What is the reasoning behind it? Makes no sense.

I am starting to think that this whole GERD/LPR thing is largely an anxiety issue, and a mechanical problem (in the case of hiatus hernia, etc.)

Diet does nothing for me. In fact, the more obsessive I am about the LPR, the worse the symptoms. When I relax and have fun, I barely notice the throat issues. When I sit behind my desk at work, stressed out (I have a very stressful job), I start getting a lot of throat symptoms. I have been on PPIs for over a month, quit drinking, etc.--and symptoms have not gone down at all. I worry day and night about this problem, and the more I worry, the worse it gets.

I am going on vacation in a few weeks, and I am going to have beers and relax. I am tired of GI issues dictating my life.

GERD symptoms and anxiety have always gone hand in hand for me. I have had heartburn for as long as I can remember but it got really bad when I was pregnant with my son 8 years ago. When he was about 18 months old I started back to work full time and went through a very stressful time. I started to have panic attacks and lots of stomach issues. That is how I found out about my hiatal hernia and was diagnosed with GERD. I was on PPI's off and on and dealt with anxiety off an on for the last few years. It finally dawned on me that these two issues were "feeding" off of each other. I would get spasms in my esophagus that I thought were heart palpitations but everything always tested fine, I also had chest pains from the reflux which always made me anxious and worried that maybe all the "tests" were wrong and it was my heart. Like you, PPI's took care of the acid, so I didn't feel the burning, but I still had reflux and pressure in my chest.

My GI doctor told me that people who deal with these sorts of issues do become hyper-aware of everything going on in their stomach and notice things that other people wouldn't. Even knowing what is going on, once your brain is in that mode it is hard to shut it off. I just made my own post earlier this evening about anxiety following the nissen surgery. (I am 20 days post op)

All I can say is that you are right, your symptoms do probably seem better when you are busy, you just aren't noticing it as much. I decided that I needed to have the surgery, PPI's weren't taking away all the symptoms and with my hiatal hernia it was never going to just go away. My heartburn symptoms are gone, I do still get some chest pain when I have overdone it on food or activity, but it is better than before surgery. I figured I needed to get the actual mechanical problem fixed so that I would have less to deal with that would cause me anxiety. Anyway, this post sort of got away from me....best of luck to you!!!