What Causes That 'Lump" in My Throat?

In the past few weeks I've become more comfortable with crying in public. Being an empathetic person who absorbs the moods and manners of all around her means that I am a ticking time bomb of emotion. I could burst into tears at any moment, and that's just in my regular day-to-day life. Add in the distress and anguish of the illness and subsequent death of my mother this month and now what I have developed is a complete inability to restrain my emotions, regardless of where I am. But that doesn't mean I don't try! And when I do try to hold back the fluid courses of grief my body reacts with what is commonly referred to as 'a lump in the throat.' 

I've experienced having a lump in my throat hundreds of times before, but had never before paid attention. The other day, though, I found that I was curious about this lump. Where did it come from and where did it go? So, I looked online. 

According to Michael Onken of Washington University* when our body experiences stress it's first unconscious instinct is to increase the level of oxygen that is being taken in. To do this, our glottis expands. Unfortunately, when we are crying - or trying our best not to cry - we swallow, and this makes our glottis want to contract! So that 'lump' that we feel isn't a lump at all. It is simply the sensation of the glottis receiving contradictory demands and struggling to cope. Much the same as we are! 

Too bad there are no exercise programs or weight-training regimes to prepare and strengthen my poor little glottis for the days ahead. 

*(http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/mar97/855114309.An.r.html)