The Emetophobia Free Podcast

In this week's episode, host Michelle Johnson sits down with Theresa Saludo, an ex-emetophobe living in Sydney, Australia. Theresa shares the one thing that really changed things for her, and it wasn't more exposure to the thing she feared. It was learning to tackle the inner critic and get on her own team. Understanding the Critical Voice How many times a day do you think you put yourse...

This episode highlights a common misconception around social anxiety. It is often thought socially anxious people are shy, reserved and likely to avoid public situations. When in reality social anxiety is often much more subtle.  Examples include: Dreading a phone call, rehearsing what you'll say at the checkout, worrying what others think of how you look, worrying you've said the wrong...

This episode centres around the concept of Emetophobia forming part of a person's identity. Identity as defined by Erikson, E. H. (1968), is a coherent sense of self that develops over time.  Once a person has created Emetophobia, it can become all consuming very quickly so that many people start to identify as 'an emetophobe' and then struggle to understand or ever imagine who they...

In deze eerste Nederlandstalige podcast over emetofobie delen Thrive Programme coaches Lisanne Prooij en Sophie Hintzbergen hun inspirerende verhalen over het overwinnen van hun extreme angst voor overgeven. Zij weten als geen ander hoe het is om met emetofobie te leven en niet volledig begrepen te worden door je omgeving. Lisanne ontwikkelde emetofobie op haar 15e. De constante angst voor buikgri...

How often do you tell yourself: “I can’t handle this” or “That would be absolutely awful”?  Once a day? Ten times? Every time you feel slightly nauseous? In this episode, Michelle Johnson and Samantha Marker explore how language quietly fuels emetophobia and how changing your words can begin changing your fear. Because your inner voice isn’t just background noise… it’s running the whole show.  Eme...

Do you avoid exercise because of your fear of being sick? Do you fear you will accidentally push yourself too hard and vomit?  Or do you fear you will see someone else be sick while exercising? Do you also find exercise disheartening because you never feel fit enough or good enough? This episodes delves into the relationship between emetophobia and exercise. Michelle Johnson is joined this week by...

In this festive episode, Coaches Michelle Johnson and Joy Ferguson discuss specific strategies for managing emetophobia during Christmas gatherings. They emphasise the importance of understanding that emetophobia is not actually about sickness, but rather an interplay of limiting beliefs and thinking styles that can be tackled without exposure.  The conversation covers practical tips for setting b...

 We have had lots of incredible guests on the Emetophobia-Free podcast but today's guest Sophie is truly exceptional.  Sophie's Emetophobia started at a young age and was so severe that she spent the full 7 years at CAMHS. Sophie's Emetophobia was so debilitating that she was unable to leave the room without the assistance of someone else and at one point she made an attempt to end...

‘Don’t be embarrassed by anything, because this is a real thing, and you are not the only one suffering!’ are the supportive words of advice from long-term Emetophobia sufferer and Grandmother Deb.  Deb first remembers struggling with the phobia as a young child. During her childhood, Deb experienced her father suffering with the same fear. She also recognised his resistance to seeking any help fo...

Research suggests that the majority of Emetophobia sufferers are female but Kane's inspirational story shows that it can affect anyone. Kane developed emetophobia while serving in the royal navy in his 20’s and the phobia got progressively worse over the years.  In Kane’s words, his life with emetophobia was ‘bland’. He didn’t get excited, didn’t enjoy partaking in experiences and didn’t know...

In today's episode, Melina discusses her experience with severe emetophobia. Melina’s anxiety began at a very young age and after 10 different diagnoses of mental health issues, Melina finally discovered her true struggle of emetophobia. This had been missed due to lack of knowledge and understanding.  Once discovering that she wasn’t alone, Melina began her journey to becoming emetophobia-fr...

We receive many emails from people who are suffering from Emetophobia alongside a diagnosed medical condition (IBS, Crohn's disease, POTs, Celiac disease to name but a few). Many are concerned that their diagnosis will stop them from overcoming the Emetophobia and so are reluctant to engage in the programme.  In today's episode, Sam Marker and Michelle dive into why a medical condition i...

Coach Chloe joins Michelle Johnson on this week's episode to discuss her tumultuous journey through the programme with her daughter Ava who was suffering with Emetophobia. Despite supporting Ava as best she could through the programme, Chloe was struggling to see the progress in Ava. It was only once Chloe turned the spotlight inwards did she discover the barriers that were preventing herself...

In today’s emotional episode, ex-police officer and Kindergarten teacher Steph joins Coach Michelle & Coach Lauren discuss Steph’s journey to becoming Emetophobia-free.  From her career as a police officer turned Kindergarten teacher, to being a mother, to simply cooking, all of it was impacted on a catastrophic level by Emetophobia. Nights were a key area of hardship for Steph, which she desc...

In today’s episode, Debi Morgan joins Michelle Johnson to discuss her journey of supporting her granddaughter through the Emetophobia-free programme. Debi discusses the best ways to support family members who are experiencing emetophobia, pitfalls they may experience along the way and tips on how to avoid them! Debi’s granddaughter began showing signs of emetophobia at the age of 11, despite spend...

In today’s episode, Coach Matt and Coach Michelle discuss the power of our imagination when it comes to overcoming emetophobia. If you're not actively using your imagination to help you, it will likely be working against you... so get comfy and get ready to really explore what it means to use our imagination well. The power of our imagination Michelle discusses the use of imagination in overc...

We were delighted to welcome Emetophobia-Free Thriver of The Year 2024 winner Sarah to join us on the podcast!  Sarah shares her story of overcoming emetophobia with just the Emetophobia-Free manual. The phobia began for Sarah at 12 years old when she experienced an episode of public sickness. The embarrassment Sarah felt caused her to create avoidance techniques in all areas of her life to try an...

It seems like an obvious question doesn't it... but the unhelpful thinking styles and limiting beliefs shared by emetophobes the world over often create doubt and uncertainty when it comes to knowing if they are over their emetophobia or not... so let's dive in! How do you know when you’re over Emetophobia? Emetophobia is experienced when you are plagued with negative thoughts surroundin...

In this episode Shannon shares her long journey to discover the root cause of her physical pain, nausea and discomfort. From a young age, Shannon was living with almost constant nausea and a belief that she had something wrong with her, and was returning to doctors for years of testing! She was given an IBS diagnosis but Shannon knew deep down this wasn’t what she was experiencing... Shannon wasn’...

Navigating life as a parent when your child is suffering from Emetophobia can be really difficult. Claire shares the difficulties she faced while helping her daughter through Emetophobia and how the pressure of the situation took a toll on her sense of self and identity. This is an inspiring story of a mum who dedicated so much of herself to her child that she lost herself along the way and had to...

In this episode Michelle Johnson is joined by Coach Samantha Marker to talk about the 6-8 week timeframe mentioned in the programme. The podcast is incredibly reassuring with the main message being that recovery within 6-8 weeks is entirely possible but if that isn't your journey then there is nothing wrong with that. Your journey is as unique as you are but because the programme is entirely...

Sunneva is a single mum of two boys who was aware of her Emetophobia from a very young age Her initial reaction would be to run away from each situation involving sickness, whilst creating anxiety and panic. Despite her emetophobia, Sunneva became a mother to two boys, however was suffering to navigate the life of motherhood whilst her phobia controlled her.  Perfectionism was dominating Sunneva d...

Welcome to a very heartwarming episode!  Ex-emetophobe Emma joins ex-emetophobe and Emetophobia-Free coach Michelle Johnson to talk all things pregnancy and sickness bugs. Since overcoming their fears, both Michelle and Emma have fallen pregnant AND experienced a sickness bug! Both women have an amazing story to tell and are here to tell you that no matter what you might currently believe, you can...

Anne’s Emetophobia years:  Anne experienced her Emetophobia for around 50 years before overcoming it. She used to believe her phobia began because a student was sick on her during a school assembly, which lead to her becoming ill herself. Anne’s belief became ‘if someone else is sick around me ill, be sick too’. Anne recognised how low her self-esteem really was, and how much she hid her phobia fr...

When Annabel’s daughter Charlotte started to complain of regular stomach aches and nausea, as well as expressing difficulty remaining in the school environment, at around the age of 7, Mum Annabel was at a loss. Charlotte was taken to many doctors appointments, which involved blood tests and investigations. However, no medical procedure or professional was able to answer for what was going on for...