time in colour, just as if time were reversed and you were being sucked back through it by a giant vacuum cleaner. Do this very quickly, in about one & half seconds. Do this step several times over, getting quicker and quicker. When you're finished, actually physically get up and move your body around. Shake your arms and take a deep breath.

(6) CHECKING

Now, think of the experience again, and notice your response. In your mind, rate the fear on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst. If it's more than 2, repeat the entire process,being careful to do each step throughly.


Carl

[Emma-Louise]

Hi, I'm new but I have to start CBT for my emetaphobia after christmas. I'm really scared about what they will make me watch. I can't face the idea of pictures and videos but I feel like I don't have any other options but to go and try it. Has CBT ever really worked for anyone?

Thank you

Emma x

[nomorepanic]

Emma - do you mean CBT in general of CBT for specifically this phobia?

Nicola

People will forget what you said
People will forget what you did
But people will never forget how you made them feel

[Emma-Louise]

This specific phobia - they tried general CBT at first but it didn't really help. Now they want to try a combination of CBT and exposure therapy.

Emma x

[nomorepanic]

Ok I think this is the only CBT post on that phobia.

Good luck with it anyway

Nicola

People will forget what you said
People will forget what you did
But people will never forget how you made them feel

[phoenix]

hey. i am AMAZED that any health professional would avocate having a colleague vomit in front of you as therapy. I think that maybe you need a different counsellor! Thinking logically its rediculous, as mainly anxiety is anticipatory, thus knowing you were going to see someone throw up would build the anxiety, whereas in life, vomit is not planned! Any medic who would have someone intentionally vomit, whether by sticking a finger down their throat or by other means i would suggest is questionable, as such practices can be dangerous.

There are different methods of CBT for emetophobia, mainly they should focus on why you fear it in the first place, the root cause may be very different from the revulsion everyone experiences when being / seeing someone else being sick. I have had CBT for my phobia before, and never was it suggested that I watch any videos of people throwing up.

Vix