Do you panic that you can't breath??

[boobearlove]

I do, and I know it's from smoking...but I get paniced that I can't breath then of coarse I hyperventilate....does anyone else go through this and what do you usually do to calm down??

[synaptic]

i am an asthmatic, so im familiar with it feeling hard to breathe. thankfully my anxiety has not triggered anything in that direction, but im not afraid of asthma since i've had it all my life, and i usually only get asthma attacks in the spring, so thats probably why i dont worry about my breathing when anxiety makes my chest tight. tightness from anxiety has yet to come even close to what it feels like to have an asthma attack.

i dont know if this would help you or not, but my method for dealing with an asthma attack has been:

- sit down and try to make yourself comfortable. in my case, i have to sit up as lying down makes me cough more during an attack. since you're not having an asthma attack, you are probably free to sit however you're most comfortable.

- close your eyes to minimize distractions.

- focus on breathing slowly and evenly. do not try to force your breathing, that will only make things worse. just feel your chest slowly rise and fall. even if you dont think you're taking in as much air as you should, you are still breathing, and therefore will be ok. from what i've experienced, especially when the attacks were really bad when i was a kid, you can still get enough air to survive even when your breathing feels remarkably restricted.

additionally, the body needs less oxygen when its relaxed than when it is tense. so by focusing on slow and steady breathing, you will help your body relax, and therefore require even less oxygen while simultaneously relaxing your chest muscles, making the mechanical motions of breathing easier to do.

conversly, forcing your breathing requires more energy and therefore more oxygen. and when your muscles are already tense, forcing them more will only make the job of breathing seem harder. you can kind of think of forcing your breathing as kind of like dealing with a non-newtonian fluid. the more you force it, the more it resists and acts like a solid. but relax into it, it acts like a liquid and comfortably lets you right in. it seems that i havent made enough posts here for the forum to allow me to include links to anything, but for a good example of the fluid im talking about, go to you tube and type "mythbusters non-newtonian" into the search.

- once you've been doing this for a while with your eyes closed most of the time (5 minutes at least, but longer is better), and you think you're into the rhythm, feel free to open your eyes and look around. you can listen to music or watch tv, but it needs to be something relaxing and just as easily ignored. dont involve yourself in anything that is going to be too exciting (or even funny) because the goal here is to remain relaxed and breathing slowly and evenly.

in time, your breathing problem will subside. in my case, i just wait it out until the asthma attack ends or i manage to go to sleep. in your case, once you are relaxed for a while, you will probably find your breathing is easier. and even if you still feel tense and cant breathe well...you've already got proof that you've lived that long, so you will know that you can keep going. :)

hope this helps a bit.

[Winterbreeze]

I had that 2 days ago, felt terrible..

[boobearlove]

Thank you

[dorigen]

I found that the rule of opposites works....

When you need to calm down and can't breathe, what do people tell you to do?

Breathe in?

What should you do?

The opposite.

You are already breathing rapidly and shallowly, so how does breathing in make sense? Breathe out first, really push that air out, then breathe in. I guarantee you will feel much better. Try it. Worked wonders for me.

Got this from the Panic Attacks Workbook by Carbonell

[synaptic]

Thank you so much for the advice.....it really does help...thanks again...

Pamela Aka boobearlove

glad to be of assistance. :)

[neverbeenright]

I find that when I'm very anxious, I'll unconsciously hold my breath, and then breathe fast and shallow when I need air. This will cycle over and over until I'm through the anxiety attack. Just thought I'd mention that because you might watch yourself to see if you're doing it. The solution is still the same - deep, even breaths in and out (without holding) can break the holding/hyperventilating cycle.

I was a 2-3 pack/day smoker for a long time and quit about 11 years ago. I must say that, although I still do the holding/fast breathing I don't get that suffocating sensation that I used to. It could very well have a lot to do with the smoking.

[greenleaf]

Thanks for that post. It relaxed me just reading it. My asthma wasn't identified until this year. So I went through some scary times with out a rescue inhaler. I will think of this post every time I have an asthma attack.