Bella Ramsey Says This ‘Intense’ Fear Kept Them From Leaving The House For Months

Bella Ramsey said they once suffered from an “intense” fear of vomiting that left them stuck in their house for months as a teen. 

While appearing on the The Louis Theroux Podcast this week, the Last Of Us star revealed that battling emetophobia (an intense fear of vomiting or seeing others vomit), made them see “everything outside [as] a threat.” 

“The concept of having a stomach bug or having norovirus is enough [to activate the phobia],” they explained. “It’s such an all-encompassing fear. It’s the unpredictability…” 

Bella said their emetophobia got so intense around the age of 13 that they felt they “couldn’t leave” the house” adding that “the only safe place in the world was home, and even that wasn’t safe at times in terms of germs”. 

The Game Of Thrones alum said that the phobia caused them to hyperfixate on sickness and to “see germs”. 

“You go out ... it’s like you can see germs, you see like sickness, everywhere,” they claimed. “Terrifying … it used to affect me on set as well.” 

Bella continued: “Say, if I’ve been in contact with someone who has got norovirus, for the next like two weeks, it’s a thing of monitoring how I’m feeling.

“Like, what if I go out and go on the tube and then the symptoms come and I start to feel unwell? Now I throw up on the Tube, and how bad is that?”  

At one point, Bella said they felt so consumed by having emetophobia that they thought they “would rather die than throw up”.

They told the host that they sought help for their phobia by reading a book called The Thrive Programme written by Rob Kelly. They shared they don’t feel emetophobic anymore, but admitted they still have “a slightly stronger reaction to vomit than the average person” and are “more averse or afraid of it”.

Listen to Bella Ramsey’s appearance on The Louis Theroux Podcasthere.

Help and support:

• Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
• Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
• CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
• The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
• Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.