- Date posted
- 1y
Choking Phobia
I ate a sandwich and choked a bit on it and now I have a choking phobia. Having a hard time eating. Anyone else going through this?
I ate a sandwich and choked a bit on it and now I have a choking phobia. Having a hard time eating. Anyone else going through this?
I've dealt with this on and off since childhood. Back then it always happened in the cafeteria, related to some social anxiety. I don't have any great answers at the moment, other tjan gradual exposure and easy-to-eat foods in the environments that trigger the fear the most. (Like soup/chili/yogurt/etc)
And also staying hydrated, always having water nearby while you do those exposures. Helps your throat stay have better conditions to begin with. :) You've got this and you aren't alone.
@em__ Are you able to eat better now without the fear of choking?
@Audrey/33 Overall yes, much better. Once in a while that old fear pops up in a new social setting, where I get hyper aware of my throat/sensations. But it's not as intense as childhood. I also never took meds until the past 3 years. Zoloft has made a big difference for me with physical symptoms of anxiety and some sensory fears.
@em__ Definitely consult your therapist/a clinician as well. Throat tension and swallowing challenges are surprisingly common, I learned. And alsl very treatable ✨️
This happened to me recently. I choked on sushi and now every time I get sushi I’m anxious that I will choke again. I think it is a fear of embarrassment more than a health fear, but I still feel that worry!
@Anonymous Let me add, I choked on the sushi like 3 years ago, but I still panic
@Anonymous Yes it is an awful worry, it’s worse when I am eating out. I actually seen a man choke in front of his family. He survived but it was traumatizing. It’s only sushi you have a fear of right? Any other food?
@Audrey/33 Mostly sushi. Or anything that’s difficult to chew, steak or chicken that is dry:/ I refuse to eat steak
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@Rita D. That is what happened to me too right now with my dad, he died a few months ago and literally 2 days ago I found out my friend died. Thank you for this comment it really helps me. I am forcing myself to eat now.
@Rita D. I am so sorry I missed this. A lot better now by God’s will but still have it. It just sucks because now I feel like all my themes are merging together.
Recently, I’ve been struggling a ton with what I eat/put into my body? I’m a first year college student with a few different health issues (including IBS), and lately it’s been hard for me to find food on campus that doesn’t upset my stomach. I also have pretty severe emetophobia, and feel extremely anxious when I feel sick. The ironic thing is that being anxious makes me feel even worse, so I end up sticking myself in an impossible loophole. My OCD has taken hold of these fears over the past few months, and it’s been such a struggle. Especially since people have been getting food poisoning from various dining halls on my campus lately. My OCD has gotten so bad that sometimes I’m too afraid to eat food other than what I buy myself. I feel so trapped. I don’t want my OCD to affect my physical health or prevent me from eating, bc I love eating!! It’s the fear of getting sick that’s the problem. And it’s even harder when everything is so unfamiliar. Just wondering if anyone could relate. Advice is appreciated!
Hello, Yesterday I’ve suddenly had problems with swallowing and my anxiety. like im scared of choking and would have a panic attack every-time i try to swallow food or water. Is there anyway to treat this?
i’m not trying to ask for reassurance but is this ocd? I’ve had religious OCD Harlow city and pure OCD before and I’m still going through it but basically today I was putting on lipgloss and it got into my mouth and it was like a overwhelming flavor. It tasted gross and then I choked on my spit and I have a sore throat right now, but I choked on my spit and ever since that it feels like there’s so much saliva in my mouth and it feels like hard to like catch my breath like the feeling you get when you’re like, gasping for air after choking that’s kinda how I’m feeling without like the gasping part but it just feels like I’m like swallowing on command and I’ve had like breathing fixation before so I don’t know if this is just like fixating on my swallowing but it’s bothering me and I don’t know if it’s cause I have a sore throat but yeah basically kind of feels like I’m drowning like inside my mouth like there’s just like so much saliva in my mouth and like I have to swallow like every second and I just feel like I can’t breathe when I swallow for some reason kinda
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