Emetophobia

Background: and objectives: Specific phobia of vomiting (SPOV) is a chronic, pervasive and debilitating disorder which is clinically regarded as difficult to treat. Research into its development, maintenance and treatment has been limited. This study explored the prevalence and characteristics of intrusive mental imagery in people with SPOV. It investigated the relationship between presence of imagery and severity of phobia. Method: Thirty-six participants meeting DSM-IV criteria for SPOV were recruited from online support groups and outpatient clinics. A semi-structured quantitative interview was administered. Results: Twenty-nine (81%) participants reported multi-sensory intrusive imagery of adult (52%) and childhood memories (31%) and worst case scenarios ("flashforwards") of vomiting (17%). Extent of imagery was significantly related to severity of phobia. Participants primarily fearing others vomiting had less severe phobic symptoms. Limitations: No control group was used and a heterogeneous sample of clinical and community participants was recruited. Correlational data comparing extent of imagery with severity of SPOV symptoms were derived from as yet unvalidated measures. Conclusions: Intrusive mental imagery is a clinically important feature of SPOV and may contribute to its maintenance. Causality needs to be demonstrated.

Background: and objectives: Specific phobia of vomiting (SPOV) is a chronic, pervasive and debilitating disorder which is clinically regarded as difficult to treat. Research into its development, maintenance and treatment has been limited. This study explored the prevalence and characteristics of intrusive mental imagery in people with SPOV. It investigated the relationship between presence of imagery and severity of phobia. Method: Thirty-six participants meeting DSM-IV criteria for SPOV were recruited from online support groups and outpatient clinics. A semi-structured quantitative interview was administered. Results: Twenty-nine (81%) participants reported multi-sensory intrusive imagery of adult (52%) and childhood memories (31%) and worst case scenarios ("flashforwards") of vomiting (17%). Extent of imagery was significantly related to severity of phobia. Participants primarily fearing others vomiting had less severe phobic symptoms. Limitations: No control group was used and a heterogeneous sample of clinical and community participants was recruited. Correlational data comparing extent of imagery with severity of SPOV symptoms were derived from as yet unvalidated measures. Conclusions: Intrusive mental imagery is a clinically important feature of SPOV and may contribute to its maintenance. Causality needs to be demonstrated.

Aims: To explore whether the phenomenology and co-morbidity of a specific phobia of vomiting (SPOV) (also known as “emetophobia”) might best fit within the group of obsessive compulsive and related disorders. Method: Case review of individuals who were assessed for a SPOV (n = 83). Results: Sixty-two per-cent of cases reported being markedly or very severely preoccupied by the fear that they might vomit. A majority of people with a SPOV reported either often or always conducting repetitive behaviors such as compulsive washing; reassurance seeking; self-reassurance, counting or superstitious behaviors to prevent vomiting; checking others for signs of illness or checking sell-by dates. Cases that had more frequent hand washing were associated with higher scores on standardized questionnaires for a SPOV and a later age of onset. The diagnosis of OCD formed the highest degree of comorbidity. Conclusions: The results have implications for future research into the nosology and treatment of a SPOV.  Clinicians should assess for repetitive behaviors in a SPOV and include them in a formulation and treatment plan. Future research should conduct prospective studies to determine which aspects of the phenomenology of a SPOV might best fit under OC and related disorders.

The following questionnaire is about measuring the severity of the fear of vomiting and vomit OVER THE PAST WEEK. Please read each question carefully and, on the 1-5 scale below indicate your response by circling the appropriate number next to each question. Please try to answer as many question as you can without using the 'unsure' response.

Background: Vomiting is an almost universal phenomenon, but little is known about the aetiology of a specific phobia of vomiting (SPOV). The associations with vomiting during childhood and autobiographical memories may have relevance for our understanding of the development of SPOV and its treatment. Method: Two groups: (a) a group with SPOV (n=94) and (b) a control group (n=90) completed a self-report questionnaire assessing their lifetime memories of both their own vomiting and others vomiting. Results: People with SPOV recalled the memories of their own and others vomiting experiences from an earlier age and rated them as significantly more distressing than the control group. There was no difference between the groups in the number of memories of their own vomiting recalled before the age at which vomiting became a problem. However, the SPOV group recalled more memories of others vomiting before the onset of the problem. After the age at which the phobia became a problem they recalled less memories of their own vomiting and more memories of others vomiting than the control group. They recalled significantly more memories of vomiting associated with inter-personal events, health consequences or unrelated life events. Conclusions: Avoidance and hyper-vigilance for others vomiting after the onset of the phobia may have slightly reduced the risk of vomiting. There is some evidence for associative learning in SPOV with aversive consequences of vomiting and an unrelated life event. It suggests a model of autobiographical memories of vomiting that have lost a time perspective and context, which are being reactivated with cues for vomiting. The limitations of the study are those of memory biases in both groups.

A survey of individuals was conducted on self-diagnosed vomit phobics compared to panic disorder and non-clinical controls. Vomit phobics were overwhelmingly female and had had symptoms for over 25 years. They were significantly more likely to fear themselves vomiting (in public and private situations) than fear others vomiting. The vomit phobics interpreted sensations of nausea as impending vomit and had a wide range of safety seeking and avoidance behaviours that were maintaining their fear. Although the vomit phobics reported feeling nauseous more often, there was no difference in their frequency of vomiting compared to the control group. The clinical implications of the study for therapy are discussed.

This study explored subjective well-being among white females with emetophobia disorder (n = 20, married = 50%, age range 20-25) . The participants completed self-report measures of gastrointestinal symptoms, as well as the Gastrointestinal Symptom Severity Index and Gastrointestinal Symptoms-Related Subjective Well-Being Scale . They also responded to an open-ended question on their coping with emetophobia disorder-related gastrointestinal symptoms . Results following exploratory descriptive analysis suggest that females mostly experience gastrointestinal symptoms of stomach discomfort with belching, followed by respiratory circulatory symptoms . They reported coping with their emetophobia disorder by utilising medical and behavioural control measures . Emetophobia disorder lowered the women's sense of subjective well-being from its exacting demands of managing related gastrointestinal symptoms .

The aim of this study was to explore the eating behaviour in people with a specific phobia of vomiting (SPOV) and whether those identified as restricting their food had a greater degree of psychopathology and impairment than those who do not restrict their food. Method: We recruited 94 participants with a SPOV. They were divided into those who reported restricting their food (SPOV-R) (n= 32) because of their fear of vomiting and those who did not restrict (SPOV-NR) (n=64). Results: People with SPOV frequently have abnormal eating behaviours to reduce the perceived risk of vomiting. Only 3.7% had a Body Mass Index of less than 17.5 and 8.5% had a BMI of less than 18.5. The SPOV-R group had significantly higher frequency of psychopathology, abnormal eating behaviours than the SPOV-NR group.

The term emetophobia (i.e., a fear of vomiting) exists as rather an elusive predicament, often eluding conventional treatment. The present study involved 149 participants, consisting of 51 emetophobics, 48 phobic controls (i.e. those who suffered from a different phobia), and 50 nonphobic controls. Participants were administered the Rotter (1966)