Phagophobia: how to overcome the fear of swallowing

Phagophobia is the irrational fear of eating or choking on food.

It is a phobia that can have great consequences on the health of the sufferer. Among the most important consequences are malnutrition, social isolation or depression, among others.

Currently, a large number of people in the world are affected by swallowing problems. On many occasions, these are not easily detected and can become a serious problem, especially when an anxiety disorder develops, as it can lead to specific phobias such as phagophobia.

How does phagophobia occur?

It appears when we live a situation that makes us develop fear at the time of swallowing, i.e., we may have choked or have seen someone close to us choking and, from there, anticipation anxiety or panic attacks appear.

Another cause would be the fact that the person is very demanding and wants to control everything or has hypochondria and tends to think that something bad is happening to him/her.

How should it be treated?

From the center of clinical psychology and health we approach this type of phobia from the psychological side with a cognitive behavioral treatment, accompanying the patient in his process of change and helping him to face his fear with a treatment designed especially for him.

We have a unique program in the market for people suffering from this disorder through which they can eat again without anxiety, break mental patterns, manage to go out with people for dinner or lunch and, above all, regain confidence with their body. In this link you can find all the information about this program: www.superatumiedoatragar.com