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Fear of choking on food

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Liam36009
Liam36009

Hi guys I am an anxiety sufferer all my life, I'm now 33 but over the past month I have been worrying about choking on food so I have been avoiding solid foods and eating things like soup, soft cheese and yogurts. I was never a big person to begin with and over the past month I have lost about 8 pounds and my clothes are becoming loose on me and I look skinny. How can I get over this phobia of choking as it's really affecting my life? Thanks.

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1 Reply

  • wil87982
    wil87982 Liam36009

    Posted

    HI Liam firstly Im really sorry youre suffering with anxiety i have anxiety disorder and i know hoe bad it can get so i understand

    but i also understand everyone is different / different fears different phobias different triggers etc .

    is there anything that may have occured around the time you started to have a fear of choking? maybe your anxiety was particularly high for external reasons (life stressors / family drama)?

    the reason i ask is because sometimes i find it particularly difficult to swallow when VERY anxious and it can have a "knock on"

    effect afterwards Somwtimes I can feel like my whole throat is unable to swallow anything as "i might choke" when in reality its this cursed anxiety

    i remember reading something by DR claire Weekes years ago that stayed with me.

    she was talking with a client with the same issue and gave him a biscuit to chew (NOT to swallow just chew in little pieces) As they continued to talk every now and then she would ask her client to bite another little bit of biscuit and just chew . AND BEFORE he knew it the client had actually eaten the biscuit through small bites and distraction by talking with Claire . it was all about perception and how the client felt so choked all the time but when at ease chatting and nibbling without the worry of trying to swallow that helped

    MAYBE this may be of hemp to you? it often helps me whrn i feel unable to swallow for fear of it "sticking".

    please let me know how u get on and know u are not alone

    kind wishes

    .

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