Issues | Danny Nuttall

Emetophobia and BWRT

by dannuttallbwrt1960 | Dec 7, 2023 | BWRT, Emetophobia, Phobia

Emetophobia is a phobia that causes overwhelming, intense anxiety pertaining to vomit. This specific phobia can also include subcategories of what causes the anxiety, including a fear of vomiting or seeing others vomit.

It is common for emetophobics to be underweight or malnourished due to strict diets and restrictions they make for themselves. The thought of someone possibly vomiting can cause the phobic person to engage in extreme behaviors to escape the perceived threat of that particular situation, in which the phobic person will go to great lengths to avoid even potential situations that could even be perceived as “threatening”.

Emetophobia is clinically considered an “elusive predicament” because limited research has been done pertaining to it.

The fear of vomiting receives little attention compared with other irrational fears.

The event of vomiting may make anyone with this peculiar phobia flee the scene. Some may fear someone throwing up, while others may fear themselves throwing up. Some may have both. Some may have anxiety which makes them feel like they will throw up when they actually might not. People with emetophobia usually suffer from anxiety; they often may scream, cry, or if it is severe, possibly pass out when someone or something has been sick.

BWRT will cure your Emetophobia by replacing the conditioned instinct in the Brain, with a healthy preferred emotion. So instead of the horror. You might experience calm indifference. The new response then becomes a hard wired permanent change.

Depression

by dannuttallbwrt1960 | Jul 27, 2020 | Depression

• Depression affects different people in different ways
• If you think you might have depression you can speak to your GP
• Depression may be treated with medication and talking treatments
• Self-help techniques, peer support groups and coping strategies can also help
• Different things can lead to depression. Your upbringing, stressful events and your lifestyle might all have an effect
• If you feel low, getting enough sleep and eating healthy foods might help. It might also help to keep active, even if you don’t feel like it

You might have heard a number of terms used to describe depression. In this section, we explain what some of these terms mean.

Clinical depression

Clinical depression is a common term, but it is not a formal diagnosis. People sometimes say ‘clinical diagnosis’ to just mean they have been diagnosed by a doctor.

Depressive episode

Your doctor might say that you are going through a ‘depressive episode’. This is the formal name that doctors give depression when they make a diagnosis. They may say that you are going through a ‘mild’, ‘moderate’ or ‘severe’ episode.

Recurrent depressive disorder

If you have had repeated episodes of depression, your doctor might say that you have recurrent depressive disorder. They may say that your current episode is ‘mild’, ‘moderate’ or ‘severe’.

Reactive depression

If your doctor thinks that your episode of depression was caused by particular stressful events in your life, they may say that it is reactive. For example, divorce, job or money worries. This is sometimes separated from an adjustment disorder, where you may struggle with some symptoms of depression because of adapting to a major change in your life. Such as separation from people, retirement or migrating to a new area.

Severe depressive episode with psychotic symptoms

If you are going through a severe episode of depression, you may get hallucinations or delusions. A hallucination means you might hear, see, smell, taste or feel things that aren’t real. A delusion means that you might believe things that don’t match reality. These symptoms are called psychosis.

Dysthymia

Your doctor might diagnose you with dysthymia if you have felt low for several years, but the symptoms are not severe enough, or the episodes are not long enough for a doctor to diagnose recurrent depressive disorder.

Cyclothymia

Your doctor might diagnose cyclothymia if you struggle with persistently unstable moods. You might have several periods of depression and periods of mild elation. These periods of depression or elation are not severe enough or long enough to diagnose recurrent depression or bipolar disorder. It is a common illness which affects more than 1 in 10 women within 1 year of having a baby. You may get symptoms that are similar to those in other types of depression.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

This type of depression affects you at the same time of year, usually in the winter. The symptoms are similar to depression, but some people find they sleep more rather than less, and crave carbohydrates like chocolate, cakes and bread.

Manic depression

Manic depression is the old name for bipolar disorder. It is a different illness to depression. People with this illness have highs (mania) and lows (depression).

Before commencing treatment of Depression with BWRT, I always email the clients Doctor to get permission to progress.

BWRT for Anxiety

by dannuttallbwrt1960 | Jul 22, 2020 | Anxiety, BWRT

We don’t fully understand what causes anxiety disorders. But it is thought that the following factors can cause anxiety:

Genetics

Some people seem to be born more anxious than others. You may get anxiety through your genes.

Life experience

This could be bad experiences such as being bullied or losing a loved one. It could also include big changes in life such as moving home, losing your job or pregnancy.

Drugs

Caffeine in coffee and alcohol can make you feel anxious. Illegal drugs, also known as street drugs can also have an effect.

Circumstances

Sometimes you know what is causing your anxiety. When the problem goes, so does your anxiety.

This section provides an overview of the most common types of anxiety disorders.

• Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)
• Panic disorder
• Social anxiety disorder
• Phobias
• Agoraphobia
• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Skin picking
• Hair pulling
• Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)
• Post-traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD)

Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)

GAD is common. The main symptom of GAD is over worrying about different activities and events. This may feel out of your control. You feel anxious a lot of the time if you have GAD. You might feel ‘on edge’ and alert to your surroundings.

This can affect your day-to-day life. You might find that it affects your ability to work, travel places or leave the house. You might also get tired easily or have trouble sleeping or concentrating. You might have physical symptoms, such as muscle tension and sweating.

It is common to have other conditions such as depression or other anxiety disorders if you have GAD.
GAD can be difficult to diagnose because it does not have some of the unique symptoms of other anxiety disorders. Your doctor is likely to say you have GAD if you have felt anxious for most days over six months and it has had a negative impact on areas of your life.

Panic disorder

You will have regular panic attacks with no particular trigger if you have panic disorder. They can happen suddenly and feel intense and frightening. You may also worry about having another panic attack.

Panic disorder symptoms can include the following:

• An overwhelming sense of dread or fear
• Chest pain or a sensation that your heart is beating irregularly
• Feeling that you might be dying or having a heart attack
• Sweating and hot flushes or chills and shivering
• A dry mouth, shortness of breath or choking sensation
• Nausea, dizziness and feeling faint
• Numbness, pins and needles or a tingling sensation in your fingers
• A need to go to the toilet
• A churning stomach
• Ringing in your ears

You may also dissociate during a panic attack. Such as feeling detached from yourself.
Certain situations can cause panic attacks. For example you may have a panic attack if you don’t like small places but you have to use a lift. This doesn’t mean that you have panic disorder.

Social anxiety disorder

Social anxiety disorder is sometimes known as social phobia. Lots of people may worry about social situations but if you have social anxiety you will have an intense fear or dread of social or performance situations. This might happen before, during or after the event.

Some common situations where you may experience anxiety are the following:

• Speaking in public or in groups
• Meeting new people or strangers
• Dating
• Eating or drinking in public

You may be worried that you will do something or act in a way that is embarrassing. You might feel aware of the physical signs of your anxiety. This can include sweating, a fast heartbeat, a shaky voice and blushing. You may worry that others will notice this or judge you. You might find that you try to avoid certain situations. You might realise that your fears are excessive, but you find it difficult to control them.
Your GP will ask you questions about your symptoms, and might ask you to fill out a questionnaire. This will help them find out how anxious you feel in social situations. They may refer you to a mental health specialist for a full assessment.

You can ask for a telephone appointment with your GP if it would be too difficult for you to see them in person.
Phobias

A phobia is an overwhelming fear of an object, place, situation, feeling or animal. Phobias are stronger than fears. They develop when a person has increased feelings of danger about a situation or object. Someone with a phobia may arrange their daily routine to avoid the thing that’s causing them anxiety.

Common examples of phobias include the following:

• Animal phobias, e.g. spiders, snakes or rodents
• Environmental phobias, e.g. heights and germs
• Situational phobias, e.g. going to the dentist
• Body phobias, e.g. blood or being sick
• Sexual phobias, e.g. performance anxiety

Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia is a fear of being in situations where escape might be difficult. Or situations where help wouldn’t be available if things go wrong. This could be the following.

• Leaving your home
• Being in public spaces
• Using public transport
• Being in crowded spaces

You might find that these situations make you feel distressed, panicked and anxious. You may avoid some situations altogether. This can affect day-to-day life.

Agoraphobia can make it difficult to make an appointment with your GP to talk about your symptoms. You might not feel able to leave your house or go to the GP surgery. You can arrange a telephone appointment if you have symptoms of agoraphobia. A GP will decide on the best treatment options for you depending on what you tell them.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

You will have obsessions, compulsion or both if you have OCD.

• Obsession – An obsession is an unwelcome thought or image that you keep thinking about and is largely out of your control. These can be difficult to ignore. These thoughts can be disturbing, which can make you feel distressed and anxious.
• Compulsion – A compulsion is something you think about or do repeatedly to relieve anxiety. This can be hidden or obvious. Such as saying a phrase in your head to calm yourself. Or checking that the front door is locked.
You might believe that something bad will happen if you do not do these things. You may realise that your thinking and behaviour is not logical but still find it very difficult to stop.

There are different types of OCD, which include:

• Contamination – A need to clean and wash because something or someone is contaminated
• Checking – The constant need to check yourself or your environment to prevent damage, fire, leaks or harm
• Intrusive thoughts – Thoughts which are repetitive, upsetting and often horrific
• Hoarding – Not feeling able to throw away useless or worn out items

Speak to your GP if you think you have OCD. They should discuss treatment options with you. Or you could try to self-refer to an NHS talking treatment service.

Skin Picking

Skin picking is medically known as dermatillomania. It is an impulse control disorder. You will regularly pick at your skin. Often you will pick healthy skin. This can cause damage to your skin, including bleeding, bruising and sometimes permanent marks. You will usually pick the skin on your face, but might also pick other areas of the body. You might find it difficult to stop yourself doing it.

No one knows the cause for skin-picking. It is thought that it could be a type of addiction. Or it relieves tension and stress. It is common to have OCD and dermatillomania at the same time.

Your GP may arrange for you to see a specialist mental health doctor like a psychiatrist for diagnosis.

Hair pulling

Hair pulling is medically known as trichotillomania. It is an impulse control disorder. You feel the urge to pull out your hair if you have this condition. This can be from your scalp or other places such as your arms, eyelashes, legs or pubic area. You might find it difficult to stop yourself doing this.
You might experience a build-up of tension which you can relieve by pulling out the strand of hair. You might not even be aware that you’re doing it.

It can be difficult to stop, which can lead to hair loss. This in turn can make you feel guilty, embarrassed and affect how you feel about yourself or how your friends and family see you.

Your doctor will look at the following to diagnose your condition:

• You repeatedly pull your hair out, causing noticeable hair loss
• You feel increasing tension before you pull your hair out
• You feel relief or pleasure when you have pulled your hair out
• There are no underlying illnesses, such as a skin condition, causing you to pull your hair out
• Pulling your hair out affects your everyday life or causes you distress.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

You might have PTSD if your anxiety symptoms were caused by a threatening life situation. Such as a train crash or fire. You can feel anxious for months or years after the event even if you weren’t physically harmed at the time.