What are the causes of emetophobia in children
Emetophobia in children usually occurs between the ages of 6 and 10 years of age. In a lot of cases there may well be no identifiable cause of your Childs vomit phobia.
There are some causes of emetophobia that are well known and they are :
If the child has suffered a severe case of vomiting between these formative years, they could develop emetophobia, especially if at the time the parent or guardian showed signs of panic or disapproval. Also, the child can develop emetophobia if they were a witness of severe vomiting in others due to illness or pregnant mothers, or even alcoholic parents.
The actual act of vomiting at the time may not have been that severe, it is the reaction in the Childs mind to the event that embeds the fear of vomiting into their unconscious mind. This is why many adults who are emetophobic cannot recall why or how they got the condition in the first place without regressive hypnosis.
Although emetophobia is not a hereditary condition, if any of the Childs parents has the fear of vomiting phobia then this can be passed on to the child as a learned phobia.
What are the symptoms of emetophobia in children
The symptoms of children who have developed emetophobia are various and include :
- mood swings
- Talking a lot more about vomiting with a parent when they never discussed it before
- Seems to be developing an obsession with stomach upsets
- Possible overreaction to another person talking about vomiting
- Avoiding friend or family member who is sick and also not wanting to talk about it
- Are exhibiting other odd behaviors that are difficult to explain & have never been seen before
- Sudden onset of food pickiness and narrowing of choice of food, usually coupled with much smaller portions required than before
It is important to note that just because your child is showing one of the symptoms above this does not automatically confirm that they have the condition. It is when more than one sign is repeated consistently that there is probably a case for the child having emetophobia.
A tell tale sign of an emetophobic is if they suddenly develop “crutches” that they need to carry around with them. Examples include antacids, vitamin c tablets, peppermint sweets, ginger candy and pills, charcoal biscuits and a whole host of other stomach associated pills. The emetophobe will carry their crutches everywhere as they believe they can prevent and control any possible vomit event that may occur.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been proven to be an effective emetophobia treatment for many emetophobic sufferers and a competent practitioner should be sought through the Childs physician. An informative post on what CBT is and how it can help treat emetophobia can be found by clicking here : Emetophobia and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
If the parent prefers a more self help approach then we would recommend the excellent book by Tamar Chansky.
Titled : Freeing Your Child from Anxiety: Powerful, Practical Solutions to Overcome Your Child’s Fears, Worries, and Phobias
This book not only tells you what to do with your Childs illness but also explains how to go about it in a child friendly way. Even if you decide you do not want to practice the ideas in the book with your child it will give the parent a good understanding on what the child is going through.