Having a lump in your throat or the sensation that it’s hard to swallow is a very common sensation among anxiety sufferers.
This lump causes us to think that we are headed for a medical disaster and may even cause us to swallow in quick succession so that we can make sure that we can still swallow – just in case.
This creates fear in us because the assumption is that sooner or later you won’t be able to breathe. We start jumping to conclusions about what could be causing it and go into extended versions of the what if game.
But let me assure you that when you get this lump in your throat you’re not dying. Like most of the other physical symptoms caused by anxiety having a lump in your throat is just another physiological fear response. So what’s going on in there and what is causing you all this worry?
Without getting into medical school style detail the cause of your lump is rooted in the bodies peripheral nervous system. This system is broken into two parts – the voluntary and the autonomic (automatic). The voluntary set of nerves allows us to do things with our bodies, like walking.
The other set of nerves, the autonomic nerves, control the functions of your body that you can’t control – like the beating of your heart, digesting food, etc. So now that we have identified the part of the nervous system causing all the trouble, let’s look at how it can effect the throat.
When we get nervous we enter the fight or flight mode. This in turn creates havoc in the body. During the early days of the human experience this was used to get our bodies prepared to take survival measures – like running from bears and the like.
The “havoc” comes in the form of increased blood flow, faster heart rate, faster breathing, and so on. The faster rate of respiration is what effects the muscle that controls the opening of the throat called the glottis (middle of the larynx). The glottis expands to allow more air in during the preparation for fight or flight.
The expansion and retraction of the glottis is the “lump” you feel in the throat. This of course is a watered down explanation but the basic mechanics of this lump production I hope is clear.
And although this information is not terribly entertaining it is important to note that your anxiety symptoms are a normal reaction to fear and the subsequent fight or flight response that is initiated by all the nervous tension you endure.
So, in summary, you are not crazy. In fact it is your bodies natural reaction to anxiety and not some other thing that is creating lumps in your throat. Despite the fact that these lumps can feel large and like there is a foreign object that has been jammed down our throats – it is harmless.
Do all you can to reduce the stress in your life and you will, overtime, reduce your anxiety and the number of lumps in your throat. Moreover the lump in your throat is not a choking hazard, anxiety just makes you think it is.
Brief recap of what causes lump in the throat.
Anxiety + fight of flight response + effects on the throat muscle (glottis) = lump in the throat.
Thanks so much for your article, it was probably the clearest written explanation for this I have ever heard and you have definetly helped to calm my nerves about the “lump” in my thoat. Thanks SO much again.
it’s so awesome to see that i am not the only one in this vast universe that creates her own lumps of fear. my mother always told me it was caused by anxiety, and so, in return, i told my kids the same story. I didn’t really think she was right. hmm. thanks for the article!
i’ve had this feeling in my throat for maybe 3 months already. in the morning when i wake up is not there but as the day goes by it gets more intense. is like the more i think about it the more i notice it. i wish i could control it and make it dissapear, it is very annoying and exhausting.
thanks for the comment i have had the lump for about 2 months and its really keeping me from eating cause i feel like im choking to death
I get the same thing and it is annoying for sure. I did a bit of reading on it and found some neck relaxation exercises, like leaning my head back gently to look at the ceiling while opening and closing my mouth, and also massaging the sides of my neck while tilting it side to side.
It gets worse for me when I work on the computer too long; I guess I hold my head funny or something.
im so glad i read this , ive had the feeling of having a lump in my throat since i found out i have chronic kidney desise, the stress has been unbelievable, ive tried alsorts of things to make it go away , my gp said it was nothing to worry about and i didnt believe her, reading this article has given me one less symptom to worry about .
I jst wanna thank you so much for this article i feel so realived that im not the only one with this problem. At first i thot myb i had too much worms in my intestine and myb they were crawling up to my throut and took Vermox for it bt it didnt help. At night wen im sleeping it feels like im going to die. the lump feels like its on the right handside of my neck and when i drink liquids it feels like its pushing the lump down slowly and it just comes up again.I aslo feel pain on the right side of my chest. Please let me know what i can take to make the lump go away, iv had it for more than 3 months now
Lng story short thanks this article is very straight to tha point and informal
I want to thank god, that im not the only one with this problem. I have not been able to eat solid foods for 5 months. The feeling is not as bad when I first wake up but the later it gets the worst it gets.
Thanks a lot for the information. I am feeling it since 4 months. This article is helped me to calm my anxiety.
Ya like I can barily swallow and it feels very weird
Whoever wrote this post – THANK YOU!
thank you so much for this article! it’s really hard for me to go through my day having that feeling of a lump in my throat. this really made me cal down about it. remember guys! don’t freak out about it because it does make it worse. just remember to breathe! I feel all of your pain.
Wow. My mom shared this article with me and I couldn’t believe it when I read all the comments… I’ve had this for about 3 months now and it NEVER GOES AWAY. Sometimes better, sometimes worse, but it’s always there. I have been to an ENT specialist and a gastroenterologist, I’ve done a barium swallow study, I’ve had bloodwork done for possible infections, thyroid levels, etc., I had an endoscopy done, and I’m scheduled for a thyroid ultrasound and an MRI… and while the doctors can see my swollen throat when they look at it with a pharyngoscope, they can find nothing wrong with me that would be causing it.
About a week ago the doc put me on an anti-depressant called Elavil to see if it would help. So far I haven’t noticed any marked improvement, but it has only been a few days. I’m hoping and praying it helps!
Thank you to whoever wrote this article! Here I’ve been sitting here wondering if I have throat cancer, when maybe it’s just stress/anxiety? I feel so much better knowing I am not the only one out there going through this.
The best way to get over the feeling is, sit in a chair with your head resting on the chair & see up. Just relax all your face muscles, deeply breath in & out slowly & think of the best times you spent in your life which are not connected with negetive things. Like you enjoyed a picnic with your friend & now you have lost him/her.
Think about the moments you enjoyed at that time & still enjoy remembering them.
See the effect of the technique, I am sure you will enjoy it.
Does it ever go away?
It sure can.
I have this as well and appreciate this blog!
Hi
Just want to say a big thank you for this article – I have had this feeling for about 3 weeks now, not as long as other sufferers and thought of all possible solutions and worried me silly, but found when i am not thinking about it and talking to friends or watching TV or sleeping its hardly there or just not noticable, just when I think about it, it causes me to focus on it more and it gets worse, this makes such perfect sense – I do have a lot of other worrying stuff on my mind right now as well – so its a combination of things, at least this is one less worry to worry about. Thank you
hi, wish my doctor told me this information ,i have had this for 3 years and its getting me down ,it says its through stress,if so i am never going to get rid the last 3 years has been the worst i worry more since i have had this lump in my throat,wish it will just dissapear
Thanks to this article i learn’t how to relax my mind. Bu does it go away with time
Thank you so much for this in depth article. I’ve had bouts with the lump in the throat feeling and thought I was getting sick. Now looking back it was during very stressful periods that it would happen, death in the family, school project deadlines, etc. The longest it has lasted has only been a week but now I’ll know what it is and to try to destress to get it to go away. Thanks again.
I have had this feeling for the past couple of days and it is freaking me out. The feeling of the lump is only on the left side of my neck. My ear on the left side is also hurting too. I am afraid to eat and I am constantly drinking water hoping that it helps but it doesn’t. I don’t want to go to the doctor if it’s nothing but I am really scared it is something serious. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Hi Cristina,
If you don’t go to the doctor it’s possible that you’ll stay afraid for a long time. Not a nice idea, right?
I recommend you see a doctor to rule out the things that you’re afraid of. Once you’re medically cleared, then you’ll have a much better idea about how you can correct his issue.
i was choking on chicken yesterday and i cant swollow any ting what can i do and i have a headache what can i do???????????
I have a very big ball in my throat . Ith sucks like heck. I can barely swallow I have puus all over my ball .It hurts,really bad.
thank you so much, i am only 18 and I have always had problems with anxiety but never thought much of them. I have been under loads of stress lately and this lump in throat feeling had never happened to me before, and i automatically believed i either had cancer or some other terrible illness. my doctor even told me i was fine but i did’t believe her and then it only became worse. this was very clearly written and has relieved me quite a bit. thank you.
You bet morg. =)
I appreciate reading this. On 11/20/2012 I couldn’t swallow but then came to find that it was a throat polyp. It was covering my windpipe flap. It was removed but now that is all I can think about. I feel like there is a lump in my throat. I am going to an ENT on Friday for a follow-up so I hope there is NOTHING there. I will update everyone. If there is NOTHING then my anxiety is too high.
Thanks for this ,its really good to know how this lump in throut symptom comes about .
Its so frustrating when i get this because i makes my voice sound quite , more quite depending on how big the lump in throut is .
THANK GOD THIS BLOG AND THE WRITER. This has change a lot in me, now i’m already beginning to relax with this BIG HELP.
WOW! I am so glad that i read this article. I had been in a lot of stress… and boom there was a lump in my throat. I thought its a cancer or something. That made it worse! but after reading this i m so relieved. Thanks once again!
I recently got this lump about 3 days ago I have bad anxiety and I’m always stressed reading this had calmed me down and I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels this is a horrible feeling and it feels I’m I’m suffocating !!! Thank you so much !! I hope it goes away soon …
This article puts my mind at ease! I have been dealing with this for about a month! Thank you!
omg you followed me around then wrote this!!
seriously, THANKS for this article. Exactly what’s going on with me.
Hi i think i have the same thing i have been to my local gp twice adoc and the a and e thinking there is something wrong with me as i am always dizzy all have told me i have bpps (vertigo) thanks to ur post im now chewing on some gumwhilst taking deep breaths which seems to relax my throat and the pain is easing thanks so much
Thank you so much for this. I am so glad there is a scientific explanation. It has really put my mind at ease. I’ve been scared to death!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I just had cataract surgery a couple of weeks ago, and it was very stressful. I was certain I was going blind (which of course did not occur), but I had so much regret and anxiety because I had the surgery, I felt a tightening in my throat the first night. Over the course of several days the sensation of the lump would come and go as my anxiety level would go up and down. The anxiety got bad enough where my GP prescribed a mild tranquilizer to take the edge off. After taking the medicine, the lump sensation would go away or be greatly reduced. Logically, that should have told me the lump; the lack of desire to eat food; fear of choking if I did ingest food was caused by anxiety. Your article, however, merely confirmed this. I do, however, have an Upper Endoscopy scheduled in the near future to rule out other physical causes, but since this lump sensation did not start until after my cataract surgery, I’m hopeful this is merely a response to the massive amount of stress I experienced after the procedure.
Thanks for this article, the lump has being there for 3months now. The question is, will it ever disappear.
Amazing article and great comments to go with it! I’ve had a dry throat, maybe a cold for about 10 days and I started to get worried it was something worse. Of course focusing on it only made it worse and when distracted I didn’t really notice it. Just now I was feeling like something was really wrong and debating going to the hospital. Yes, you read that right! Reading this has eased the symptoms quickly and I’m going to get a standard checkup for peace of mind tomorrow. Thank you so much! Internet diagnosis is usually a very bad idea. Everyone take a deep breath and relax!
I woke up with this lump in my throat for the first time. after reading the article I feel relieved. I think it is because my daughter told me she may have Lymes last night. And it has been on my mine. so thanks for the article. I will try to relieve my anxiety.
Wow. The lump and feeling like my throat is going to close up has been haunting me forever. This article was very helpful. Although I wish I had some insurance to help treat my anxiety. I recently had a heart attack and reading this jist made me feel much better. It makes it so hard to sleep. I wake up in a panic and wide awake. Tha I feel the lump and pace arundel the house for hours until I calm down. This was a very, very, helpful article. I was debating going to the ER about this until I read this. Understanding and knowing helps a lot. Than you so much for this information. I might be able to get back to sleep now. I’m glad I google this and found it.
Hi, I have/had this feeling since july and mine is slightly different. I can eat easily. When I eat i feel as if there is nothing in my throat otherwise its there all the time. It’s constantly there. I am pregnant now and can’t do further tests. It was not painful beofre but now it’s bit painful when i eat. Once dr. Told me i have anxiety but i don’t believe as anxiety makes difficult to swallow . I can swallow easily without any problem. Could it still be anxiety? they looket in to my throat through the light and there was nothing in the throat. I am due next week with my baby but i am really scared if there is something serious😩. I feel really down because of this problem. I haven’t been able to enjoy my pregnancy.
Thank you for the post I woke up this morning and failt a bup in my throat and I was scared it was tiwod Cancer