samantha, i am a 29 year old female who has had panic disorder for about 14 years. at first it was the racing and pounding heart, dizziness, etc. and then i finally just made myself stop thinking that it was a heart attack. but periodically other symptoms would emerge. the most common ones were weeks on end where i was sure i was just going to stop breathing. i couldn't breath normal anymore. and the second most occuring and bothersome symptom was sometimes just not being able to swallow. i could drink water, pop, etc. but the thought of swallowing food scared me of my throat closing and choking to death. eventually you're body will accept food and it'll taste and feel so good!!!
the fear of swallowing is the same as a panic attack. because you choked " out of the blue" and then you thought "oh, my god that could happen anytime, what if nobody was around to help me or if i just can't dislodge it? " same thing with P/a it seems to come from nowhere and then we think " oh no what if that happens when there's no one to help me or if i just die?"
you have to remember that everybody chokes sometimes or has choked at one time or another. what is important is that you didn't die from it. you're body did what it needed to and you're fine...physically. we seem to try to stay one step ahead of all dangerous situations, to be ready for anything. so we play out every scenerio in our heads. and of course the ones that stick out the most are the scariest, right. so eventually the only ones your envisioning are the scary ones.
put food in your mouth and chew it, YOUR BODY WILL SWALLOW!!! no matter how much you think about it, it's a natural body function. trust me, i had to force myself to do it about 3 times in my life after not eating for a week or two.
swallowing is the same as our heart beating, breathing, walking, etc. your body just does it. granted, if you think about it, you will mess it up a little bit, but it will compensate with whatever it needs to. just have someone with you when you try to eat something solid the first time so you have the comfort of knowing help is around if you need it. but then after that try as hard as you can to never ever think about bodily functions that don't need assistance because we mess them up.
