Everything throat related causes anxiety

[Dissolved girl]

Hi there

So my anxiety has manifested through my throat. Literally it started with my teeth, then my tonsils and now it's my throat.
I get anxious over tickles in my neck thinking i might have a hair stuck in my throat. I freak out about lumps when i swallow. I get freaked out about food getting stuck in my tonsils
Sometimes i get a horrid taste in the back of my throat which i believe to be tonsil stones so i looked into it and now I've discovered we have a tonsil at the base of our tongues and now i'm freaking out about food getting stuck there! If i swallow and get a bad taste in my mouth i have a mini panic attack

I have no idea why this is such a fixation for me but getting panicky about everything throat related is stressing me out big time. I feel like i can't enjoy anything any more.
I don't know why the concept of 'stuck' food bothers me so much. I don't know if it's a fear of choking or the irritation. Sometimes i get scared to eat because of some/all of the above and i'm worried i'll end up with a phobia of eating

Someone please say something positive? Anyone else get the same?
Thanks

[ZigZag]

Hi there, sorry to hear you are having throat related anxiety. I have had swallowing related issues for about 18 months and found myself obsessing a little over it. It's really hard once you get anxiety over a specific thing not to think about it all the time. I have found that once my attention has been grabbed by something else my throat 'symptoms' lessen.

I have a deep seated fear of anaphylaxis which has translated into a fear of choking/throat swelling up. I started actually choking (only slightly, occasionally) on my own saliva or whilst eating sloppy food/drink and of course my anxious mind conjured up all sorts of reasons eg. MS, oesophagus cancer etc. etc. Doctors thought the most likely reason was acid reflux which was irritating the larynx which on reflection I think is probably the case, however, for 18 months I have been very conscious of these symptoms every time I eat and anticipate them. This is making it worse.

Anxiety is such a powerful influence on how we feel. I know someone who was extremely stressed for a whole day at a difficult event and the next day her legs collapsed from under her and she felt like she was having a stroke. She was taken into hospital but nothing was found. Scans, tests were all clear. It was anxiety related.

This is how stupid anxiety can be - when I was younger I used to worry about chemical poisoning - yes, a bit weird. Anyway, if I started feeling light headed or dizzy (almost certainly due to chronic hyperventilating) I immediately attributed it to some chemical poisoning, eg. if I was brushing my teeth I thought that the toothpaste was contaminated etc. etc.

Anxiety is just an emotion and it has control over us, our minds just follow with some invented stories to back it up.

I know it's really hard to break the cycle but one thing that helped me was mindfulness meditation. I don't know how it works, but just the act of regular meditation seems to calm the mind.

It's also helpful to try CBT - cognitive behaviour therapy. Anxiety is an emotion that is difficult to switch off, it's such a powerful one. We can try to change our thoughts though. Every time your emotions start kicking in, try to rationalise with yourself. You know that your fears are irrational. Oh, and don't scour the internet for symptoms, it feeds anxiety. We're all guilty of it - yes, I have spent many hours feeding my anxieties, but it makes things so much worse.

Good luck, I'm sure there is nothing wrong.

[Dissolved girl]

Thank you for your response

God, it's horrible isn't it?
Anxiety is like you say such a powerful emotion
I find it so strange how one minute i am totally obsessed with something being wrong - so much that i have convinced myself over it and then the next day i couldn't care less

I have been trying CBT although it's so difficult when your in the grip of anxiety to try and convince yourself out of it. It definitely helps though

I think i am slowly getting better although this is due to me upping my dose of Sertraline again. Sometimes i wish i could deal with this anxiety on my own and not need to rely on medication. I was thinking the other day how amazing it would be to never have anxiety again. Urgh, one can only dream

Thanks for your response