Emetophobia is the fear of vomiting and for those unfortunate to suffer from it, living with the condition can create some life changing hurdles. In an attempt to avoid being sick, sufferers of emetophobia will go to some extremes in order to prevent themselves from vomiting.

Such extremes may include restricting what they eat, therefore changing their diet, prevention of becoming pregnant if female, and avoiding social situations that may lead to vomiting. An emetophobic will go to such lengths to train their body to not be sick that they lock themselves into a very lonely world where the risk of depression is highly probable.

Many people with emetophobia learn how to disguise their phobia well, so much so that you would be completely unaware of any unnatural behaviour. How they manage to avoid those situations that may cause vomiting is quite remarkable but can become tiresome for the individual. Often emetophobics are mistaken for bulimics or anorexics, given their fussy behaviour around food.

It is said that emetophobia is the fifth most common phobia but awareness of the condition has made it difficult for patients to get help and support. Therefore, if you are able to identify any of the strange behavioural symptoms of emetophobia in someone, it is important that you encourage them to share their secret. By helping someone share their fear, you can actually help them to make a life changing positive improvement to not only their physical and mental health but also the quality of life they live.