Sore Throat From Stress and Anxiety | Symptoms and Causes — Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Los Angeles (2024)

For many, the first sign of getting sick is a mild sore throat that increases in intensity over time. This can be a symptom of a bacterial infection, such as a throat infection, or a virus like the flu, strep throat, or the common cold. However, many people suffer from chronic sore throat with no physiological illness as a cause. Sometimes, they visit numerous doctors trying to find a physical cause, spending a lot of time and money but not getting any answers. For some of these people, the answer may be psychological: sore throat from stress and anxiety.

Dysphonia

One stress-related condition due to anxiety, called dysphonia, is a common example of this interaction between emotion and physical response. In dysphonia, stress-induced tension affects the muscles controlling the voice box. This can result in symptoms like hoarseness, voice cracks, tight throat, and pain in the throat, particularly when speaking. Although this condition may seem like more of a minor nuisance, a sore throat may be debilitating for those who use their voice for their career, such as teachers and singers.

Dysphagia

Anxiety can lead to a condition known as dysphagia, a swallowing disorder. Recent studies highlight the significant role anxiety plays in the severity of dysphagia. A common manifestation of dysphagia involves people feeling anxiety and then noticing difficulty swallowing, which leads them to focus more intensely on swallowing. The problem with this pattern is that the more you focus on trying to swallow, the more difficult it can become. Because difficulty swallowing can be an early sign of neurodegenerative disorders such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's, people fear they have one of these serious diseases, increasing their anxiety and, thus, their dysphagia in a perpetual feedback loop.

Globus Sensation

Additionally, anxiety can cause a globus sensation—a feeling of a lump in your throat without any physical presence, sometimes accompanied by a cough. While this condition is usually not painful, the sensation tends to worsen during periods of heightened stress, reflecting the relationship between emotional states and physical symptoms. Research suggests that up to 96 percent of individuals with this lump in the throat feeling report worsening symptoms during emotionally charged periods, further underscoring how anxiety can affect your throat and throat symptoms.

Understanding how anxiety causes and influences these conditions is crucial for individuals seeking to manage and alleviate the physical symptoms associated with stress-induced throat discomfort.

Common signs of an anxiety-related sore throat include tendencies such as mouth breathing and dry throat, a result of rapid and shallow breaths that often accompany anxious states. Hyperventilation, also known as rapid breathing, can also contribute to throat discomfort. Furthermore, heightened muscle tension, a frequent companion of anxiety, may manifest as a tight or constricted feeling in the throat. The best way to rule out a physiological cause is to monitor the symptoms over time. If the symptoms diminish or disappear as the anxiety dissipates, it is likely a sore throat caused by stress and anxiety.

However, it's important to first consult a physician to check for a physical cause. Common signs of infection or other physical illness are often marked by swollen tonsils, nasal congestion, wet coughs, fever, body aches, and other distinct indicators of infections or allergies. Understanding these distinctions aids in accurate identification and targeted management of the root cause, guiding individuals toward appropriate avenues for relief. Learning to reduce stress and anxiety will be of no benefit to your throat if you're neglecting to treat a physical condition such as strep throat, which can be very dangerous if left untreated.