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’ve had the same issue for a few weeks now, it can be scary and tough but good news is you’re already in the right place. I’d talk with your therapist about doing ERP for swallowing and fear of choking. Keep trying even though it’s scary. It’s really important that you don’t stop trying!
@Anonymous How long did it take for it to get better?
@MichaelVu2010 I am still in the process of working on it. We spent the first 4 weeks trying to rule out any actual medical issues and once they said I was all clear we started working on ERP. It’s been about a week now and I’m hopeful! But that’s why I say don’t stop trying, I did and that’s why it’s taking me longer to get better! I wish I had started what I’m doing now weeks ago!
@Anonymous Ok thank you, im only 14 i don’t want to be malnourished.
@Anonymous Do you feel any better? Like the fear is going away? I think ill tell my psychiatrist about this on the 24th
@MichaelVu2010 I completely understand your concern for becoming malnourished, I have the same concerns. Really make sure you’re drinking water as much as possible even though it’s hard. I am starting to feel better now knowing that there is nothing medically wrong and the fears are getting less and less! I highly recommend you bring this up with your psychiatrist and bring up ERP as well. The only way out is through! You’ve got this, I wish you the best of luck!!
@Anonymous Ok thank you, ill give updates as soon as i tell my psychiatrist.
@Anonymous What have you ate that helps you control this fear?
@Anonymous Cause i was prescribed antipsychotics before i even had this fear but hopefully it helps.
@MichaelVu2010 Ice cream is a great option. You’re not going to choke on it! Any soft foods are good, like potatoes, smoothies, pudding, and protein shakes to help prevent you from getting malnourished. You can also purée most foods to be a soft easy to swallow texture.
@Anonymous Thanks! Ill make sure to use a straw to control how much i sip per drink.
@Anonymous Have you felt fear for drinking water too? Just curious
@MichaelVu2010 I absolutely do sometimes. It more just feels hard to swallow versus an actual fear of choking on water because it’s not a big deal if a little water goes down the wrong pipe. But I’ve found that if I push through with the water it gets easier. My problem is more that I am hyper aware of every throat sensation which makes normal sensations feel incorrect or uncomfortable, when in reality, everyone experiences them they just don’t think about it.
@Anonymous Thanks i even feel fear before im about to eat or just thinking of it.
@Anonymous Same with drinking, today i ate some greek yogurt because i heard it hydrates you.
@Anonymous Im scared to tell my parents about what im suffering.
@Anonymous Also eating mac and cheese today.
@Anonymous Have you got prescribed any medication?
@Anonymous Im sorry for replying to much its that im worried
Hi I’m new to this group. I’ve had ocd and very bad anxiety disorder since I was a kid and only got progressively worse as I grew up. I’m 26 now. I had some somatic/sensorimotor ocd while growing up and feeling or worrying about health concerns that aren’t actually there… anyway about 5 weeks ago I randomly started feeling like I had to go pee all the time? I don’t have any pain or anything just the horrible constant feeling like I need to go pee. I’ve gotten checked for a uti multiple times. My pcp suspects it could be being exacerbated by the anxiety because it’s so distressing to me it’s almost all I think about. My ocd has convinced myself that I now have some chronic bladder problem. I notice it’s not as bad at night when I’m relaxed (thanks to medication) and about to fall asleep. I just am so scared that it’s never going to go away and I’m going to have to deal with this for the rest of my life and I can’t do that…. Was just wondering if anyone else ever dealt with this symptom? I know our brains are powerful but sometimes it just feels so real. 😣😣
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
I have emetophobia. And have been battling with it for about a year and a half now. It stems from a trip I took with my high school where everyone ended up getting the stomach bug. I didnt have it so bad but I ended up feeling nauseous the entire trip (1 week long). And then every time I would eat food I would feel nauseous or unwell and had a strict clean diet for a while. It got to the point where I couldn’t attend school without feeling like I was going to vomit and pass out. I couldn’t even hear the word without getting anxious. I eventually got on lexapro and when that didnt work then I recently got on prozac. I have been talking to my therapist about my anxiety and she had initially thought it was a trauma response from the trip, but eventually came to the conclusion that it was a form of OCD. Like it was where I wouldnt eat something if it touched the counter or I wouldnt eat something unless someone else ate the exact thing a few hours before. I avoid red meat completely because it is slightly raw. I get panic attacks after eating something like a freaking cookie from Crumbl, because I would read reviews about someone getting sick from the uncooked dough. But it felt like before summer I was getting to a point where I could eat most things and not get too much anxiety. Until the other day. On my birthday at midnight I ended up getting sick like stomach flu sick like real bad and ended up in the er. I havent eaten anything since and am horrified to eat something. And my thoughts keep running and I dont know how to be normal anymore. I dont know how to have a relationship with food anymore. I am horrified. I spent the entire year just dreading this one day and it happened on my birthday. I am supposed to be in school but I don’t know how to function anymore. Please someone help, I feel so alone.
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