Mulberry rd winder ga

Hello All,
First off I want to say what you are going through is only temporary. It is easy to beat yourself up about it thinking it is weird, or stupid, but just know that you are not alone and there are many other irrational fears that millions of people struggle with every day. Having said that, I have found some relief recently and wanted to post on here in the hopes that it helps some of you.
My story of this phobia started two years ago where I felt like I couldn't swallow while I was eating steak at a restaurant. This instantly triggered a panic attack, fight or flight response that freaked me out. I swallowed the piece just fine, but I believe that experience triggered this phobia in my subconscious. This lead to two straight years of overthinking every meal I experienced. I will admit, my phobia never got so bad that I couldn't eat solid food, but I had to eat very slow, over chew everything, and overall just stressing about something that should typically bring you happiness. However, in just the last week I have found some relief, and with time I am hopeful that I will conquer this once and for all.
Now, we all wish there was a magic pill that could make this instantly go away. There are a lot of anxiety meds out there and they seem to help a lot of people. However, I believe that all these do is suppress the symptoms, instead of fixing the root cause. So that was my mission, to put in the work and find a way to identify the root cause of my fear and anxiety around eating. Here is a list of what I did:
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1. I listened to this podcast episode from Stanford Neuroscientist on Erasing Fear and Trauma. Here is the link if you are interested - Erasing Fears & Traumas Based on the Modern Neuroscience of Fear Huberman Lab Podcast #49 - YouTube
   1. One thing I took away from this and started doing is the Cyclic Hyperventilation. Where for 5 minutes every day for two weeks you purposely put yourself in a state of stress and anxiety. He explains it in detail in the podcast, but I am 8 days in and it is really helping. While I do this I think about eating scary things such as steak. If you try this make sure you follow his precautions that he mentions on the podcast.
2. I listened to another podcast from Huberman (he is a wealth of knowledge on a variety of topics). Here is the link if you are interested - Dr. Chris Palmer: Diet & Nutrition for Mental Health Huberman Lab Podcast #99 - YouTube
   1. This is one of the most fascinated podcasts I have ever listened to. This guy has actually healed people with Schizophrenia through diet and nutrition. Because of this podcast I started doing the keto diet about 10 days ago. Wow! I can't believe how much better I feel and how better my mental health and attitude concerning food. Now, I know it may seem counterproductive since our phobia is around eating, but there are many soft foods that would be considered low carb or keto. Avocado, soft scrambled eggs, soft cheeses, and milk are some of my staples. If you can't eat any of those, you can always make shakes with full fat milk, almond milk, and a variety of other items to make a very healthy low carb meal replacement shake.
3. Cold Showers
   1. Sounds crazy and woo woo, but there is actually a lot of science around the mental (and physical) benefits of cold showers. I have been doing this in conjunction with the cyclic hyperventilation, and I really think they are helping. You can even start with a warm shower, and then finish with the cold for about 60-90 seconds. That is all it takes to get the benefits. Look up the Wim Hof Method and you can learn more about this.
4. Exercise
   1. You don't have to get a gym membership, just find something (walking, biking, swimming) that gets your body moving. Exercise has been shown to greatly improve mental health. I recommend some kind of light shoulder exercise and neck stretches to really help strengthen that area and help swallowing.
5. Omega-3
   1. If you are on anxiety meds thats fine, but if not, Omega-3 supplements have been shown to provide an anti-depressant effect around the same level as an SSRI. You want to find a supplement that gives at least 2000mg of Omega 3. If you are interested, here is a link to what I have been taking for the last 10 days Amazon.com: OmegaWell Omega 3 Fish Oil - 2000mg Capsules: Heart, Brain, & Joint Support - 800 mg EPA 600 mg DHA - w/Natural Lemon Oil, Sustainably Sourced - Mini Softgels - 30 Day Supply : Health & Household
   2. If you can't swallow the pills, you can actually cut the tips off them and mix the oil in with a smoothie or water.
6. Meditation/Yoga/Stretching
   1. I recommend a combination of these three. Find one that you like and try it out for a couple weeks. Focus on your breathing with any of these and they will help I guarantee it. There is an app called Plyability that use every night before bed. 10-20 minutes of stretching combined with breathwork and I feel amazing.
7. Breathwork
   1. I like the app "Breathwrk." There are dozens of breathing exercises you can work on and practice for what you think will help you. What has helped me is doing the "Lung Capacity" exercise. It forces you to take slow breaths with a 20 second breath hold. It is meant to strengthen your diaphragm and increase lung capacity. I think this really helps with my eating because a lot of anxiety starts with your breath. If you can learn to control your breath and your mind while eating, it makes the whole experience much easier.
8. Talk to someone
   1. Spouse, family, therapist, anybody. Find someone to talk to about this. I opened up to my wife about it (I was embarrassed for a whole to mention this to anyone and tried to hide it), and I have felt much better and much less weird or ashamed. So find someone that will understand and help you work through it, it makes a world of difference.

I know this seems like a lot, but remember as much as we want to snap our fingers and make this go away, thats just not going to happen. Sometimes it takes action. But that is the beauty in this! You don't have to rely on a drug or a doctor to fix this, YOU HAVE CONTROL OVER YOUR OWN MIND. And if you have the control, you have the ability to fix it. It might be hard and may take some time, but you have the power to fix this fear! Remember, it is HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY unlikely that you will choke to death. The data is like 1.5/100,000 people choke to death. That includes babies, elderly people, and non-food choking deaths! Your body is hard wired to automatically chew and swallow, so this fear is just your brain getting in the way of what your body naturally knows what to do.
Hopefully some of this helps, feel free to reach out with any questions!