When a powerful wave of sadness or grief hits, it often brings with it a painful, constricting feeling in the throat, commonly described as a “lump” or soreness. This sensation occurs precisely when a person is attempting to hold back the strong urge to cry, making the experience of emotional distress an immediate physical discomfort. While the feeling may seem purely emotional, it is a very real physiological response to intense feeling, a complex interplay between the mind and the muscles of the neck.
The Body’s Stress Response
The foundational trigger for this choking sensation is the activation of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS), which governs the body’s involuntary functions. When an individual experiences sudden, profound emotional distress, the sympathetic nervous system—the “fight or flight” branch—is immediately engaged. This response is meant to prepare the body for a perceived emergency. The sympathetic activation triggers a rapid release of stress hormones, notably adrenaline, which causes widespread physical changes. One of the primary goals of the fight-or-flight response is to maximize oxygen delivery to the large muscle groups. This systemic change is the root cause of the physical changes felt in the throat.
How Throat Muscles React
The sympathetic system’s drive for increased oxygen intake directly impacts the structures in the throat. To facilitate rapid, deep breathing, the nervous system sends signals to widen the glottis, the opening between the vocal cords in the larynx. This involuntary widening requires the laryngeal muscles, such as the cricothyroid and thyroarytenoid muscles, to tense up and hold the glottis open. This sustained tensing creates the physical feeling of constriction or the “lump in the throat”. This sensation is medically termed globus pharyngeus, which describes the feeling of a mass or blockage where none actually exists. When a person attempts to swallow against this widened glottis, the opposing muscle groups briefly conflict, which amplifies the feeling of a painful blockage.
The Feedback Loop of Suppression
The reason the pain is particularly noticeable when a person “tries not to cry” stems from a compounding feedback loop: voluntary action exacerbates the involuntary reaction. The initial sympathetic response already causes the laryngeal muscles to tighten in preparation for emotional release or increased respiration. When a person consciously suppresses the urge to cry—by holding their breath, repeatedly swallowing, or actively trying to clench their jaw—they are adding voluntary tension to the already involuntarily constricted muscles. This conscious effort forces the neck and throat muscles to work harder against the autonomic signals that are trying to keep the airway open. This muscular strain intensifies the feeling of soreness and the lump. Allowing tears to flow often signals a shift back toward parasympathetic dominance, which finally allows the laryngeal muscles to relax and the painful sensation to subside.