Ever felt like your tongue is too big for your mouth?

[SG]

I don't know if this is even a symptom of anxiety, but I had a very weird experience after I felt really anxious and worried. All day I was tensing my shoulders and neck and kind of biting my tongue. And then suddenly my tongue started to feel like it somehow didn't fit correctly in my mouth. Instead of sitting behind my bottom teeth as it should, the edges of it were sitting between my two sets of teeth so that when I tried to close my jaw, I was biting my tongue at the back. Because my tongue felt so weird and uncomfortable, i couldn't keep it still and kept moving it around and trying to make it feel "normal". This resulted in more tension. I would describe it as my tongue feeling restless. It lasted about two full days. I then tried to just forget about it and ignore it and it went away.

I kept telling people "my tongue feels too big" and they thought it was like when your tongue swells up from an allergic reaction but it wasn't like that at all. my tongue was not physically bigger, it just felt like it didn't fit in my mouth. Anyone else?

[loveletter]

Yes have had this a few times over the years even felt like I may choke on it a few times.
It is anxiety I know it is really hard but thinking about it all the time mmakes it much worse

[PanchoGoz]

Now this sonds like a peanuts cartoon someone mentioned on here once. It went like this:
Charlie Brown's sister came in and found him with his hand around his throat. She said "whats the matter you moron??" he said "I've just realised I have a tongue and I don't like it" and she just called him an idiot. But then later she suddenly realised she too had a tongue. She was very angry and chased him around.
Sometimes, you just notice these things. A few months back I was in a panic because I couldn't escape from my nose. Its wierd. But when you forget about your tongue, it will feel normal again. You will go through stages of noticing things you have never noticed before in your life and each time you will forget about it in the end. And maybe it feels restless because you are thinking about it and feels big because its a bit swollen from the extra movement. Do something with it like eating or talking to use up the energy.
Take care.

[nomorepanic]

Yup I have had this too - very annoying

[tonguebiter]

yes! just on the off chance, i typed in the phrase. had no idea what i would encounter. but i am constantly biting my tongue, just talking (so embarrassing when that happens, it's usually in the middle of a good story and i stop and die for a moment) or sometimes just thinking, and lots of times when eating. i thought maybe the phrase would come up with a surgical or physical therapy solution, had no idea it is a stress symptom....to some....don't know if that's the case for me. i'm overweight, i half expected someone would go, your tongue gains weight too y'know. it's just so uncontrollable!

[katielou80]

when i had my cbt for my health anxiety, this was one of the things she used to show me that how much we think of one body aspect we can imagine things. she told me to sit there and shut my eyes and imagine that my toungue was too big for my mouth! low and behold it was!!! its our brains she was explaining to me.

[K1rsty]

Yes when I think about my tongue I also get this. Also when I am conscious of my swallowing I can start to think I can't swallow.

[Heyheyhey]

YES! This is a regular feature of my anxeity/panic...

What i tend to do is press my tounge against the roof of my mouth. I do it without even thinking, but then it sort of stiffens, and all of a sudden i find i cant talk properly (really really frustrating in socail situations) , and it takes real concious effort to un-stick it.
Sometimes i've resorted to pulling weird faces to try and make it go back to normal. However, this feels really uncomfortable and can be a wee bit embarassing ... My preferred solution though is just to not force it, distract myself, sit and ride it out. Once i'm distracted enough i can start yammering away without even noticing its gone back to normal.
Recently, an odd thing has happened with it, though. Its become such a normal part of my anxiety, that once i register its happening im able to distance myself from the experience. Its such a familiar feeling - its like: "Oh, my tounges gone weird again. Must be anxiety. Here we are again." ... and then i can go about distracting myself. Maybe its 'cos its one of the less scary symptoms? Your tounge behaving weirdly is a lot less frightening than forgetting where you are!

Good to know its not just me, too! :)

[Billythestar]

I don't have that big tongue but I can't pronounce the sound of the letter s well.. Sometimes it sounds like th sound. I'm planing to get a surgery. Is it possible? anybody can tell me a solution?

[enough_is_enough]

Yes, I know of someone who has a similar on/off problem.
thanks for people input.

[RicoS]

How do you get rid of it? :shrug: