At wits end with throat sensation

[Primula]

Hello Primula glad to hear you're feeling better. If I may ask what were your symptoms? My doc prescribed me clonazepam which works okay and I'm thinking about switching to Valium

I still have the sensation but I've stopped worrying and focusing on it. Im feeling much better about it. The sensation is mostly one sided but sometimes in the middle. You can look back through my previous posts on this.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi Primula,

Some time ago I was reading about the use of Mindfulness in treating Sensorimotor OCD. That theme of OCD is all about focusing on controlling a normally automated bodily function like breathing.

What they were saying was that rather than work on stopping the compulsion (like in ERP) they encouraged entering a Mindfulness stage (probably via meditation) and then purposely watching the bodily process. The idea was to change the thought about it from needing to do to being comfortable with it just happening.

I thought that sounded useful for many things. I wonder if that could be of use in your case because it's clear you need to accept something that has been forced on you? You have little choice but to adapt to this new thing, so changing your thinking is going to be the real way just like it would be if you had a chronic illness (and therapy does get used in that circumstance too).

It was just a different way to the usual CBT style way. It sounded useful and from what I've seen of ACT, that seems big on accepting things as they are and not making them trouble you more by adding to them (pain doesn't equal suffering, for instance).

[Happyman168]

I still have the sensation but I've stopped worrying and focusing on it. Im feeling much better about it. The sensation is mostly one sided but sometimes in the middle. You can look back through my previous posts on this.

Thanks for the reply Primula, glad to hear you're feeling better. Just knowing that a muscle relaxer like diazepam can help diminish a sensation is relieving. I'm going to ask my doctor to put me on a trial of that considering I'm currently on Clonazepam.

[Primula]

Hi Happy man. I'm not taking diazepam/Valium now it was just a very short course to try to break the cycle. Be wary of using it long term. The way I've dealt with it is through acknowledging that it's there and not going to go just because I want it to. I've done lots of relaxation, also listening and believing what my doctor has told me. I'm also focusing outwards into the wider world. It's not easy but it can be done.

---------- Post added at 08:48 ---------- Previous post was at 08:43 ----------

Hi Primula,

Some time ago I was reading about the use of Mindfulness in treating Sensorimotor OCD. That theme of OCD is all about focusing on controlling a normally automated bodily function like breathing.

What they were saying was that rather than work on stopping the compulsion (like in ERP) they encouraged entering a Mindfulness stage (probably via meditation) and then purposely watching the bodily process. The idea was to change the thought about it from needing to do to being comfortable with it just happening.

I thought that sounded useful for many things. I wonder if that could be of use in your case because it's clear you need to accept something that has been forced on you? You have little choice but to adapt to this new thing, so changing your thinking is going to be the real way just like it would be if you had a chronic illness (and therapy does get used in that circumstance too).

It was just a different way to the usual CBT style way. It sounded useful and from what I've seen of ACT, that seems big on accepting things as they are and not making them trouble you more by adding to them (pain doesn't equal suffering, for instance).

Thanks Terry, really good post. I think that's what I've been doing lately. I've deliberately examined the sensation instead of trying to make it go away. I'm accepting that it's nothing sinister and accepting it's there and probably always has been but my focus has picked it out over the past 8 months. I'm finding as my anxiety is abating so is the sensation.

[pulisa]

Great to hear that you are doing so well, Primula. It's all about finding what works best for you x