Nervous dysphagia and swallowing difficulties – Online Psychologists

Eating and drinking are essential resources that our body needs to give it that daily energy. In fact, a lot of Our social life revolves around it, when we go out for a drink with friends, to dinner with our partner, at business lunches… But there are some disorders that prevent people from eating these foods, producing a moment of fear and anxiety when it's time to eat. We're talking about the nervous dysphagiaa disorder that prevents the ingestion of all types of food, whether solid or liquid.

First of all, dysphagia is the difficulty swallowing solid foods and liquids. Your body needs more time and extra effort to get food from your mouth to your stomach. Swallowing becomes a moment. complicated and painfulwhich in some cases is impossible to finish. This creates a feeling of suffocation that leads to coughing and vomiting.

Occasional difficulty swallowing food is usually not a cause for concern, in the case of eating quickly or not chewing enough, but persistent dysphagia is a serious illness that requires treatment. It has an organic origin, it is related to neurological diseases or disorders but In some cases it has a psychological origin.

Nervous dysphagia is actually a phobia, hence it is also called phagophobia and is understood as an intense fear of swallowing. The person who suffers from it feels as if their throat is gradually narrowing, not allowing them to ingest food. It is not a subjective perceptionbut because consequence of anxiety which causes the muscles in the area to tense up so much that they actually narrow and cause a feeling of dryness in the throat.

Nervous dysphagia is a rare disorder that affects approximately one in every 500 people. It is usually more common in childhood, but there are also risks of suffering from it in adulthood. Some of the causes that can generate it are the following:

It is true that there are many cases in which there are no additional diseases or injuries and yet this disorder still arises. Most cases are related to a previous episode in which the person choked, vomited or had an experience that caused discomfort when swallowing. That is why the moment of Eating becomes a stressful situation, fear and anxiety because of the possibility that it might happen again.

The above situations, experienced by a child, can be even more stressful and can generate a bad relationship between food and the child. Also, in childhood, one of the most common cases is the fear of parents about the possibility of the child choking, Overprotection generates a fear that the child perceives.

As we have already explained, the symptoms of phagophobia may vary Depending on the person and the causes that led to it, however, there are common aspects such as the following:

The consequences generated by nervous dysphagia are usually mostly related to the weight and malnutrition, because the fact of not eating food produces a noticeable weight loss or a dehydration to varying degrees. Also, the social sphere In the case of a disorder in which it is affected, the sufferer may avoid eating in the presence of others or do so only with people they trust a lot.

The anxiety can lead to production physical symptoms but above all physiologicalSome of them are: muscle tension, sweating, tachycardia or dryness in the mouth and throat.

The life of a person who suffers from phagophobia is affected in different areas. That is why having the help of professionals is the best thing for health, from doctors, speech therapists or psychologists. In online therapy we can help you establish relaxation techniques and use strategies to divert attention from swallowing to another focus, thus reducing anxiety.

In the case of children who suffer from this, parents must collaborate in their care and request the help that they cannot offer them.