Why does your throat feel squeezed when you hold back tears?

Question

Why does your throat feel squeezed when you hold back tears?

In: 19

Answer 1

It might feel as though it’s being squeezed, but it’s actually your glottis widening.

When in an emotional or stressful situation, we often engage our fight or flight insticts, which makes our nervous system start some processes, like increasing the amount of oxygen we can take in, which is why our glottis will expand.

The reason it feels “squeezed”, is because it can be difficult to swallow, since you’re trying to force the glottis to close while it’s wide open.

Some people also refer to this as a “lump in the throat”.