Hypersensitive Gag Reflex and Anxiety/Stress

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Reader’s Question

I’ve been having a strange reaction lately and I think it’s being caused by stress. Recently I ended a relationship and it’s been devastating to me, and I’m wondering if this is what’s bringing on the hypersensitive gag reflex that I’ve been experiencing. I can’t find anything online about this. Almost anything unpleasant brings it on — if my throat is dry, I don’t like the taste in my mouth, a hair goes into my mouth, sometimes seemingly nothing at all. It’s especially bad when I brush my teeth. It always has been but it’s worse now. There is no nausea that accompanies this. I’ve noticed that it doesn’t seem to happen if I’m involved in a conversation, etc. It seems to happen most when I’m alone and I have time to think about things, and that’s why I think it’s psychological. In talking with my friends, I’ve found 3 others that this has happened to in the past as well. What is your take on this and how should I go about alleviating it?

Psychologist’s Reply

When you mention that the hypersensitive gag reflex (HGR) has always been present — just worse now — that’s an important part of your situation. Everyone has a unique reaction to stress and depression based on our neurochemistry, our experience history, and our personality. This is especially true of physical symptoms. Under stress, it’s very common for a specific body organ, body system, or specific symptom to surface. Some people get headaches or twitching under the eyes while others have bowel problems or chest pain. If we’ve ever experienced choking trauma (dental procedure, choking on food, etc.), that can also create an “Emotional Memory” linked to stress. As a result, as our stress levels increase, those unique-to-us symptoms increase.

You describe always having some choking and gag-reflex sensitivity. Under your current high level of stress, those episodes of gagging will increase. As you discovered, any time you become anxious the HGR will likely appear. You’ve also noticed that when you are focused or have less stress, the symptoms decrease. This is true for other physical/body stress symptoms. People with bowel sensitivity will experience symptoms any time they are anxious — not only related to specific anxious events or situations. If your stress level continues to be high (as in a breakup situation), your brain actually looks for possible situations that may produce your HGR, thus creating more anxiety and more gag reflex reactions. You’ll become anxious before eating, when brushing your teeth, etc.

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This is a fairly common symptom and is not related to a significant mental health problem. You may be able to control and fix it using the strategies I’ve described in my Emotional Memory article. You can also seek counseling with therapists who focus on phobias and/or Behavioral Therapy treatments. Some have success with hypnotherapy. Focus on stress reduction as that will lower the frequency of the gag reflexes.

Your HGR may always be your body’s sign that you’re becoming too anxious. I recently treated a patient who had eye-muscle-twitching as her stress-overload indicator. As her stress level became more manageable, the twitching decreased and disappeared. However, it will most likely return if her stress returns.

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