Obsessive swallowing

[ManX]

I'm glad I found this thread too. I've had this problem for roughly 6 years. In the beginning it was just a preoccupation which started after a suspected nervous breakdown, I must have been in a fragile state of mind or in the grip of depression but at the time it was just a curious thing. I woke up one day and thought 'Why am I swallowing when I don't need to?'

It didn't have any real impact on my life until one day I was sent on a child care course and for whatever reason my focus went straight to my throat, the tension built up as the slides of child abuse clicked past, I was sat shoulder to shoulder in a full business hall and confounded myself for getting up grabbing my bag and jacket and leaving. Maybe this was the beginning of being defeated by it rather than just distracted.

I'm not sure what percent of it is me and what % is 'it' because it does seem to be beyond my control at times. It's crippled me, I know that sounds bad and I'm beginning to think it's just my judgement because you guys seem afflicted by it yet you still keep your faith.

I often say to my friend that if it wasn't for this swallowing thing, (I usually call it a tic) then I'd be a happy high-flyer but at the moment it has drained my personality and my dreams of teaching.

Sometimes I choke also, which scares people ****less! I hate myself for that but partly I also think 'Tough, you can't handle me, thats not my problem'. It makes me v.self-conscious.

I'm going to a psychological assessment soon by order of my parents as I'm in a serious rut. At 24 I have nothing to my name so I say bring it on, I'm cautious of drugs but I'm willing to try anything now!

damn you sound alot like me...just wanted to let you know,so you know your not the only one

[Jakobo]

I became extremely relieved when I read this thread, now I know I'm not the only sufferer of this horrible affliction. I am a 16 year old that live in the US, and I can still with great dread remember the first day it manifested itself within me. I woke up one morning when I was 9 years old I was flying to Corfu ( an island outside the Greece coast) three hours later with my family. I recall feeling a lump in my throat that just wouldn't go away, then hopelessness washed over me as a realised it would stay there forever. It was compulsory for me to constantly swallow something wasn't there, that after a while gave me headache.
It has ruined many aspects of my childhood. My social life has been the greatest loss. I used to be a happy boy that didn't hesitate to share things with other people or speak with them. Now with that lump in my throat, I hesitate to speak to people since I find it embarrassing that my voice suddenly cuts of when I swallow. I have isolated myself and become a quiet and depressed person who awaits the future with great fear: Will I ever meet a girlfriend who can stand my strangeness? Will I ever be able to work and communicate with people or will I continue down a road of self-isolation? Will I feel comfortable in social situations?
Worst is in classrooms, where I am afraid that the teacher will ask me questions and I won't be able to respond for an embarrassing period time.
I get nervous weeks before an oral presentation at school, since I always have to pause my reading to swallow.
During some periods of my life though, I have been able to subdue the violent problem, these times have been when I have felt confident or happy. I try to cherish the times, but as soon as I'm reminded of the swallowing , I am entrapped again.

PLEASE HELP ME, By giving me advice on how to handle it, it is destroying my life!!

[Lawrie]

Hi, I am new to this site and have suffered with excess swallowing also in the past. I found it hard to swallow, I used to stop half way, like it was a real struggle. I cant really describe it, but I suppose because I was thinking about it so much it became a chore. I would swallow so much it would give me wind and then sit there and be concious of a rumbling belly.

[ManX]

I became extremely relieved when I read this thread, now I know I'm not the only sufferer of this horrible affliction. I am a 16 year old that live in the US, and I can still with great dread remember the first day it manifested itself within me. I woke up one morning when I was 9 years old I was flying to Corfu ( an island outside the Greece coast) three hours later with my family. I recall feeling a lump in my throat that just wouldn't go away, then hopelessness washed over me as a realised it would stay there forever. It was compulsory for me to constantly swallow something wasn't there, that after a while gave me headache.
It has ruined many aspects of my childhood. My social life has been the greatest loss. I used to be a happy boy that didn't hesitate to share things with other people or speak with them. Now with that lump in my throat, I hesitate to speak to people since I find it embarrassing that my voice suddenly cuts of when I swallow. I have isolated myself and become a quiet and depressed person who awaits the future with great fear: Will I ever meet a girlfriend who can stand my strangeness? Will I ever be able to work and communicate with people or will I continue down a road of self-isolation? Will I feel comfortable in social situations?
Worst is in classrooms, where I am afraid that the teacher will ask me questions and I won't be able to respond for an embarrassing period time.
I get nervous weeks before an oral presentation at school, since I always have to pause my reading to swallow.
During some periods of my life though, I have been able to subdue the violent problem, these times have been when I have felt confident or happy. I try to cherish the times, but as soon as I'm reminded of the swallowing , I am entrapped again.

PLEASE HELP ME, By giving me advice on how to handle it, it is destroying my life!!

I cant really help you but i can say your not the only one,you sound also alot how i was and still am.it also killed my social life,im glad i dont have to go to school anymore lol
Dont worry about Gf's tho i had several relationships and they didn't even really notice it..also when u feel happy and stronger it usually seems to get alot less bad.

You gotta try to keep yourself distracted and not worry too much and think too much about it,be strong.Try to make yourself feel happy again.Support from a best friend might help

[ManX]

hmm nobody replied anymore,is everybody cured or something ??

[Jellie]

I've had the swallowing thing on and off since i was young, i remember waking my parents up in the night because it was making it difficult to breathe because i couldn't stop. I find i do this a lot when the room goes quiet now, which is why i can't really participate in meditation classes! It seems to help to have cranio-sacral therapy as it relaxes my throat and my head so i don't seem to want to do it as much. I did once get rid of it for a while and i was so pleased, but then i had a taster therapy session at an open day and it seemed to come back which was rubbish for sure. :-( I didn't realise how many people had the same sort of thing. Tis pants for sure..


-Jelliex

[scarlet27]

hi everyone..i once had this problem as well...i kept thinking about swallowing which led me to keep swallowing..i told my mom and she took me to the doctor and he said that my sinuses were draining and he prescribed medication for it but i always knew it was much more than just that..i eventually got over it and im sure it will pass...

[Richard_J_W]

Hi everybody,
I just want to say that I am yet another one who has found their way here, and with the same problem! It came on a few months ago when I started concentrating on my swallowing. I've also had the same issue with blinking and breathing before, but not too badly. As for the swallowing, it feels like I have a constant bit of saliva in my throat, but when I swallow the feeling remains.

The two times it really isn't good are in lectures at university (where I am worried someone will notice my swallowing) and in bed at night (where it stops me from getting to sleep). Again, for me it seems to come on when my mind has the chance to drift and focus on it (hence why it happens in the examples above), but not when I am fully active in something.

My Mum said that she had it before, and that, much like some of you have said, it went away at some point. It does seem like a kind of OCD thing going on, but the biggest factor seems to be life stress. It could be a good idea to read an anti-stress/depression book. I would suggest trying both the chewing gum thing mentioned, and having a bottle of water nearby, as I think these will help somewhat!

Glad, at least, to find that I'm not the only one. There certainly are a lot of us here, showing that this is a serious issue that needs bringing attention to! Good luck to everyone!

[mattmayer]

Wow... i don't know why i never thought to look online about this swallowing thing, i guess i figured i was the only one in the whole world with this weird feeling/obsession. gosh, it has been comforting knowing that there are others out there.. i say comforting but it also saddens my soul if you guys are going through what I have been. Has anyone heard of Sensory Integration Disorder? I thought that that was what this blinking/swallowing/throat thing may have been? I also have throat-clearing obsession, like something is caught in there, as well as this obsession with my lips which distracts me when i am trying to talk sometimes. I haven't had this one in a while so IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE KNOW THAT IT DOES GO AWAY! I know it feels like because it's the most prominent right now that it won't and our minds catastrophize with what if's but it will flee. I have been reading the posts and i now know that i am not the only one.. seems like that though, cause this stuff is so weird and deabilitating. I try to refocus but it just keeps coming back, i have noticed that trying to just accept the fact that i am not going to feel well helps. I have also noticed that Faith in our Almighty Creator brings me the most reassurance knowing that all of my suffering is being managed by him and that everything that comes into my life is stamped by Him. God is the not the author of evil, he is the author over it, over all diseases as well. But in his sovereign will, he allows things in our lives for His Purposes. No doubt that this swallowing feeling is one of the worst things to have to walk through and is a result of the fallen world that we live in..God is order, not disorder. I would encourage those that are believers in Christ to rest in his peace today and know that you are in his loving arms, even if you can't feel it. Our feelings are subjective, fleeting, the shallowest part of us, His Promises are objective and holy and trustworthy. His holy spirit is the only thing that helps me to even endure and not become embittered with life. If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, I would encourage all who read this to accept Him as your personal savior, the one who "heals all our diseases" "a sympathetic high priest" (Hebrews) who has been tempted in every way we have and suffered more than any of us can ever imagine. He knows.. and He cares.. and the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed to us (Rom 8) and that is where our only source of Emaculate Hope lies. I have learned the more i try to fix myself, the worse I make it. When i just go to Him, it doesn't necessarily relieve all the pain, but i know that i'm not alone.. ever. "I will be with you always, to the end of the ages." "come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden (that's us with OCD definitely) and I will give you rest. My yoke is easy, my burden is light."

matt

[tnt808]

Matt,

First of all Welcome to the site! I hope you continue to find it reassuring- and know that you are definitely not alone.

I know about Sensory Integration Disorder- my daughter has it...she is a seeker as well as an avoider. Meaning- she has to touch, lick, feel things as it fulfills her sensory needs...the avoiding comes when things are loud, or textures don't feel right to her. They see, think, taste, feel different than us.

I respect your faith and hope that you continue to feel comfort in it. I, however do not believe as you do and I wish you will respect that as well. My anxiety, pain, suffering- is not a test of faith, nor a trial that I must go through to prove anything to anyone...if that were the case- I have more than proven myself as well as most of us on here have. I mean no offense- I just don't want to feel I am suffering because of my beliefs or disbelief.

I wish you luck in this journey!