Do any of you have problems eating and swallowing food b/c of panic and anxiety? I find when I am panicky or anxious, which is most of the time, if I try to eat anything solid I have trouble swallowing and I end up making myself choke. I'm concerned!!!
I should note that about 4 years ago I was home alone and choked on a caramel, and was able to dislodge it, but I really thought I was going to die for a little while there. Could the panic be bringing this memory back subconsciously when I am trying to eat and making me feel like I will choke? Sometimes I do end up choking, so eating can make me even more panicky when I am already feeling messed up...
I too have a difficult time swallowing when I am panicy. I feel like the food is getting stuck and I can't get it down and then get more panicy because I think I am going to choke- UGH. I have found the only way to help me deal with it is to just take a second when I start to feel this way and slow down and then I am able to swallow better. Also sometimes if i touch my neck like where my throat feels like it can't swallow it helps- weird, I know. Anyway, hope this helps.
When I'm feeling anxious and panicky, I gag a lot and sometimes dry heave. I do this when I'm not eating so you can imagine that when I do try to eat something while anxious, it's pretty much impossible.
This happens to me. I can hardly eat at all when I'm having an anxious period. In fact, I survived the last two weeks mostly on smoothies and Ensure beverages.
I think this is pretty common as I've seen it mentioned on anxiety boards many times.
Ok, well, I do feel better knowing it is not just me, but still sad it happens to us at all. I can stand to lose about 60 pounds, but not being able to eat is not the way I wanted to go about doing it. Just another issue to try and calm down now - ugh. It can be done!!! Thanks all
I went through a phase of doing exactly this. Suddenly when I was eating I would think I was choking, or about to choke, and I would start to panic which, of course, made it all the worse. I never actually was choking, mind, I was just really scared. Now, however, I take all the precautions: I chew food properly, I don't laugh or talk whilst chewing, and I sit up properly when I eat. Also, I learnt about what to do if I really did start choking. I don't worry about it all anymore. I suppose after a while (about a month) I just thought "look, I haven't choked, I can swallow normally, why are you worrying about it?" So there you go.
