Please help. Really struggling.



Hi Amber,

Since you have had all the tests and that hasn't reassured you, I don't really know what some stranger on the internet can say that will reassure you.

I don't mean this is a harsh way, I have health anxiety myself and for years I asked for reassurance on forums. I finally discovered that any reassurance you get is very short lived because the problem is not in the symptom/illness or whatever, the base problem is anxiety and if that isn't treated, no amount of reassurance will ever be enough.

I wish you the all the best and hope you can get help with your anxiety x

Hi, I know what you are going through. One of the symptoms of my anxiety is difficulty swallowing/eating, and then increased heartrate/sweating once done, like my body is responding to having a gun held to my head or something. It's crazy.

What I did was I started observing myself while I was eating. I found out that I was eating too quickly, then panicking about eating, clenching my stomach, and spiraling further out of control. What helped was eating slowly and remembering to enjoy the taste of food, while paying attention to my body. Am I clenching my stomach? If so, I stop and relax those muscles. Am I tensing up my throat? If so, I do stretches to relax the throat and jaw. I'm now able to eat without a big panic response - sometimes without any at all!

Another thing I found out was that problems swallowing can be related to a low level of magnesium in your system. I've added 100 mg daily and that seems to help. If you don't take any magnesium, try eating a lot of green leafy vegetables (kale smoothies do it for me) and taking a low-dose supplement. I say low dosage because you can overdose on Mg, so add a little and see how it goes. Another thing is that you can give your body a break by eating foods that are easier to swallow, like yogurt and smoothies.

Anyhow, I know what you're experiencing. I hope that this helps.

Amber, I have had this, it can be absolutely terrible... But suddenly I discovered that drinking half a pint of milk will each day split into 2 or 3 glasses made an incredible difference. It added a lining to my throat and also mentally it offered protection. Please try it, I'm sure it will be a an immense improvement on your daily routine. Good luck.