Anxiety Lump In The Throat

Why does anxiety cause a lump in the throat feeling?

A lump in the throat feeling is a common symptom of stress, including anxiety-caused stress. Here are some of the ways anxiety can cause this feeling:

1. The Stress Response (acute stress)

Anxious behavior, such as worry, activates the stress response, causing many body-wide changes that prepare the body for emergency action – to fight or flee.

This survival reaction is often referred to as the fight or flight response, the emergency response, the fight, flight, or freeze response (some people freeze when they are afraid like a “deer caught in headlights”), or the fight, flight, freeze, or faint response (since some people faint when they are afraid).[1][2]

Visit our “Stress Response” article for more information about the many changes caused by the stress response.

Some stress response changes cause the body’s muscles to tighten and heighten senses, including the muscles and feelings in the throat [1]. Consequently, while a stress response is active, it can feel as if the throat is unusually tight or there is something stuck in the throat.

Having a “lump in the throat” feeling is common for anxious, afraid, or nervous people.

This feeling generally subsides as the stress response ends.

2. Hyperstimulation (chronic stress)

When stress responses occur infrequently, the body can quickly recover from the many stress response changes.

However, the body can't completely recover when stress responses occur too frequently, such as from overly apprehensive behavior.

Incomplete recovery can leave the body in a state of semi-stress response readiness, which we call “stress-response hyperstimulation” since stress hormones are powerful stimulants.

Hyperstimulation is also often referred to as “hyperarousal,” “HPA axis dysfunction,” or “nervous system dysregulation.”[3][4]

Visit our “Hyperstimulation” article for more information about the many ways hyperstimulation can affect how we feel.

Hyperstimulation can cause the changes of an active stress response even though a stress response hasn’t been activated.

Having a constant lump in the throat feeling is a common indication of hyperstimulation (chronic stress).

More specifically, there are two valves in the esophagus (swallowing tube). They are normally lightly contracted.

When you want to swallow, they relax to allow whatever it is you want to swallow to pass into the stomach. Once the material has passed, these valves gently squeeze closed again to prevent regurgitation of the stomach contents.

When the body’s stimulation is normal, we don’t notice this action or its associated sensations because we’ve become used to how it feels — this mechanism and its actions become consciously invisible.

But when the body becomes hyperstimulated, it can cause a heightened awareness of these sensations because the muscles in this area become somewhat tighter, causing them to feel tighter, different, or unusual.

Remember, stress causes muscles to tighten. Tight muscles can feel tight and unusual, raising our conscious awareness of them.

The higher the degree of stress (including anxiety-caused stress), the more likely your body will produce sensations and symptoms of stress, including this one.[2]

3. Other causes

Other causes of this sensation include:

• Change in saliva production: Stress causes saliva to dry up, causing throat dryness, requiring more swallowing.

• Mild throat infection: Inflammation due to the early onset or persistence of a cold or flu can cause more frequent swallowing, causing a lump in the throat feeling.

• Excessive talking, yelling, or swallowing.

• Stomach problems: Anxiety-caused digestive problems, such as gas, bloating, or acid reflux can put extra pressure on throat related closed valves.

• Muscle spasms of the throat muscles: As mentioned, stress can cause muscles to tighten and spasm, including the muscles in the throat.

• Throat has become irritated: From irritants in the air, such as pollutants or strong odors.

• Nervous swallowing: Some people swallow more when anxious, which can irritate the throat.

• Rapid breathing: An anxiety-activated stress response can increase heart rate and respiration, causing rapid breathing that can dry out the throat and cause a lump in the throat feeling.

Each person can experience this sensation somewhat uniquely when stress elevates since each body is somewhat chemically and physically unique.

For example, some people experience this symptom to a great degree, whereas others might not get this symptom at all.

Thankfully, there is minimal danger of choking or suffocating under normal conditions. However, some people are sensitive to their throat, and therefore, caution should be exercised when eating and swallowing. Chewing food thoroughly and slowly will prevent inadvertently swallowing something that may provoke gagging or choking.

This symptom can vary in intensity, come and go sporadically, and seem to intensify and persist if we become focused on it. In fact, most of us have a mild pressure in the throat if we look for it. But because our attention is focused elsewhere, we become consciously unaware of it, making the feeling seem like it's not there

And this is like many bodily sensations: they appear when we focus on them, but because our attention is generally diverted to other things, we aren’t consciously aware of them.

This symptom is often referred to as “Globus pharyngeus” (it used to be called globus hystericus).[5][6][7]

4. Other Factors

Other factors can create stress and cause anxiety-like symptoms, as well as aggravate existing anxiety symptoms, including:

• Medication
• Recreational drugs
• Stimulants
• Sleep deprivation
• Fatigue
• Hyper and hypoventilation
• Low blood sugar
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Dehydration
• Hormone changes
• Pain

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