Hmm... I hit "Submit New Thread" and my post disappeared instead of posting. Maybe I did something wrong so I'll try again.
Hmm... Nope, didn't work, I get a "duplicate post" error when I try to post a second time. I'll make some changes and see if that will work. Perhaps the original one is stuck in the twilight zone lol.


Hi Everybody, I really hope this helps someone.

Up until April 4 of last year when I woke up one morning and realized that I was no longer living in fear of vomit, I was so extremely emetophobic for 15 years (maybe longer) that I could not even join a support community like this because if someone wrote a word I didn't like or shared an experience that scared me I would get triggered and my fear would be made worse than it already was, and that was something I simply could not handle. I couldn't fight my fears and all of yours too - no offense. So I isolated myself and read a lot.

These 4 random books that have nothing to do with emetophobia specifically, are what taught me how to stop being terrified of vomiting and how to stop living each day terrorizing myself. The best way I can describe my emetophobic life in one sentence: I lived through many horrible stomach viruses that never actually happened. And I had IBS - really bad.

Within one week of changing my diet to a whole foods plant-based diet (I do eat a little meat but very occasionally) the diarrhea and all my other IBS digestive issues went away and haven't come back. It's amazing what a diet of whole real food can do to heal a gut. Getting rid of IBS helped a lot because every time I had a dreaded *D* attack I would panic thinking it would lead to the even more dreaded *V* attack. That's what I used to call it. Not having IBS anymore meant no more chronic nausea, no more scary abdominal cramps and pains and noises, and no more running to the bathroom so often and not having those symptoms meant I didn't fear vomiting as often. I would say being cured of IBS automatically cured half of my emetophobia. That freed up a lot of head space, time, and energy to work on the other half of my fear that wasn't gone yet.

The four random books that have nothing to do with emetophobia that ended up being the recovery answer to my emetophobia problem:

1. Scream. Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear.
By Margee Kerr - Sociologist / Fear Expert
The cover glows in the dark and has a "do not be afraid" warning sticker lol which is kinda cool.

2. The Daniel Plan Jumpstart Guide (small booklet). Healthier Steps to a Healthier Life.
By Rick Warren, Daniel Amen MD, Mark Hyman MD
The 5 essential steps are: Faith, Food, Fitness, Focus, Friends.

3. Internal Affairs. Emotional Stability in an Unstable World.
by Dr. Larry Hutton

4. The Forks Over Knives Plan. A 4-Week Meal-By-Meal Makeover. How to Transition to the Life-Saving, Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet.
By Alona Pulde, M.D., and Matthew Lederman M.D.

Obviously I did not just read these books, I actually did what they said to do and how they said to do it. Also obviously, this is what worked for me but I have no way of knowing if it will work for you and I have no professional qualifications to recommend anything for anyone's mental or physical health. The only reason I'm posting this is because I know how defeated, hopeless and alone I felt when nothing seemed to work. I did the whole therapy and medication thing and each time I got my hopes up that *this* therapy or *that* medication was going to rid me of this phobia, I was always crushed when nothing ever really changed in any significant or sustainable way. The message I want to impart to you is this: Do not let anybody tell you that there is no cure for this phobia and do not believe that you can't overcome it. You absolutely can - you just have to find what works for you, and your recovery might come in the most seemingly unlikely random way, just like mine did. So don't give up! Keep searching, keep trying, but don't waste your time on what isn't working.