Tension in the area under my tongue and throat feels like its closing up

Posted , 4 users are following.

Ive been suffering wih anxiety for 2 months now. In the week I started uni i had my first panic attack- it was awful, thought i was going to die. After that I became obssessed with looking at symptoms and thought i had heart failure coz of the chest pains/tightness. I had pains in my left arm along with my chest pain so thought i was gonna have a heart attack. I got better after a few weeks but then during a group anxiety session we were told about the symptoms of a heart attack which included "pain in neck and jaw". Soon after i had read that i started feeling pain/tension in those areas and i went back to panicking.

This is so awful. I feel like anything i read, my body starts copying it.

Now i feel my throat closing up which causes my body to panic as much as i try not to think about it. The area under my tongue is soo tense and causes my jaw to ache. Has anyone felt anything like that before?

Is there any quick relief strategies anyone know about that have been really helpful. I want to get rid of this so badly. I just want to be the way I was before and feel I can never be happy as Im always thinking about what my body is going to do to me next.

Any advice would be greatfully recieved.

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5 Replies

  • Posted

    You could try Relaxation Techniques, in the UK they are using Mindfulness and books can be purchased explaining how the technique works.

    Breathing Exercises can also be tried, an explanation on the internet may help you.

    You can also contact your GP and attend Surgery, soetimes they can have recordings of a relaxation Technique, that sometimes is the older technique called the Alexander Technique, that is the system I learned twenty years ago and it does work.

    Your GP may send you  for several tests to put your mind at rest, hopefully you will trust the results. There is also a possibility for some CBT with a CPN who will also discuss coping techniques. 

    See your GP and discuss your fears, Good Luck

    B.

  • Posted

    hi yasemin, 

    I had a very bad spell of health anxiety a few years ago, it was crippling and i know how hopeless and scared you feel. But I PROMISE you it WILL pass, it's when you stop giving it power that it will begin to pass. I promise. It is only very rarely (when i am having an anxiety spike) (I have GAD) that i suffer with health anxiety now.

    I've been in your position before. I can tell you that I've had this symptom plus 1000 other symptoms many many times! It's nothing to worry about. Honestly about 10 minutes ago I had the whole 'throat closing up' thing going on. It's not nice, I know. 

    I can tell you that you absolutley will get back to being the happy person you were. That person hasn't gone anywhere, it's just that the mind often has to latch onto something to obsess over. What is usually lurking underneath health anxiety is a fear of losing control, basically meaning that you feel out of control in some aspect of your life, but this comes out as you being afraid of losing control of your body by e.g. getting ill or these symptoms taking over. Anyway, it might be something to look into when you're feeling a little better. 

    Anyway, I'm sure you want relief from the symptoms so there are a couple of things you can try. 

    Okay the first one, close your eyes and gently massage your temples for a little while. This helps releive tension in your shoulders and neck and head, which may be contributing to the sensations you're experiencing.

    Something else I used to find helpful when i'm having that tounge and throat sensation is to brush my teeth with minty toothpaste! The mint makes you feel fresh and can help you feel like you can breathe better too.

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    Another thing is to have a hot drink, which will help relieve your throat and your tounge pressure, and will calm you too.

    Lastly, the most beneficial suggestion I think, is please look into mindfulness. Mindfulness is about noticing the thoughts in your head, but not having to beleive them. For example, lets say you get an ache in your chest. You mind will say 'oh gosh, what is that? Wait...can i breathe properly? Do I have tingling? Oh gosh, that felt a bit like a tingle...what if...what if i have a heart attack? etc etc etc', with mindfulness, when practiced, you can choose not to latch onto those thoughts. I know it seems a bit of a weird thing to say, when you're having all these physical symptoms how can you NOT ignore them? The truth is, the more you listen to these 'what if i have a heart attack?' thoughts, the stronger the symptoms will get because you are becoming hyper aware of symptoms that don't actually need attending too. 

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  • Posted

    Make sure you exclude diseases as LPR, which is a variant of GERD. It feels like choking. I have it and it is horrible. Chest tingling\tightness, neck grabbing sensations, difficulty concentrating..

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