Shortness of Breath

[AnxiousChic]

This is my main symptom. I hate it! My husband is a P.A. and I have made him listen to me with his stethoscope to confirm I don't have a breathing disorder. LOL
When I feel a panic attack coming on I start feeling nervous and then I can't catch my breath.
I have to calm myself down, breathe properly (from the stomach), and finally I can catch my breath.
But it's not as easy as it sounds. If I'm really panicing it takes a while.

Anyone else get the shortness of breath?

[Buttercup]

Yes, I used to get that frequently. I felt I had to yawn all the time to get more air in. It's such a common symptom with anxiety and, like all the other anxiety symptoms, is scary. A combination of meds, therapy and learning relaxation techniques has really helped me. If it gets really bad and you end up badly hyperventilating then cup your hands over your mouth (or use a paper bag if you have one) and take long deep breaths.

[luckyb]

Hey so how long have you been experiencing this? And i'm guessing that you don't have a breathing disorder? :)

It sounds like what you're doing is exactly what you should be doing in my opinion - mentally calm yourself down and breath deeply, eventually it will ease.

Shortness of breath was not really one of my main symptoms, but I know there are breathing exercises to help - try something like escapepanic.com or google breathing excercises.

[AnxiousChic]

I've had it 4 days now.
I haven't had any panic attacks for about 6 years, and this week something triggered them.
I have a very busy schedule, with a lot going on, and I'm a terrible sleeper.
I think I have finally burned myself out.
I'm not on any meds; however, I saw my Doc today and she gave me Xanax (.25mg), which I took today.
I've taken xanax before (years ago) and am familiar with all doses up to 1mg. It helps when I take it.
I was on Zoloft about 6 years ago for a year.
I'm hoping to get through this without too many meds.

[10x10]

Oh my gosh, I can't tell you how much I relate to this. My breathing in my main concern. I have heard a lot of people with anxious are very aware of their heart and may become anxious if their heartbeat is irregular. I have never had concerns about my heart - but when I started having panic attacks my breathing was all that concerned me! I would regularly check my pulse to see if my breathing was regular.

I was at the point where I was constantly thinking about my breathing. I went to the doctors to do chest x-rays. I would wake up in the morning and the first thing I thought was 'am I breathing?' I would be scared to bend over because it would upset my breathing. The only time I was happy is when I was sleeping and I couldn't think about my breathing. The list just went on... I think what initially may have set off the problem was that I am an asthmatic and a smoker, then I had an asthma attack... Needless to say, I wasn't smoking!

However, if I can help you with anything - it is that THIS WILL PASS. This was happening to me two years ago, and I hardly think about it any more. Sometimes my breathing will be slightly strange (I still do this odd thing which is where I suddenly breathe in quickly and it's like my heart skips a beat). I used to lapse into a panic attack after it, however these days I just mellow for a second, and just don't give it a second thought. Just a blip on the map :) What really helped me was a combination of medication and learning more and more about anxiety and what to do.

Also - the best advice I ever received: Even if something crazy happened to your breathing, and you become so short of breath that you passed out, in your unconscious state your body would regulate your breathing again. So nothing terrible could ever happen. I hope that helps, because that information really helped me :)

You are welcome to PM me if you want to chat RE the breathing, believe me, I experienced it all :(

[Tomasz Kopec]

We do not normally think how to breath. It just happens. The breathing awareness may be triggered my tension of diaphragm which can happen during anxiety. Once diaphragm is tens it does not stretch properly during each breath hence the impression that something is wrong. I think the worst happens when you try to control breathing by consciously moving your diaphragm and manipulating your natural rhythm. You cannot get it right because you do not normally do breathing, breathing happens to you. My suggestion is to not bother with controlling your breathing rhythm. Put your hands on you stomach and become aware of them touching your stomach. Fell the touch on both sides at the same time and how you hands move up and down with each breath.

[AnxiousChic]

Wow, 10x10 and Tomasz, what you said really made me feel better. I hope I can remember it throughout today :) Thank you.

[AnxiousChic]

BTW, it's so true what you said. When I wake up I think about breathing, and my husband says the same thing to me, "When you try to make yourself breathe, you mess it all up."
I need to snap out of this. Nothing else makes me worried...no heart palps, no fear of passing out, nothing...just that I won't catch my breath at the next breath. Man!!!!

[AnxiousChic]

It always helps to hear others who feel the same way. You know you're not alone, and it an get better! :)

[AnxiousChic]

And of course I end up of feeling like, "OMG! What if something else is wrong?!! What if I have Asthma? What if it's not anxiety?"
Though I guess me worrying "what if?" actually confirms it's anxiety. LOL!
But even so, I'm still going to freak out thinking that ;)

[Tomasz Kopec]

The 'what if?' question can really mess you up because whatever reassuring answer you get you can always find a small exception and ask 'what if this exception happens?'. So in my opinion the only good answer for 'what if?' question is 'I WILL DEAL WITH THAT'.

[PanicCured]

My guess is you get scared then think you don't have enough oxygen so you start breathing for more. You start blowing off too much CO2 and then your are actually getting less oxygen in because you are over breathing which causes your nerves to excite, and then you get light headed, and panic starts creeping up even more. Then you continue to try and breathe more. Which makes you lose more CO2 and then it goes into a vicious circle. Then your respiratory centers of your brain notice you are breathing out too much CO2, so it tries to get you to slow down your breathing to balance it out, and then you feel like you can't breathe. You feel your breathing is stopping or slowing down, because your brain is trying to reset you to normal. So you then try and breathe more which perpetuates the problem.

Even if this isn't exactly you, I guarantee it is a lot of people on this site, so maybe it'll help someone.

[AnxiousChic]

You all are so awesome, because you know I am checking this site constantly and re-reading everything you all are replying to me. It does reassure me when I read these. Even if it doesn't last long, I just want you to know you are reassuring, and I thank you guys.

[10x10]

I know exactly what you mean about finding reassurance that other people are feeling the same way. I am blessed to have friends who understand (and some also have). Other people would just think I was crazy saying, 'I'm worried about my breathing". I really feel for you though, because I can't even express how frustrating it was to focus on it all the time. So I know exactly how you feel - I did the exact same thing when I woke up! The reason I went on medication was because it became too much. I try and express that to people, imagine being aware of EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE. It's enough to drive anyone crazy!

But Tomasz is right- even if it IS asthma, you will deal with it then. Also, I don't know if you are an asthmatic, but if you do have an asthma attack it is very clear that you are having one. Which is something I need to remember as well. But even if it is asthma, so what? There are plenty of hospitals and ambulances that will all be there quickly to give you oxygen. It would never get to the point where the situation would be dire! The only way this impacts my life now is I won't go camping in the middle of nowhere because this would set my anxiety off. I still need to know that help is nearby, and as long as I have that, it's fine.

I hope this helps and you do begin to think a bit more positively about the future, because I can honestly say that it's not even a big thing for me anymore. I still get that thing I mentioned (it's like all of a sudden I take a big gulp of air and my heart skips a beat) - but I used to worry constantly about it happening. I used to worry constantly about it happening at work, at home, at the shops... anywhere. Now it will even happen to me when I'm giving a speech at work and I just stop talking for a moment, have a drink of water, and push on! If it is still bothering you, you could go talk to someone about learning tricks to relax yourself, but I think the key thing to remember is "what is the worse that could happen?"

The WORST possible thing that could happen is that you will run out of breath and die. OK, but how would you run out of breath? By being unable to breathe properly? Even if you are not getting enough air in, all you will do is eventually pass out and the body will regulate the breathing back to normal. Other bad thing that can happen - what if it is asthma? Ok, if it gets to the point where you are UNABLE to breathe deeply at all, then it may very well be asthma. Call an ambulance. They come and give you oxygen, if that's still not working, you will get a shot of a steroid that will help your lungs open. So really, the worst possible thing that could happen is that you will pass out for a few minutes (if it even got to that point!) and then so what? People faint all the time :)

Sorry - I do tend to go on yapping about this. but only because this is something I really struggled with, and since now I am living reasonably well with it, I just hope I can help!