If you suffer from anxiety disorders, you may sometimes feel like you’re choking. More often than not, this is a psychological symptom… even though it may feel absolutely physical. There’s a good chance your choking is induced by nothing other than a fear of choking, fueled by underlying anxiety disorders.
It may sound awkward to some who has experienced this unpleasant sensation, but in such circumstances the anxiety and choking can both be dismissed with something as simple as going for a walk or doing breathing exercises. In fact, there are various strategies you might want to try using to overcome anxiety induced choking… the most important strategy is of course trying to be unafraid, and remember that really people don’t choke for no reason.
There is something else that it’s very important that you keep in mind, during one such episode: if your choking is indeed caused by anxiety, being afraid that you choke will actually make your throat close up. The irrational fear that something will clog your throat and make you choke and die from asphyxiation can go a long way to make you feel unable to breathe. Regardless, you need to remember that unless there is something stuck in your throat, you really won’t choke.
Even if your anxiety actually induced choking to the point where you would indeed lose your consciousness… that wouldn’t necessarily be a life-threatening situation. Just as soon as you would faint, your body would instantly get back control of its own processes, and your throat would immediately clear up. You would be fainted, but still breathing; that is the worst case scenario with anxiety and choking, in case you’re wondering.
If you have problems with anxiety and fear choking, there’s something extremely important that you always need to remember: your throat won’t close by itself, unless your mind commands it to. You will not choke for no reason, unless your brain convinces your mind that you are absolutely about to choke. When you feel as though your anxiety is choking you, just focus on breathing as gently as possible and progressively deeper, and by all means take your mind off the choking sensation.
