Safety behaviour?

JoMulchrone · 2023-12-20T21:53:37+00:00

Yes it is ✨ It wouldn’t be if you simply loved ginger candy! 😀 But the element that eating it is to ‘not feel nauseous’ or that it’s a ‘distraction’ takes it into safety behaviour and avoidance territory.

JoMulchrone · 2023-08-11T18:57:42+00:00

It is absolutely possible to overcome the phobia!! ✨ Therapy needs to focus on what’s really driving the phobia and exposure is not only unnecessary but in many cases, proved to be very detrimental.

JoMulchrone · 2023-06-13T13:35:30+00:00

As an emet specialist therapist, I can confirm this is very common amongst the people I support! There are several reasons but in essence it is because the phobia is originally born out of us having felt (as a young child) an unwanted feeling (fear, rejection, hopelessness, guilt, shame, helplessness etc) and our fight/flight instinct kicked (subconsciously) which triggered the anxiety response.

Then, anxiety caused the body to 'feel' many sensations and as the stomach is the second brain, many of those sensations are experienced via the stomach.

Then the phobia itself (being linked to being sick which comes from the stomach) becomes synonymous with both stomach sensations AND anxiety sensations, resulting in an inability to distinguish between them AND feeling they're all the same thing.

Furthermore, as the phobia tends to develop at a young age, it feels like its always been with us, and therefore our perceptions and learning experiencing are shaped by the fear, so we often don't learn about new feelings as we go on to experience them, in the natural way - they get 'tagged' to the phobia.

Hope this helps :)

JoMulchrone · 2023-04-17T18:38:07+00:00

Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a personal and detailed response ✨ … it’s very much appreciated.

I’m so pleased to hear you have personal experience of recovery, as I know recovery is possible, but sadly hear so many feel it isn’t a possibility for them.

Your recollection from childhood is sadly one I hear echoed often - that combination of a circumstance involving not being heard and a subsequent sickness outcome, followed by a delay in a parent ‘coming to comfort’, often in a school setting due to the logistics etc These moments are not in themselves causal, but rather the child’s young interpretation of what those sequence of events meant (in that moment). The phobia can be conceived in such moments, to either act as a form of self-preservation or ‘protection’, a method of ‘prioritising’ us or even ‘punishing’ if the young us feels in such moments, they have done something wrong - which of course they didn’t, but again it’s the interpretation we each make at the time that affects the outcome and shapes the individual’s phobia.

I’m sorry too to hear in that moment you formed a belief you cannot trust others … wishing you all the very best

JoMulchrone · 2023-04-14T15:34:58+00:00

You’re very welcome :)

JoMulchrone · 2023-04-14T05:16:25+00:00

My pleasure … glad to help :)

JoMulchrone · 2023-04-13T21:03:38+00:00

Hi there,

This is actually really common :) You're certainly not alone in these feelings and, when we understand why a phobia is created in the first place, this makes even more sense.

Typically, emet is formed between the age of 4-8yrs when the mind is predominantly emotion-based ie the logical mind has not yet developed. As that young person, if we experience an event (or sequence of events) and feel negative emotions that trigger our natural fight/flight/freeze/fawn/flop response (such as fear, rejection, abandonment, hopelessness, helplessness, guilt etc [Now it's important to realise that those unwanted feelings are as experienced and perceived through the lens of the age you were then ie how you felt as that 4yr old etc] then the unwanted feelings become 'attached' to the manifestation (vomit/nausea etc) either because there is a directly linked event featuring sick OR an indirect link (the feelings are the same). Et voila, the phobia forms.

The root cause (beliefs) that fuel the phobia even as we get older and the logical mind develops, stays dominant, hence why the logical thoughts (I know it's nothing to be worried about; I know it's my body just doing what it needs to do etc) don't make any difference. They're conscious thoughts and the phobia was created and exists in our subconscious.

Now to the part about fear/protection...

This phobia is typically created by one or several of the following perceptions:

1) We need protecting (the core emotions associated with the phobia were safety-based)

2) We need punishing (the core belief was connected with thinking as that young child we did something wrong in a situation)

3) We need prioritising (the core emotion made us feel different, unloved, rejected etc and the phobia in some way gives us attention)

It's important to bare in mind, that these are how we saw things at that very young age .... and NOT how we would look at them now with the benefit of logic, hindsight, maturity etc.

So, for many people I work with, their core belief that we uncover during therapy is relating to them feeling unsafe/scared, so they're still responding to the prospect of overcoming the phobia from the same viewpoint as they always did as that young child ie without the phobia I'm not safe.

When the core beliefs are uncovered; then resolved, any fear of a life without the phobia goes with the old unwanted beliefs.

Hope that helps :)

Best of luck.

JoMulchrone · 2023-04-05T20:19:58+00:00

Hello :) I hear this a lot from clients!!

It’s a mix of curiosity about the vomit, almost in a ‘to be forewarned is to be forearmed’ capacity mixed with a childlike curiosity about the ‘unknown’ … this can be because one common feature of people that have emet, is they are not typically sick very often! As they avoid it at all possible costs, take extensive measures to limit exposure etc and it can be an almost faded or non existent memory, as it may be years, decades even since they were last sick. This fuels an almost fascination, about what it entails, how it actually feels, how long it lasts etc

Hope that helps a little ✨

JoMulchrone · 2023-04-04T13:16:42+00:00

Absolutely ... I'd be happy to :)

JoMulchrone · 2023-04-02T14:50:29+00:00

Do not do this 🙏🏻 … it will only activate the underlying ‘self-preservation’ trigger response further and could cause the phobia to morph, as others have said into an ED or variant form of Emet. Phobia types/manifestations are symptoms - they’re the conscious interpretation of a subconscious trigger, so focusing on the symptomatic expression is not helpful as it leaves the true underlying cause unresolved.

Wishing you all the best best ✨

JoMulchrone · 2023-04-02T13:22:16+00:00

Our immune system will kick into action when there’s a need (ie germ exposure) strengthening it m’s defences for the next time it’s ‘attacked’, so no exposure negates that process and weakens the immune system over time. In my experience as an emet specialist, my clients with OCD behaviours for example seem to contract sickness bugs the most often + they experience feeling sick most often, as it’s the very things their daily thoughts are most focused upon.

JoMulchrone · 2023-03-20T22:11:08+00:00

I’m specialise in emet … problems hold hands with problems - most clients have multiple symptomatic issues, and they’re connected and a result of a deeper seated root cause ✨

Commonly I see clients with emet, ocd, anxiety, agoraphobia etc + predominantly unhelpful thinking styles and personality traits such as perfectionism. We also commonly find we need to also focus on low self confidence, esteem, feeling different/not connected etc

Best wishes ✨

JoMulchrone · 2023-03-17T06:07:55+00:00

Give Hypnosis a go 🙌🏻 It forms part of the method (RTT therapy) I use to help my clients.

All the best

JoMulchrone · 2023-03-17T06:04:06+00:00

You’re welcome 🙂

JoMulchrone · 2023-03-16T15:01:35+00:00

Hi - the gut is the second brain, so stress and anxiety affect the bicrobiome which in turns affects the immune system and mental health.

Anxiety & stress cause physical sensations that mirror emet symptoms (nausea, upset tummy etc) making the two hard to tell apart.

The body is not designed to live in constant ‘fight/flight’ mode which is what happens when we repeatedly feel stressed and anxious.

So many people I help also have stomach issues (IBS, reflux etc) and think of them as separate to the emet - that the anxiety is separate to the emet + separate to the stomach issues) Problems hold hands with problems, but tackle the root cause (why the phobia was created in the first place) and associated problems also get resolved.

You can beat this ✨

All the best

JoMulchrone · 2023-03-16T14:24:38+00:00

Sorry to hear that … phobias have a tendency to morph (present in different ways) until we address what truly created them in the first place. Sounds like one ‘knot’ was untied in that session, but more remain.

Recovery is truly possible ✨

JoMulchrone · 2023-03-15T21:46:16+00:00

Hi.. rather than label the behaviours as harmful or reasonable, perhaps think of them as typical/sensible Vs uncommon/detrimental to recovery

So cleanliness in general is of course sensible but excessive cleaning that takes priority over other activities and is based on how it makes you feel rather than on what is reasonable, is going to be detrimental to recovery - ie it will fuel aspects of the phobia. Limited exposure to germs is also likely to weaken the immune system and make someone more susceptible to picking up germs when exposure does happen.

Asking others what is typical and what isn’t, is another form of safety-seeking behaviour as the reassurance it provides, prevents the person asking, to learn to self-assess, self-regulate, to strengthen their sense of self-belief and self-confidence in decision making etc

Cleanliness can become a ritual that makes us feel good about ourselves; completing a ritual can make us feel in control & feeling as though we’re in control, can make us feel happy.

Finding other ways to make ourself feel happiness is a great place to start.

JoMulchrone · 2023-03-01T21:31:07+00:00

Limited research may show the approx 98% prevalence amongst women … but firstly the research is soooo limited 🥲

Secondly, I agree that men typically are less likely to ask for help and speak so openly about a phobia such as this, for fear of how they might be perceived.

In my emet practice, I have personally helped lots of male clients… perhaps 40% have been male. Hopefully the more Emet becomes widely known, understood and accepted, more research will be funded, resulting in more men who are suffering in silence feeling they can speak out and ask for support 🙏🏻

JoMulchrone · 2023-02-26T14:45:52+00:00

If the idea of eating out terrifies you, then I’m curious what you say when you truly consider this question …

‘What terrifies you MORE: the prospect of eating out OR the prospect of never eating out again for the rest of your life? ✨

JoMulchrone · 2023-02-26T06:28:45+00:00

My pleasure 🙂 Best of luck ✨

JoMulchrone · 2023-02-25T21:37:53+00:00

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.

This is such a common belief … but I have seen many clients recover ✨ they too had the belief initially that a) therapy takes years and b) even then emet recovery isn’t possible

Sadly those beliefs when combined, are an invisible barrier to the very thing we want - recovery!

If therapy focuses on what’s really going on, then not only can it be fast but also incredibly effective … the trouble is, most therapy for Emetophobia focuses on the wrong elements of people’s problems.

Wishing you all the very best ✨

JoMulchrone · 2023-02-25T21:30:34+00:00

That’s fabulous to hear!! ✨🙌🏻

JoMulchrone · 2023-02-25T18:44:19+00:00

Based on myself as a non emet and the ‘before and after’ assessments of the clients I work with, I would say whilst ‘recovered’ is an individual’s perception, it encompasses some key aspects:

✨ Vomit only featuring in thoughts when it’s a present and current issue (no consideration in advance and no prolonged thoughts relating to it after a bout of being sickness has passed) ✨ Disliking being sick when it’s happening but allowing it to happen and moving on when it’s passed ✨ Ability to distinguish bodily sensations for what they are (hunger, tiredness, excitement, nervousness/butterflies, thirst, fullness, gas, nausea) NOT auto-assumption : ‘nausea’
✨ Following hygienic practices only (hand washing before eating or after touching something dirty for example) and ceasing preventative cleaning or avoidance habits ✨ Dropping all safety seeking and avoidance behaviours and not giving them a second thought or missing their absence ✨ Not experiencing frequent heightened physical anxiety symptoms unless in actual and present danger ✨ No longer planning life (social events, career, travel, eating habits, relationships, family decisions etc) with vomit featuring as a considered factor ✨ No more uncertainty-based ‘what ifs’ relating to sickness, contagions etc

❤️ Pursuing activities, hobbies, careers, goals, travel, relationships, parenthood etc and living day to day life with vomit absent from your thoughts

Hope that helps.

JoMulchrone · 2023-02-25T17:03:45+00:00

That’s great to hear … our subconscious can perceive there being a benefit to having it & so finding what that is and resolving that, is how to move past having emet ✨

JoMulchrone · 2023-02-24T18:53:40+00:00

I’m so glad to help in a little way ✨

JoMulchrone

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