Fear of Choking

Dear Dr. Schwartz,

I am a 32 year old female and ever since I was a 4 year old child I was diagnosed with a multitude of things. I was diagnosed with everything from Major Anxiety Disorder to, Major Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Agoraphobia, PTSD, Short Term Memory Loss and a few more that I can't remember.

To say the least, my childhood sucked and I feared dying on a daily basis. I have struggled with trusting people for most of my life. I don't see a therapist or anyone, to be honest, because I end up not trusting them. I work from home and receive disability.

My issue today is that out of nowhere, it seems that I have developed a fear of choking about 6 months ago. I realize that this is an anxiety of dying and that the choking fear is a symptom of that initial anxiety. But, it is taking over my life. I went from being a meat eater to only eating vegetables. Then, from a vegetarian to a vegan and now only liquids. When I ate solids it seemed that my food seemed to get stuck in the back of my throat. No matter how long I chewed my food I still panicked, believing that I was going to choke on chewed up food.

I despise all of my diagnoses as well as this new fear. I feel like I am being tortured by my mind. Can you please suggest any type of help or solution for me?

Thank You so much.

Sincerely

Disclaimer

• Dr. Schwartz responds to questions about psychotherapy and mental health problems, from the perspective of his training in clinical psychology.
• Dr. Schwartz intends his responses to provide general educational information to the readership of this website; answers should not be understood to be specific advice intended for any particular individual(s).
• Questions submitted to this column are not guaranteed to receive responses.
• No correspondence takes place.
• No ongoing relationship of any sort (including but not limited to any form of professional relationship) is implied or offered by Dr. Schwartz to people submitting questions.
• Dr. Schwartz, Mental Help Net and CenterSite, LLC make no warranties, express or implied, about the information presented in this column. Dr. Schwartz and Mental Help Net disclaim any and all merchantability or warranty of fitness for a particular purpose or liability in connection with the use or misuse of this service.
• Always consult with your psychotherapist, physician, or psychiatrist first before changing any aspect of your treatment regimen. Do not stop your medication or change the dose of your medication without first consulting with your physician.