# Swallowing



## no one's watching (Aug 29, 2006)

Is anybody else really self conscious about swallowing? Whenever I'm in a very quiet area where I'm sitting close to strangers (such as in a movie or lecture theatre) I feel that other people can hear me swallowing. Trying not to swallow seems to make me swallow every few seconds and sometimes I'll attempt to hold off swallowing for a while, only to finally have to take a big gulp which I'm sure other people can hear. Many a lecture/movie have I sat through paying little attention to anything except my swallowing and how unusually loud and frequent it must seem to other people.

Maybe some popcorn would help disguise the noise.. opcorn 
At least in the movies anyway.


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## kennybenny (May 8, 2005)

wow............so what if other people hear you swallow?!

if you cant hear them swallow, they probably wont hear you swallow

if you dont give much of a damn about them swallowing, they probably wont give that much of a damn about you swallowing

take it easy.... life is not suppose to be THIS hard


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## KimberlyK (Nov 11, 2004)

no one's watching said:


> Is anybody else really self conscious about swallowing? Whenever I'm in a very quiet area where I'm sitting close to strangers (such as in a movie or lecture theatre) I feel that other people can hear me swallowing. Trying not to swallow seems to make me swallow every few seconds and sometimes I'll attempt to hold off swallowing for a while, only to finally have to take a big gulp which I'm sure other people can hear. Many a lecture/movie have I sat through paying little attention to anything except my swallowing and how unusually loud and frequent it must seem to other people.
> 
> Maybe some popcorn would help disguise the noise.. opcorn
> At least in the movies anyway.


That's funny because I would find the popcorn munching much more annoying than your swallowing ever could be. :lol

Your swallowing may sound loud to you but it really isn't, try to focus on something other than swallowing so it can happen naturally.


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## no one's watching (Aug 29, 2006)

Kimberly69 said:


> That's funny because I would find the popcorn munching much more annoying than your swallowing ever could be. :lol
> 
> Your swallowing may sound loud to you but it really isn't, try to focus on something other than swallowing so it can happen naturally.


I guess my thinking is that the popcorn munching would be a "legitimate" noise, while my loud/frequent swallowing would be indicative of nervousness or make me out to be weird. I think you're right about it being loud to me only though, just difficult getting that kind of rational thinking to stick...


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## moejo (Aug 29, 2005)

Swallowing? Never thought about it. To be honest, it sounds a little crazy to me.


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## likewater (Aug 3, 2006)

I know what you mean. you get anxious, your throat gets all tight and you become concious of how you are swallowing. its a lot like noticing your breathing, once you start paying attention to it, it gets all awkward. try chewing gum or working on some candy, that should take the attention away from swallowing.


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## moejo (Aug 29, 2005)

MD: I never thought about it as a fear. I guess SA hits us differently. My throat does get dry when I get anxious. Just have water nearby, like a small bottle. Drink it when needed. I don't think anyone cares how we swallow. When speaking, I'm more concerned about my breathing. 

Now farting accidently in public, most will notice that! If the noise don't get them, the smell will.


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## Squizzy (Dec 21, 2004)

Yes, actually I was just thinking about this the other day in class! When I'm nervous and I swallow it sounds really really loud and I'm afraid the people around me can hear. It sounds like I'm gulping. Also sometimes I have difficulty swallowing. Especially in a lecture hall type setting where I'm seated really close people and everyone's quiet. Maybe you could bring a bottle of water and try to drink and swallow and that will make the noise more appropriate?

Edit. I have the same problem with breathing and blinking. If I think about whether or not I'm breathing right, suddenly it becomes a challenge. Or if I'm worried about staring I started feeling like I'm blinking abnormally.

Like someone said maybe just forgetting about it is good, because these types of things are involuntary reflexes for the most part and your body does them automatically. Only complicates the process if we try to think about it.


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## bubblepop15 (Jan 25, 2006)

OMG I TOTALLY have this problem.

The other day, me & my sister & her friend were watching something on TV, and they were saying a dirty joke so I got a little nervous and I didn't want to swallow until after they started talking, but they didn't so I had to take like a huge "gulp" and they heard it lol.


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## instil (Aug 19, 2005)

bubblepop15 said:


> OMG I TOTALLY have this problem.
> 
> The other day, me & my sister & her friend were watching something on TV, and they were saying a dirty joke so I got a little nervous and I didn't want to swallow until after they started talking, but they didn't so I had to take like a huge "gulp" and they heard it lol.


with your sister and her friend?!?! i woulda guessed that those are two people you _wouldnt_ feel uncomfortable around.


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## bubblepop15 (Jan 25, 2006)

instil said:


> bubblepop15 said:
> 
> 
> > OMG I TOTALLY have this problem.
> ...


That's funny, I was just typing a whole response in another thread how I just realized that I certainly do have anxiety around my family.

Well, the "dirty joke" wasn't really a dirty joke, but a really drawn out joke about someone's sexuality which makes me feel uncomfortable because I am gay and I'm not really sure if those 2 know that I am, so the whole three minute joke just made me feel awkward.


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## instil (Aug 19, 2005)

When I was 17, I somehow got this cutie in my english class to go out with me one friday night.

fast forward to after the date.....I invite her inside to "watch a movie or something" 8) (how smooth am i, right?)
So we start to watch something, lounging on the bed...and my stomach groans out this "mmmmmrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaa" 3-second stomach growl.....

:doh we pretend like it didnt happen. 2 minutes later i feel its going to happen again, so im doing this abdominal-crunch-like move to silence it, meanwhile beads of sweat are gathering on my forehead.

"bbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmaaaaaaaaa" 
this time twice as long as the last, i look at her and smile, she starts cracking up. i know it was not that bad....but it totally killed the mood. we joked around for a few minutes, watched tv and i drove her home.

my brain was functioning normally enough (anxiety-wise) to get to this point of the night....and my _stomach_ sabotaged me.


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## laxgirl008 (Apr 18, 2006)

well...holy ****. I just about started to laugh because just last night i was watching a movie with a bunch of people and we were kind of squished on the couch and i was feeling as uncomfortable as usual and i swallowed and i did it a couple times an i was worried the guy sitting next to me could hear me and tell how nervous i was. so yes, I completely understand where youre comming from!


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## ShyViolet (Nov 11, 2003)

I've never thought about people hearing me swallow, but stomach growling is something that really embarrasses me. One day in high school my stomach wouldn't stop growling in the middle of class, and people kept looking at me and laughing. One day I was at the dentist for a cleaning and my stomach kept growling. Last year on my first day at a temporary job I was sitting right next to this lady at her desk, listening to her explain stuff to me, and my stomach kept growling. She just said something like "Time for a snack huh?"

:hide


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## tuna (Jun 25, 2006)

No one's watching-I can relate to your post, word for word. That's one of my biggest physical symptoms of SA. Gulping is a huge sign of nervousness. Remember watching Bugs Bunny cartoons when you were younger? Whenever one of the characters were in trouble they would take a big loud gulp to show how fearful they felt. This is just like any other physical symptom of fear such as rapid heart beating, sweating, etc. I see alot of people on here post about how they don't want others to see them sweating or shaking but they trivialize your symptom. Whatever. I just want you to know that you're not crazy and you're not alone.


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## lyssado707 (Oct 29, 2004)

I have it too. What if they think I'm gross or swallow gross or something? What if I kind of swallow air, and it comes back up and makes a weird noise? ughhh


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## Dove (Mar 14, 2005)

I think about that too. If I feel the need to swallow/gulp, I do it when I just shuffle myself around so that it blends it and you can't hear anything. But I feel self-conscious about shuffling around too so it's not something I can always do.


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## m21 (Dec 1, 2014)

I know this is a very old post but this is still something that I struggle with. It makes it almost unbearable to eat with people unless we're somewhere noisy where I feel the sound of my eating is covered.


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## Razin (Nov 30, 2014)

Yeah just today this happened and I wondered if my throat actually gets tight when around people or if I'm just imagining things. Think a side effect of anxiety is a tight throat tho I might be mistaken.


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## Terranaut (Jul 11, 2013)

I'm I the only one who thought this was about swallowing?It wouldn't occur that anyone was judging me for swallowing my own saliva. As for sex, it's not important to get swallowed and be a straight guy I don't put myself in positions to "swallow". With sex some women want to but either aren't good at it or won't tell you that they haven't done it before. It can be terribly disappointing to have her gag, drop you shortly after you've begun to let go and have her run to the bathroom. Yes, there is such a thing as a bad bj.


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## Skeletra (Aug 30, 2012)

instil said:


> When I was 17, I somehow got this cutie in my english class to go out with me one friday night.
> 
> fast forward to after the date.....I invite her inside to "watch a movie or something" 8) (how smooth am i, right?)
> So we start to watch something, lounging on the bed...and my stomach groans out this "mmmmmrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaa" 3-second stomach growl.....
> ...


I'm sorry, but I laughed so much reading this XD.
I went on a date like this once. He was so cute and embarrassed by it, and the movie was soo long. We both started laughing about it an eventually he would howl with his stomach growls. Hehe. Way to own the moment .
-

I'm not self conscious about swallowing, but I am about chewing. I get "annoyed" (for the lack of a better word) when someone is chewing loudly and I don't have anything to chew on myself (to dull down the awkward loudness). So I'm sure that my own aversion to loud chewing might transcend to my self consciousness of my own chewing at times. Have you ever had any negative feelings of other people swallowing?


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## Batcat (Nov 19, 2014)

I am pretty self conscious about it, but more so about eating food around other people. I absolutely hate eating pasta in restaurants. I don't want to look like an idiot who gets food on their clothes or eats too loudly. I also hate how loudly I eat crisps, I'll never eat them in public.

Strange to think I was 10 years old when this thread was posted :|


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## billbellamy (Jul 23, 2016)

I have this same condition. Eating popcorn or drinking water will only make it worse as you will be forced to swallow. Same with gum or candy.

Movies are only comfortable if I can sit at a distance from everyone besides my wife. Lectures I would recommend coming in late and finding an open area that has space away from other people. Avoiding Close proximity in a quiet setting is the key so sometimes just one chair space away can help. If it is always crowded than the top back corner is a good place to go try to relax. At least people will only be to 2 sides of you.(not surrounded)

Eating with other people can be the worst and something I have to avoid when ever possible.
The key hear is noise. Eating in a busy loud place or even outside with lots of traffic will help.
Having the tv on or a loud vent or fan on at home can help also. Same thing as before if possible get space between you and the other dinners and try to sit at the corner of the table to reduce the surrounded effect.

As mentioned before although not easy try not to focus on it as that will only exacerbate the problem. Try to slow breathing and engage in the convo, lecture, or movie. If you can get your focus off of the swallowing you can get through the event easier.


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## Alkalinity (Mar 10, 2013)

Oh my goodness I thought I was the only one. I'm normal when I'm alone but the second someone sits next to me I become extremely conscious of swallowing, so i try not to, then I have to take an even bigger swallow or it'll feel like my heads gonna explode


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## aravin (May 4, 2017)

ME had this for four years now!


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## thekitten (Jun 25, 2015)

You are describing me perfectly. I am the same. So glad I'm not alone. That is the reason I haven't eaten often when around people, but for me it gets a little easier to cope with through the years. It came out of nowhere, suddenly and in the beginning I thought it was the end of the world and that it wouldn't get better and I didn't even know what was happening, but time made me accept me like that. I mean, I try to act confident and when I try to use positive body language which makes me feel more confident on the inside more too. 

I know you might think you are crazy, that's what I feel like sometimes, but it's not true, it's the social anxiety. I was very confused for a long time wondering what is happening because it just hit me, but I learned to cope with it. I am not depressed anymore. So don't pay too much attention on that. I know you might want to because you feel like you are the only one in the world having these negative irrational thoughts but that is not true. When I was only thinking about that and how I was "the only one" and that there's no escape, basically I started to obsess about what a loser I was, which I'm not. 

So, don't worry, love yourself despite what is happening in your head. It's not your fault you are having these thoughts. I know it's difficult to just stop thinking about something like that because I still suffer from the same thoughts for years, but still time heals, so you will have good days and bad days, but don't worry, it gets easier and easier (depending on the person). 

So, I know your struggle, I have it everyday of my life, so I'm with you!


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## aravin (May 4, 2017)

Thank you very much for the words you wrote kitten


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## Raies (Nov 3, 2016)

Oldish thread, but shore. I'd imagine it to be relatively common with SA (although I can't say whether it actually is or isn't`?)

I also am afraid of breathing to some degree; two reasons I can't have headphones in both ears when around people... (I've learned ways to swallow so that it doesn't make a sound, though, but it is anxiety provoking to not be sure it didn't make a sound)


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