I have suffered from this along with anxiety/panic issues when under excessive stress, changes upcoming in life, etc. Here is what I have learned about issues surrounding anxiety and this throat thing:

I took minor dosage of Paxil for a few years once I was correctly diagnosed as having anxiety problems.

The medicine basically 'taught' me how to deal with anxiety as it was coming on rather than some sort of treatment (like xaenex or emergency room).

I have had several times over the last few years where anxiety was coming on and handled much better. For me, it is stress related or even how I am feeling about myself etc.

Then this year we were contemplating a big move back to the mainland (we live in Hawaii) and it really got me going on a path that felt almost uncontrolled and I hardly ate for a week and had these throat issues along with anxiety.

I went to a behavior specialist to talk. She introduced me to what is called Dr. Roger Callahan's Thought Field Therapy. I highly recommend it. Some of the exercises seem really strange, but I was very impressed with how it works for me. In fact, I took the sheets and made the notes in my phone so I could use it as needed. It has not 100% cured my throat issue when it comes on, but I will say it is a great relaxation technique (for many types of anxiety). This, along with closing my eyes, slowly counting to 5 each inhale/exhale (so 10 total) helps a lot.

Link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_Field _Therapy

i have been havig this for like a week and i fialy told my parets the looked and said it was nothig so i want oline and found this site now im not so freaked out thanks if there are any techniques to help please let me know thanks

Last night, I felt the same thing. I felt like my throat was closing up, and I was not able to fall asleep... I'm hoping this is due to stress, and not something medical, although I am going to see a doctor tomorrow.

I have the same thing, It just started two days ago. I feel a lump in throat it doesn't hurt but it defiently is annoying. I've had anxiety for about 3 solid months, and I've kind of learned how to control it. I've been the ER twice. The first time was the first intitial panic attack I had from smoking weed. From then on I haven't touched drugs nor do I ever plan doing them. It is all in my mind, and right now I feel sometimes as if my heart or stomach is being constricted and that lump in my throat I just feel it. I don't know I kind of wait it off for it to go away. By passing time, watching TV or playing games. I have bad insomia and when I feel my anxiety I pretty much stay up all night. I know I need more sleep, heh.
God Bless.

Hey everyone,
I tried to read as much of this as I could to see if I can find how you guys worked it out...
My symptoms are over the past 4 nights (I'm 24, an ex smoker, quit for 5 months so far) I have had a tickly throat, only at night, in the day it hardly tickles at all, and the tickles causes me to cough at night, waking me up.
Then at 6am this morning I had a shock, I woke up and it felt like my throat was 'closed'. After thrashing around and panicing it 'opened' again and I coughed a while.
My OH ran up the stairs (he was about to go to work) as he could hear the horrid sounds I was making struggling to breathe.
It was so scary!
I'm not particularly anxious about anything- just the norm, and I don't understand why this tickly throat is only happening from about 9-10pm onwards...?
Can anyone help?
THanks@!

I have had these same symptoms off and on for years. I don not know what brings them on nor do I know why they stop. My question is, do any of u ever get a head ache when u have the throat tighten and a feeling as if the blood and oxygen is being cut off to your brain?

Having your throat feel like its closing,really tight or like you have something stuck in it is really a classic sign of anxiety. I had it with my first couple panic attacks.

Ok, so I am a 19 yr old female who has had this problem for 5 years. It is not anxiety (I am pretty sure) because it is constant. It doesn't just happen when I think about it, it is always there. It started when I was 14 for no apparent reason. I was watching a movie with my family when all of a sudden I felt like my throat was very tight (like if I was 'choked up' going to cry). I have had x-rays done in conjunction with a barium swallow to see if there was any blockage and there wasn't.
My symptoms are:
-Tight throat (choked up feeling) below "adam's apple".
-Cannot complete a yawn. EVER.
-Can force my throat muscles open by contracting the muscles I would use to yawn (if I could).
-EXTREMLY tight, almost not able to breathe, when laying down on my back with my head turned to either side (worse if turned left)
-If I push on my lower throat (in that little indentation between collar bones) I feel a little bit better.
-Angles of my neck required to swim (breaststroke; neck straining upwards and forward) nearly cut off my air entirly.
-Don't have any difficulty eating or drinking.
-Just feel as though my airway is a lot more narrow than it used to be.
-If i'm not thinking about it I don't really notice it much, but it is still there.
I have no history of panic attacks or anxiety or stress realted problems.
This started when I was 14 remember, and I have never smoked.

what's wrong with me and can someone please help me make this discomfort go away?

ive had this now for over month and half and im pretty sure i know what done it for me for some reason. im a 19 yr old lad and when it happens it can be scary so far ive only had one time where its actually made me throat seem like i realy couldnt breathe and it was scary as anything i really thought that was it but when it first started happening doctors told me it was red bull 2 much suger rush cus i had gone in 2 hype mode and thats when anxiety started takin its affect on me i still got it now and would like 2 know how to get rid of it but its just one of them things i guess where im not the only one

I'm not a doctor but your post reminded me of my uncle's situation. After he quit smoking (he was a long time smoker) he had the same symptoms that you described, he had this weird tickely cough. He finally went to a doctor and the doctor explained that there are tiny hairs in the esophagus that are burned away when you smoke - eventually a real smoker will burn all of theirs away. Once you quit smoking for a while, the hairs start to grow back. They are too small to even see but unfortunately, you can feel the process and it is very uncomfortable. Go to a doctor and see if this pertains to you. It could be that this is what is going on and your throat closing could just be that you are anxious about it and starting to freak out a little. Anxiety will definitely make your throat close up so it makes sense. Be well.

Anxiety can definitely cause throat tightness. I've been experiencing it (scary at first! I had it checked by ear, nose and throat specialist with nothing conclusive) and have now gone into psychotherapy to try and resolve it. A couple things to think about besides just a physical treatment approach:

My therapist says that these physical symptoms/feelings are often related to past experiences; in my case feelings of vulnerability, lack of personal trust. Of course, every person will have their own issues and it is surprising what therapy can uncover and uncovering it, while scary, can result in healing. Again, in my case, my heart is trying to tell me something and my mind another and the throat area is between the two and is feeling conflicted, therefore constricted. Feelings that have not been dealt with are trying to come out and anxiety is a way your body alerts you to the fact that it needs to resolve something emotionally or psychologically. While I do not have a past history of sexual abuse, she also said often unresolved trauma from an forceful or shameful oral encounter can manifest itself in the throat. Also, being forced to "swallow" your emotions over time can lead to anxiety in the throat area.

My therapy is ongoing and I am already starting to improve. I just wanted to post this to encourage those with any anxiety issues to seek professional help as often anxiety issues can worsen if left untreated. It can help you to find the source of the anxiety vs. always trying to rely on herbs, breathing, exercise, etc. to calm down and long term relief is always more desirable.

I have had these symptoms as well as most of you. My therepist has told me that its my muscles around my throat that tighten up. What helps me is carrying cold water with me and drink small sips of it. Fresh air also helps. What kind of tests do they run at the docters office to check your throat?

My doctor did a test where he sticks a scope in my nose and down my throat to look at my esophagus, etc. This is definitely not as bad as it sounds! It is just weird but is over in a minute or so. As your esophagus is normally closed when not swallowing, he said there is another procedure that he does that is a little more complicated where you swallow the scope to see below the esophagus, but did not think that it is necessary for me as he did not see any irritation, etc. to indicate there may be a problem. He said that my esophagus was in spasm and will go away on its own (which it did) and he confirmed that he sees this quite often and it is often anxiety induced as the brain does not always send the right messages to that area. He prescribed Lorazapam as it is a muscle relaxant to help my esophagus calm down. I've got the tightness since but after starting therapy, the episodes are becoming less frequent and less strong and I haven't taken the Lorazapam. I'm dedicated to finding the cause of my anxiety thru a psychotherapist and learning to treat it from the source because all the things we have to do to calm and distract us gets difficult over time. I hope it all works!

Hi, all. I have read many of the posts, here, and it seems that many--if not most--of us who have this problem are suffering from muscle tension, due to anxiety. Just look at how many people on the site have said things like, "When I relax, it goes away," or some such comment. So for most, then, it would seem that getting relaxed is the answer. But that is easier said than done, of course. I was just wondering if there has been anyone who has had any success with the use of neurofeedback in dealing with tight throat musculature? Such treatments can be rather expensive, of course, so I doubt that many have tried it, but it would be interesting to hear from anyone who has given it a go.

It would also be interesting to hear from anyone who has tried hypnosis, as well.

Both of these methods can lead to very deep states of relaxation, so it would seem logical to try them before resorting to drugging/medicating oneself, which is just asking for more problems, in my opinion. Why not first try something that would have no organic side effects, and cannot be addictive?

I have tried hypnosis. I had one session after I had been having panic attacks and anxiety for some time and it came to a climax when I had to fly home and the plane ride was really making me anxious. Normally, I am not afraid of flying but anxiety disorders sometimes start to make you scared of things that didn't frighten you before. I definitely was starting to develop phobias to many things. I went to a hypnotherapist that is also a psychotherapist for help as I was tired of living that way. She did one hypnosis session on me and to my amazement; I was able to fly with no sense of apprehension. However, this one session of course was not a cure-all for all my anxiety issues. It definitely helped me in that situation but I needed to learn to get to the root of my fears. In my case, as I've mentioned before, my fears are coming from a deeper place that I am now addressing in therapy (with the same therapist). So many of my newfound phobias have begun to go away. I bring this up because her suggestion is to work with me first to find the causes of my anxiety and then we can really start doing more hypnosis to address the root issues. You will be more likely to experience longstanding relief and the hypnosis can be more effective if you are not trying to address a "superficial" (even though it feels very real!) fear or physical symptom. For me, the hypnosis definitely helped but I think it depends on what your problem is and how highly suggestible you are.

Im so glad i found this site... i have had this feeling for about 3 weeks now.. i started off with blurry vision then i went on the the aches and pains, now im stuck with this throat.. my symtoms varey one night i can feel tightness and stiff neck. next night its like i have something stuck. im going to see a doctor tommorow to see if he can perscribe me something.. i really hope it is just down to my anxiety. i feel fine in myself at times like im not worrying about anything but then i realise im worrying about all these symptoms i have. in my throat i get a really bad tightness like my throat is about to close up. then when i take a drink it dont feel like its going down properly like its going over a lump.. i try to do breathing exercises but they never help. im just so fed up..

I've had a pain sensation in my throat/esophagus for 4 weeks now. Initially it started as a burning pain in my throat, but now presents itself as more of a lump in my throat. My Dr. prescribed me with acid blockers which I've been taking for 8 days now, but there has been no improvement. I'm also eating incredibly bland food to cut down on my acid intake.

I also have a burning sensation on my neck on each side, and have had tingling sensations in my cheeks and head. I've tried looking at symptoms on the web, but have found nothing that is exactly like mine. My Dr. has made me an ENT appointment, but that isn't for another 3 months. In the mean time I'm getting quite scared that it may be serious.

I do believe that the lump may well be caused by stress, and it's probably the stress of not knowing what is wrong with me. The other day I was feeling ok, then I had a conversation with my wife, and we spoke about the possibility that it could be cancer. That night I felt terrible again and couldn't make it into work the following day. Since then I've been trying to convince myself that it is just stress, and things do improve. I too find that eating and drinking actually eases the problem.

Does anybody else experience a burning sensation on their neck with this?

I have suffered from this for years, in runs in my family.We beleive its directly related to stress and what you happen to be eating around the same time as a stressful situation. I do have gerd and take protonix everyday, but when I am stressed no meds help.It always happens at night and what I do is drink a glass of warm water to relieve it, takes about 10 minutes but it works for me. Hope this helps someone!

I have just recently had the same problem in my throat i thought at first it was indigestion and went doctors and he gave me tablets for it. The heartburn feeling went away but the lump in my throat never. An now i know that it is to do with my anxiety. I used to get panic attacks all the time an now i know how to handle them. But when i got this feeling in my throat i started to panic again because it was a new feeling. I just think the worst all the time and i know i shouldn't. My mum said its nothing to worrie about and shes right now reading all your comments and relaxing the feeling is gradually going away. I think i was stressed out with not sleeping and worrying so it made it alot worse for me. And its really nice to hear a resurance from other people in the same boat as me, helped me out alot. And the lump seems to be going. Thanks

Hi Sugar Shayne. Well I currently have the 'tight' feeling in my throat right now. I've had this for about over a year now...and more recently I've had it because I'm going on abroad on my own soon and I've never done it before anyway. My feeling is as you said like someone choking you....When i first had it, it felt like I had to be sat up...but the tightness didn't go away just made me believe I could breathe better and I could. It feels like your having to constantly swallow, you have dry mouth...and it does actually cause acid reflux for me because my bowels are churning so everything is moving up. I assure you its anxiety related, it scares me to the point where I'm gasping for air and like I'm going to stop breathing in any moment. The doctors treated me for asthma but that wasn't it at all because id used the inhalers and didnt really see a change. Don't any of you sit there and think it will go away, or the more you acknowledger the problem it will go away...you need to find methods of relaxing, i.e read a book, have a massage, do some sport, meditate anything you can think of try it but most importantly see your doctor, get some councilling and if you need to get some medication too, a combination of councilling and medication is a very effective method of recovery, you might ask so why you still feel like that then?? well I always have anxiety and I'm getting more and more use to it. One thing I realise is acceptance. Instead of saying go away to this sensation, allow it, say come on then...and more importantly think...has anything bad happened to me, you don't require a machine to control your breathing...you haven't had to go to hospital and another thing, when you experience once...and again remember you had it before...did anything bad happen no...your still alive. Another thing...if you were unable to breathe...like say an asthmatic person...you wouldn't be able to talk and you'd be grabbing hold of someone to tell them you can't breathe...the feeling you have is very normal for anxiety...no one is going to experience the same feeling...someones anxiety of their throat could be they notic more of a lump there, or they notice when they sit how it effects their throat. The sensation you have in your throat is what you created...you and your mind...it isn't a real feeling...its not like a cold when you know you have a runny nose and aches and pains...its a make believe feeling...its something you created yourself....and the more you focus on it the more you believe it to be more than what it is. What helps me is a nice hot drink...something that completely distracts my mind like watching a movie. Another thing you should do is start recognising what triggers that tightness...sometimes it might not always be as easy...but say if the sensation is there...okay you are aware of it...but by caring on knowing its there ure allowing it to continue to stay there. Hypnosis is a very good way to relax and you will find some hypnosis videos on youtube. The more you think the more you feel.