Peaceful Content

What I Have Done To Overcome Emetophobia

Peaceful Content! That is how I describe myself and my life these days. The road to overcoming Emetophobia was a challenging one and required a multi-phased approach to get me where I am comfortable with my life. I am now able to do things that I would not normally do in the past without much thought at all of the fear. Below are the major steps and actions that I took to get me to this place. Your approach will vary I am sure, just know that you can beat this thing and people are living comfortable lives after years of personal torment from Emetophobia. Once again, I am not a doctor, just someone who has lived with this fear the majority of his life. Please always get professional help when beginning any method of recovery.

Here we go:

Faith In God

First and foremost I would say that this is my number one factor in healing from this disorder. Having faith in God and praying to Him daily is crucial in recovery. I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that God does exist and will help you fight your “demons” if you truly want Him to. Yes it is a fight! The Devil is on this earth to cause humans pain and suffering and God is the only way to gather the strength and endurance to fight him. If you are not saved I would highly recommend that you seek salvation right now to save something much more powerful than Emetophobia… your ever living soul.

All you have to do is pray this simple prayer and you are covered.

It is that easy. Once you are saved you can then try to live your life as sin free as possible but know that you are guaranteed a place in Heaven regardless if you sin again or not. Jesus died for you for this very reason. I highly recommend believing in God and praying to him daily. There is plenty of evidence around us that God does exist, I am extremely confident in this!

Professional Therapy

This one is the toughest one to embrace. When I first dealt with the fear impacting my daily life I was reluctant to seek help. Mainly because I am a man and I felt that I could conquer it myself. That was not the case. I suffered needlessly with the condition and lost over 60 pounds because of my cautious eating habits. Seeking professional therapy is a must and the sooner you start, the sooner you can get your life on track and keep Emetophobia at bay. Don’t let your ego or pride stand in your way of happiness and comfort.

Medication

I am not a big fan of medicine but it was discovered during my initial days of counseling that I would need medication – probably for life. I didn’t have any genetic testing or labs done to determine that. The doctor looked at my thin frame and my history and symptoms and recommended this course. We tried the counseling first for a while but it was clear I would need something to help break the cycle. I am on one medication as of November 2014 daily that have me stable and unafraid. ( I was able to successfully reduce from three types over the past three months) You can e-mail me direct and I will share with you what I am taking.

Hypnosis

Ok, I must say I was very reluctant about this! I put it off for many years and it was finally recommended to me again by my most recent doctor. I was in the midst of a relapse, yes a relapse. I have had two very bad times in my life with this phobia. One in my mid twenties and one in my early forties. I was able to get back to normal in my 20s with counseling and medication. I only relapsed after deciding to stop taking my medication cold turkey in 2012. Not a wise decision. Anyhow, my doctor at the time suggest hypnotherapy and I thought long and hard about it finally deciding to move forward. I can tell you that it was a great decision. The process takes some time and many sessions but absolutely started me on a faster track to recovery. The process is simple and comfortable. Relaxation and visualization combine to help your sub-conscience open up to suggestion and begin the healing process. Don’t be afraid of this. Make sure you find a doctor or practitioner certified as a hypnotherapist. You will not regret it!

Family Support

This can be very important in your healing if you live with anyone or are close with your family. It greatly helps having support from people that are close to you and are not judgmental and are understanding.  Most people won’t understand and accept it when you don’t want to go out to eat or just want to stay home all the time. This condition can be hard for family to accept and it is vital that they find a way to support you and make accommodations until you can beat it. Having someone pester and push you to snap out of it or or “just go and eat already” doesn’t help and can further push you into the grips of the fear. I have been very fortunate to have an understanding family and wonderful wife who married me even after witnessing me at my worst. Having people with a good heart around you really helps the process.

Time and Patience

I can honestly say that it was not easy. Not to discourage you but to show you that it can be done. Many factors worked together in symphony to allow me to feel normal. Some of this was simply time. Time for my mind to reason out the fear and minimize its impact. Time for God to show me things and guide me in the right direction. Time for the therapy and hypnosis to work effectively. Time for the medicine to break the vicious cycle of fear.

The moral of my story:

This thing can be beat!  It takes belief in God, professional help and patience. If you can accept this and move forward I am confident that with the proper help and support you can get your life back and continue forward with a fear-free life.

Be sure to check out the resources page, it has a lot of great information compiled from my personal experiences.

And remember, hang in there, it will get better for you!!

—- Rich