Here, I outline several case histories of sufferers I have helped. Hopefully they will help you see you are not weird or alone. Indeed there are many hundreds of thousands, if not millions) of fellow silent sufferers out there - and yes, you can be treated!

Whenever someone comes to see me for emetophobia treatment, they say something like "I know where it comes from, I was sick when I was ten years old and it scared me so much that I have been terrified of throwing up since then". But normally the root cause was much earlier in life and the conscious mind has either forgotten it or at least the strong emotions experienced at that time. It is rare for someone to fully remember the initial incident. If they had, their conscious mind would have worked it out years ago and would not have left them with the traumatic subconscious feelings now experienced.

In all the case histories below, the client did not have vivid conscious memories of the incidents. The following information was revealed under hypnosis:

Case History 1:
A.M. was afraid of flying, travelling on public transport and eating in public. Whilst in hypnosis, the following was revealed: She was around 6 years old on a day trip with her primary school. They were visiting a funfair and decided to go on a fast and twisty ride. The motion of the ride made her feel dizzy and she was violently sick in front of everybody. Her emotions at that time were not only of discomfort but very strong feelings of acute embarrassment. Her subconscious revealed her deepest fear was to put herself in any situation in the future where she may be sick.

Case History 2:
C.S. had a lifetime dream of being a bridesmaid. Eventually the chance came at the age of 27 when her best friend announced she was getting married and she wanted her as a bridesmaid. Was she pleased? No - absolutely terrified - "what if I am at the front of the church and I feel sick and I have to run past all those people, be sick on the floor and ruin the day for everybody!".

In hypnosis, the following information was revealed: She was around 3 years old lying on the settee. She didn't feel too well but her parents were going out to dinner and her grandmother was there to look after her. Her mother picked her up to give her a goodnight cuddle and she was sick down her dress. Her mother was fine about it and said she would go and change, but her father got very angry and started shouting at her mother that they would be late and that the evening would be ruined. Even as a very young child she felt the tension within this scene - her father was angry, the evening was ruined and she felt incredibly guilty about being the cause of this hostility. In adulthood, as well as suffering from emetophobia (people get really mad at you if you throw up), she became a 'people pleaser' avoiding conflict situations wherever possible. She was a perfectionist and did whatever she could for those around her to ensure they never got cross with her.

Case History 3:
T.A. was terrified with the thought of being sick. She had gone to the most extreme lengths for as long as she could remember to avoid being sick. She would never eat out, even at a friend's house. She didn't drink, eat chicken, 'foreign' food and would clean her house obsessively.

Whilst in hypnosis, the following came up: She was sitting on the floor in her bedroom at the age of two years old. She had drunk a bottle of Ribena juice drink rather quickly followed by some biscuits. She threw up violently, producing red coloured vomit and shouted for her mother. Upon entering the room, her mother screamed in shock thinking that the child was coughing up blood. The panic that followed traumatised the young child so much that even as an adult, the thought of being sick fills her with terror.

Case History 4:
G.V. had a general fear of illness. She showed hypochondriac tendencies and was restricting her life with rituals to avoid getting ill. She travelled on trains with difficulty having to look at each and every passenger in turn to see if she thought they were ill and if there was a chance she could catch whatever they had.

Hypnosis revealed the following: She was 3 years old on a boat trip with her family. The sea was rough and she felt queasy. Her uncle, a large, gentle and calm gentleman picked her up and held her over the side. She was sick and felt OK about it until the uncle started shouting the mother's name in a loud  panicky voice and also turning her away from himself. "There must be something wrong with me. My uncle never raises his voice, he has turned me away from him...I must be really ill - am I going to die?" The uncle was in fact worried about his suit getting splashed but this point was completely missed by the scared three year old.

Case History 5:
S.B. was a 'people pleaser'. She boasted the fact that she hadn't been sick since the age of eight. Hypnosis revealed her in a scene at the age of two years old and sitting up at the kitchen table. She was sick down her clothes and her mother shouted at her "haven't I got enough to do washing and cleaning without you making more washing for me - you bad girl!"

Hypnosis revealed the above situations but how does Regression Hypnotherapy then go on to successfully treat emetophobia