WHY does stress cause a lump in the throat?
This tells us that the body's autonomic nervous system (ANS) is struggling with the stressful situation. This system is independent of the human will and functions autonomously.
When we're nervous, the ANS tries to oxygenate the body as much as possible. To do this, it forces us to breathe faster and expands a part of our throat called the vocal cleft so that air gets through faster.
The feeling of muscular resistance to closing the throat when we try to swallow is the "lump in the throat".
