Most anxiety-prone people know what that feeling of having a lump in throat. In fact, it is considered that about 50% of the population You have experienced it at some point. But what is it for? And more importantly, can anything be done to fix it?
The first thing we should know is that it is not serious. People who experience the feeling of a lump in the throat believe that they will not be able to swallow or breathe. In fact, on some occasions they may have difficulty doing so, precisely because of their state of mind. nervousness. But the truth is that there is no obstruction. It’s just that. A sensation.
Although it feels like a ball stuck in the throat, there is nothing there. Therefore, it is not serious or worrying. But yeah annoying. Therefore, it is important control anxietysince it will be the best way to end the lump in throat. This is easy to say, but anyone who suffers or has suffered from it knows how complicated it can be to carry it out, so we are going to focus on the origin of this phenomenon, whose name, by the way, is quite unfortunate. At least one of them.
The lump in the throat and the fight or flight phenomenon
The feeling of lump in the throat is due to a phenomenon known as hysterical balloon or pharyngeal balloon. It occurs, like other signs of anxiety, as a result of a fight or flight response.
And it is that, in general, anxiety is something adaptive that can have its advantages. alerts us to certain dangers. In fact, our ancestors were prepared for the two possible options when they saw themselves in this situation. Either fight or, if there was no chance of winning, flee. All this is advantageous if it occurs in specific situations of danger or alert. We will no longer have to run from a lion, like our ancestors, but perhaps we will jump back onto the sidewalk if a car skips a zebra crossing. On those occasions, reacting with anxiety is not bad. The problem is when is maintained over time, especially in situations that are not really dangerous. This is when the typical ones begin anxiety symptoms.
Most are characterized by preparing our body in one way or another for run out. The blood targets the extremities preferentiallycausing a feeling of tinglethe muscles they tense upincrease heart and respiratory ratethe Pupils… But it may also be that the energy that is normally invested in other bodily functions stems from all of that.
For example, if we have to run away, the last thing we think about is eating. That is why swallowing may be affected in a way. For that reason too, we don’t need to produce as much saliva. The blood vessels of the salivary glands contract, the production of this liquid decreases and there is a great sensation of dryness that makes the lump in the throat even more intense. Furthermore, if we add to all this that neck muscles stiffenthe feeling of a lump in the throat is served.
What can we do?
If the sensation of a lump in the throat coincides with a period of great stress or anxiety and does not really prevent swallowing or breathing, it is logical to think that it is a pharyngeal balloon. However, if it persists, we have doubts and we want to be calm, logically it will be a doctor who makes the diagnosis.
Once it has been verified that it is due to anxiety, as with the rest of the symptoms that this causes, the ideal is to try to stop them. For this, the best thing to do is always go to a psychologist. Through cognitive-behavioral therapy, very good results can be achieved in people with anxiety. Sometimes, as a complement, it may be necessary to resort to psychotropic drugs, which will have to be prescribed by a doctor, preferably a psychiatrist. Everything will depend on each case and this should not be taken as medical advice.
It is simply an explanation of the origin of that lump in throat so annoying we feel sometimes. And it is that, on many occasions, knowing the origin of things can help us combat them. Also when we feel that life is falling into a ball and that it settles forever in our throat.