What Causes the Lump in Our Throat During Sadness?

Our bodies react similarly, crying, whether we’re flooded with happiness at a lovely wedding or have witnessed the opening heartbreaking 15 minutes of Up and are now wondering about our own transitory existence.

However, we experience that peculiar lump in our throat together with immense anguish or excitement in addition to tears. So why do we cry with one part of the body while experiencing a bodily sensation in another? Prepare yourself because some wonderful science is about to begin.

We need to first talk broadly about why we weep and what happens to our body when we cry in order to understand why we develop lumps in our throats.

Although the precise cause of our tears is somewhat mysterious, there is compelling evidence that because humans are very social beings, crying is a kind of non-verbal communication.

This means that when we weep, we are letting those around us know that we are feeling down and need their support. As Bec Crew clarified for us the previous year:

Scientists believe that in addition to other physiological responses like a faster heartbeat and shallower breathing, emotional tears help to quickly stabilize your mood and may serve as a very clear signal to those around you that you might be in need of some cuddles. Emotional tears start to flow when you feel out of control.

Our personal relationships — which are essential to our survival as humans — are strengthened at these tender, crying moments when we are comforted by another person.

Making stronger ties isn’t the only theory put out, though. According to some researchers, sobbing was formerly a strategy we used to succumb to invaders.

By displaying symptoms of capitulation, an attacker — likely another person — would feel sorry for us and leave us alone (or at least alive). This normally isn’t a strong defense against an attack from, say, a lion, as they don’t give a damn about your feelings.

In light of this, what actually transpires inwardly, physically, when we begin to feel emotion?

According to Nick Knight for The Independent, depending on the situation, your autonomic nervous system—the general system that governs other nervous systems like the sympathetic nervous system — goes into overdrive and triggers a variety of various reactions inside your body.

The same system also governs other unconscious bodily processes like digestion, including your “fight or flight” reaction. In order to make it easier for you to hit something in the face or sprint away in the opposite direction to safety when this system enters hyper mode, it first distributes oxygen throughout your body.

Your body must breathe in oxygen before it can be distributed to all of your muscles. The neurological system instructs the glottis, the opening in your throat that directs air into lungs without bringing food with it, to remain open for as long as possible in an effort to take in more air. To put it another way, your neck expands wider than usual to allow for more air to pass through.

Your glottis doesn’t actually feel like it’s expanding. If you did, life would feel incredibly bizarre. However, you do experience muscle strain as a result of your body attempting to maintain your glottis open throughout every swallow.

Normally, throughout the day when you aren’t crying, your glottis opens and closes when you swallow. This prevents any confusion in between the directions that air and spit and food go.

Your glottis tries to remain open while you cry or are about to cry, but it is forced to close every time you swallow. Your throat muscles become tense as a result of this strain, giving you a lump in your throat.

Everyone experiences the globus sensation, often known as the lump feeling, in these stressful circumstances. Usually, after you calm down and your glottis resumes its normal function, this sensation goes away soon.

The procedure for producing tears is extremely similar and is triggered by your nerve system.

Obviously, crying also has a number of other adverse effects, such as a runny nose, a red face, and perhaps even a headache, as everyone who has ever shed a tear is all too familiar with. These are all brought on by the fact that your tear ducts and sinuses are intertwined to the point where you essentially become a ball of snot.

Therefore, if you’d like, pretend that a relationship is ending (it’s not genuine, don’t worry!). Your neurological system gets into motion and activates your fight-or-flight response as the news breaks. Your body begins to attempt to increase the flow of oxygen to your muscles while simultaneously causing your tear ducts to open.

You begin to cry and begin to breathe more deeply in order to get more oxygen into your body. Your glottis is kept open as a result to make up for this. You’re crying now, truly crying. You’re sobbing, and the mucus in your throat and nose is thickening and forcing you to swallow.

When you do, your throat’s muscles become confused and attempt to seal your glottis, which is effectively propped open, resulting in the lump you feel in your throat. Nothing more has to be done at this point other than to flip on the Hallmark channel and have a few tubs of Ben & Jerry’s (preferably Chunky Monkey).

You have it now! Your body is actually doing something quite wonderful by making you into a better breathing machine, which is why you have a lump in your throat.