Vomit Phobia – Fear of Vomiting (Emetophobia)

Posted by in Agoraphobia, Health Anxiety, Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Panic, Phobias, School Refusal, Social Anxiety Flu season will be quickly upon us and with it comes an unfortunate increase in the likelihood of experiencing fevers, coughs, runny noses, vomiting, and the like. Although no one enjoys being sick, this time of year poses particular challenges for individuals suffering from “vomit phobia”, or emetophobia, the fear of throwing up. The fear of vomiting can affect individuals of all ages. It sometimes emerges in childhood and, if untreated, may follow a relatively chronic course. However, it can also develop well into adulthood, sometimes taking root after a negative health experience (e.g., after getting food poisoning or after experiencing an episode of severe or uncontrolled vomiting). Vomit Phobia in Children and Teens Consequences associated with the fear of throwing up can be extreme. In children, vomit phobia can lead to school refusal and avoidance. Academic performance may suffer, and children may miss out on certain developmentally important social milestones. If a child or teenager is afraid of getting nauseous or throwing up, he or she may avoid birthday parties, sleepovers, dating, and eating out at restaurants. Missing out on these activities can affect relationships and impact social development, which may lead to chronic social impairments. Even when longstanding social problems do not develop, children with vomit phobia still experience a great deal of unhappiness, fear, anxiety, and distress. Fear of Vomiting in Adults Adults with the fear of vomiting may also be significantly impaired by their symptoms. They may have more absences from work and may avoid work-related travel, which can affect opportunities for advancement. They will often dread meetings, during which they may feel trapped and uncomfortable, and may avoid certain job responsibilities like public-speaking or presenting.  This can leave otherwise bright and capable individuals stagnating in jobs that are beneath their true capabilities. Vomit phobia also affects travel for leisure and dining out, and can wreak havoc on romantic relationships. Women with the fear of vomiting may experience extreme distress at the thought of becoming pregnant and experiencing morning sickness. Women with the fear of morning sickness may delay starting families, and some may choose to never have children at all due to the fear of recurrent vomiting during pregnancy. Clearly, this can have profound and lasting effects on one’s life. What is Emetophobia? Emetophobia is defined as an excessive or irrational fear about the act, or possibility, of vomiting. However, this relatively straightforward definition...
read more

School Refusal & Parental Stigma: Am I a Bad Parent?

Posted by in School Refusal Like any other behavior, school refusal does not have a singular cause. This is pretty self-evident, but in the heat of the moment when your child is having a tantrum, this fact is quickly forgotten. It is simply too easy to conclude that you have raised a “bad child.” Sadly, much of society might wrongly agree with you. For many, the term “school refusal” has automatic negative connotations. Although school refusal is a behavior that has many different potential causes, it often gets lumped together with rebelliousness, conduct problems, and oppositionality. This is unfortunate because many cases of school refusal do not actually involve any of these factors. Am I a Bad Parent? Parent Social Stigma in School Refusal. Regardless of the origins of your child’s school refusal, it is important to consider a separate parent-related factor that maintains school refusal: your fear of being perceived as a “bad parent”.  Although parental stigma does not cause the development of school refusal, it can certainly feed the problem.  Your fear of how others might perceive you or your parenting skills might unwittingly cause you to reinforce your child’s school refusal. Because many parents value education and pride themselves on having well-behaved, well-adjusted children, it can feel embarrassing when your child is refusing to go to school.  Parents of school refusing children often feel isolated and frustrated and may attribute school refusal to their own parenting failures rather than to outside factors that may be contributing to the situation. For many first-time parents (or even “experienced parents” who have younger children who are temperamentally different than their older siblings), school refusal can cause one to question his/her own fitness to parent.  Shame, guilt, and fear of personal embarrassment then leads parents to be less-than-forthcoming with school staff about the true reasons for their child’s excessive absences.  On school refusing days, they may call their child in “sick” in order to avoid contributing to academic difficulties (e.g., receiving zeros on assignments). Many parents also errantly assume that all other households are more harmonious than their own, and they often won’t disclose school refusal issues to other parents and friends for fear of being viewed as incompetent. The fear of being perceived as a bad or ineffective parent can cause many parents to make poor in-the-moment decisions that ultimately backfire. If your child’s carpool is waiting outside, desperation can lead to the use of ineffective strategies like...
read more

School Refusal Causes (Social & Anxiety-Related Factors)

Posted by in School Refusal With the summer quickly fading to black and the academic year looming largely, we will soon be entering the season of school refusal. When I use the term “school refusal,” I’m not talking about that once-in-a-blue-moon occasion when a child forgets about an important test or project and decides it’s easier to feign illness than face the music. That’s pretty typical for nearly all kids, and it doesn’t necessarily establish a pattern of problematic behavior. What I’m talking about is school refusal that is pattern-based, recurrent, and results in academic or social impairment. For assessment or treatment of school refusal, feel free to contact me at my private practice, which services Palm Beach (Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach), Fort Lauderdale, and Miami. What causes school refusal? Why do kids refuse to go to school? School refusal is not a random event. There’s usually a reason for why your child might resist going to school. However, reasons for school refusal are many and varied, and may require some genuine detective work to get to the root of the problem. Fortunately, school staff (e.g., teachers, school counselors, and school psychologists) are often able to provide you with some useful clues. Common Reasons Why Children Refuse School 1. Sometimes, children and teens may have undiagnosed learning disabilities or ADHD symptoms that make schoolwork feel punishing. Even when these issues are present from an early age, highly intelligent children are often able to reach middle school, high school, or even college without apparent problems. As coursework becomes more complex, concentration and organizational issues then become readily apparent. School refusal evolves as a means for avoiding uncomfortable school-related situations. 2. Maybe there’s a bullying situation that makes school feel frightening and uncontrollable for your child. If not detected and addressed early, the effects of bullying often get worse over time. This can leave your child isolated and alone, as most other students (even your child’s friends) will have a hard time siding with your child over the bully. This can quickly shrink a child’s self-esteem and result in severe depressive/anxious symptoms. 3. Perhaps there are social problems that make school uncomfortable or unpleasant. These may include fights with friends or boyfriends/girlfriends. Some children are also less sophisticated at making or keeping friends, or exhibit a paralyzing amount of shyness that leaves them feeling inhibited and socially isolated at...
read more