As anyone on here suffered with Emetophobia (a fear of being sick/catching a tummy bug)?
I bought a book called The Thrive Programme and I can see how it works and it does make sense (I've worked through the whole book and started again) but I can't seem to do it on my own. This condition is ruling my life now and I can't take much more.
I have a CBT appointment next week and I'm taking the book with me but the person that wrote the Thrive Programme said I shouldn't do this.
I know it's my stupid mind that is doing this to me but I can't seem to get it to stop.
Any replies would be appreciated. I might be slow in responding as I'll be out most of tomorrow.
A friend of mine suffered terribly with emetophobia, and saw a hypnotherapist which has helped her hugely. She goes back for a 'top up' every now and then but practises what she learnt and it's made such a massive difference to her life. She's not completely 'cured' but until I knew about emetophobia from her, I had no idea how constricting and debilitating and frightening it could be. So you have my sympathy - my friend would sometimes be caught unawares in a scene on tv or a film, and it was so horrible for her. Now she can cope so much better - she had trouble even eating in restaurants, or being on planes with food served, and even going to parties.
I really hope the CBT works for you, I think it could do much the same as the hypno, but if you can afford it and can google for someone who specialises in that sort of thing, I think it might help too. Take the book to the therapist and go with what they say, and also ask them if hypno would help too. I really think having phobias is something CBT works really well with.
Good luck.
Thank you Hidden for your very helpful response. I can certainly understand your friend, it's a horrible thing as it rules your life.
I've had children and now gave grandchildren as sometimes wish them older so they are less susceptible to tummy bugs, it's awful, I'm wishing their lives away, I should be enjoying them more. At the end of the day a tummy bug usually only lasts a few hours.
I'm so glad your friend is coping better, I had hypnotherapy quite a few years ago now and it worked to a certain degree but didn't cure me. I will mention hypnotherapy to the therapist though.
I'm looking forward to my appointment and am ready to work hard at it. Also, I will see if there are any specialists where I live, unfortunately the nearest Thrive consultant is approx. an hour's drive from me.
Once again, thank you for your reply and kind words.
xx