GrahamH
20-08-15, 21:41
I've suffered with various anxieties since my late teens over 20 years ago. A fear of choking started about 7 years ago, and became very bad after a wisdom tooth extraction. It eventually went, though I don't quite know why. I've had reoccurrences of the problem, and has been very bad recently again following a dental procedure (though I think the problem has come from trying to swallow pills for pain relief, and not the procedure itself). But recently I seem to have turned a corner. I've done much research on this issue, and what seems to be working for me is to ensure my mouth is closed when I'm trying to swallow. My problem is that I sometimes take a breath when swallowing which can cause me to choke, particularly when drinking, so closing my mouth is obviously helping.
In fact I think I have a problem with mouth breathing in general (i.e. breathing through my mouth rather than my nose). So I'm trying to make a conscious effort to just breathe nasally (i.e. just breathing through my nose) which is also having a calming effect on me overall. Interestingly, I have mild sleep apnea, and reflux issues, which I've read can also be caused by mouth breathing. Anyway, if you're suffering from a fear of choking, do try to make sure your mouth is closed when you want to swallow.
Good luck everyone.
In fact I think I have a problem with mouth breathing in general (i.e. breathing through my mouth rather than my nose). So I'm trying to make a conscious effort to just breathe nasally (i.e. just breathing through my nose) which is also having a calming effect on me overall. Interestingly, I have mild sleep apnea, and reflux issues, which I've read can also be caused by mouth breathing. Anyway, if you're suffering from a fear of choking, do try to make sure your mouth is closed when you want to swallow.
Good luck everyone.