I am presenting a hypothesis that combines birth trauma, gagging, and panic attacks.
When three gagging patients presented in one day, I know that God was showing me something special. A four-month-old had two tongue tie revisions, and mom was thinking about a third. I told her she had a lot of contributing strain in her throat.
In therapy that throat strain immediately created a distinct gagging response. The mother was concerned, but I told her that this was part of the healing process. The body needed to revisit the birth trauma to clear and heal it.
I later saw a six-year-old with gagging issues. He had trouble eating certain foods, and no one was able to correct his problem. When that throat strain similarly came up as severe gagging, I reassured his mom.
Finally that afternoon I worked with a thirty-year-old woman who had done well with her headaches but was still having anxiety and panic attacks. In therapy when her throat quickly exhibited fascial strain with gagging and choking, she went right into panic attack mode. Since she really wanted to clear the issue, she was fine putting up with some short discomfort.
Two hallmarks of panic attacks are choking and difficult breathing. I am proposing that fascial birth strain can possibly be the root of the problem. During infancy and childhood the gagging signs fall trough the cracks of the medical system and can later grow into adulthood panic attacks.
This discovery may be why no one can really get at the source of the problem since patients are predisposed in their throat from forgotten birth trauma. They learn to manage their tightness until the over-the-top stress hits. When the fascia then further tightens the throat, a choking feeling arises, breathing becomes difficult, and a panic attack results. We will have to see how this theory plays out in time.
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