I have the same fear as you! It's called pseudodysphagia. I developed it as a child after I experienced several traumatic incidents involving choking. At age 3, when it first started, the fear was so strong that I refused to eat any food at all except baby food and my nutrition had to be monitored by a pediatrician every week.
To this day I'm still afraid of choking and when I eat I get anxiety worrying that food is caught in my throat. Whenever I eat steak, I pre-chew it, spit it out and nibble on it. This is because a piece of steak got stuck in my throat once.
I'm also afraid of seeing or hearing other people choke. I can't even watch scenes in movies or television where the characters choke. It used to be so intense when I was a child that I threw fits on the way to church because my family members put Altoid mints in their mouths! If anyone dares to put a hard candy in their mouths around me, I warn them that I will run away screaming if they choke and I will not save them. If I find out where they keep their bag of candy, I will dispose of it.
Not sure how much of this you can relate to, but I hope it at least helps people feel better about their phobias!
Fear of choking on food...
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I have the same fear as you! It's called pseudodysphagia. I developed it as a child after I experienced several traumatic incidents involving choking. At age 3, when it first started, the fear was so strong that I refused to eat any food at all except baby food and my nutrition had to be monitored by a pediatrician every week.
To this day I'm still afraid of choking and when I eat I get anxiety worrying that food is caught in my throat. Whenever I eat steak, I pre-chew it, spit it out and nibble on it. This is because a piece of steak got stuck in my throat once.
I'm also afraid of seeing or hearing other people choke. I can't even watch scenes in movies or television where the characters choke. It used to be so intense when I was a child that I threw fits on the way to church because my family members put Altoid mints in their mouths! If anyone dares to put a hard candy in their mouths around me, I warn them that I will run away screaming if they choke and I will not save them. If I find out where they keep their bag of candy, I will dispose of it.
Not sure how much of this you can relate to, but I hope it at least helps people feel better about their phobias!