Excess saliva you keep needing to swallow -anyone else?

[TimetoTurn]

I have had really extreme anxiety the last week or so, and I keep getting breathless attacks but another annoying thing I keep getting is tonnes of saliva feeling like it's trickling down my throat.
I now have post nasal drip to add into the mix but wondering did anyone have this swallowing thing? Sometimes I can't eat properlybecause I feel I need to swallow!

[EKB]

Oh did I ever! When my anxiety was at it's peak, my mouth was constantly watering. I swallowed so much that I gave myself gas pains so bad that I thought I had something really wrong with me, and it made my throat ache.

I find sipping water or tea through the day really helps by rinsing away the saliva and giving you more to swallow than just saliva and air. When I'm anxious, I constantly have water or tea with me. I also find mentally reminding myself that I don't actually need to swallow every 30 seconds helps - and you don't. Even when your mouth is watering, you can just let it water for a bit before swallowing. When I started meditating this time around, I realized that when I was meditating I'd go a full 10 minutes without feeling the need to swallow at all.

Ultimately, the excess saliva will pass as your anxiety lessens. But it is an annoying and disconcerting symptom.

I do get post nasal drip as well (pretty much chronic at this point because of my crummy sinuses). Depending how bad it is I've found warm showers help, again drinking lots of water and tea (hydrating thins the mucous and lessens your need to swallow), and for awhile I used saline sinus sprays and a neti pot (that takes screwing up your courage a bit, the saline sprays are gentler). Last resort for me was decongestants because they make me feel like I'm vibrating.

So yeah, you are definitely not alone with the swallowing and the saliva. It's a common symptom, and it's no fun.

[Pipkin]

Yes, yes and yes :yesyes: This happens to me when I'm anxious. Whilst it's not easy, the best thing to do is try and ignore it. The more you think about it, the more it happens.

Stop yourself swallowing and your mouth seems to stop watering. Distract yourself and it also stops. It's all driven by the brain and the best approach is to accept it and ignore it.

Pip

[TimetoTurn]

Thank you for the replies! It's such a weird symptom! I'll def be using your tips!

[RosieBelle]

Oh yes I get this! Its really annoying and a common symptom of anxiety. Distraction is good as it keeps your mind off of thinking about your throat. I find sucking on a sweet or chewing gum helps too. Also you can just try and accept it and think 'oh here's this swallowing thing again, but it's just annoying and not going to hurt me'.