zeromisfit999
02-10-2009, 06:42 PM
Even when I was little I had this fear of being unable to breathe. I remember waking up at night and telling my parents I wasn't breathing right, even though I was completely fine. Anxiety runs in my family, and about 2years ago I was prescribed xanax. I didn't get really bad bad anxiety until my senior year of high school. It was in no way social anxiety, and it was only when I was trying to sleep. Same thing as when I was a child, feelings of inability to breathe when in reality I was breathing fine. It go so bad that I finally did something about it. Here's the problem however. Whenever I get that anxious feeling, or anxiety in general, it causes me to think as if I'm noth ing breathing. I've got some bad habits of putting my hand in front of mynose simply to convince my self that I'm breathing, but when that doesn't work, smoking a cigarette always seems to help. But this leads to chain smoking on more anxious days. I also have formed a habit of checking my heart beat, which is causing me to be unable to work out because whenever my heart beats fast, I get very anxious. I'm 21 years old and I've been smoking since I was about 16. I know it's a terrible thing for anxiety, but I can't kick the habit for that very reason. I've been looking into natural ways to rid myself of the anxiety. I get it in social situations, but usually when it hits the worse, it's completely random. I don't know what to do. Sometimes I feel helpless. I don't go out for days at a time just because I don't like people seeing me like that. It's not the people causing it however. I'm generally a very outgoing person. I don't wanna be on xanax the rest of my life.So I guess the questions I have to ask are. What are some natural methods of semi-curing anxiety? and what can I do other than smoking to fill that void of the fear of being unable to breathe? I do not hyperventilate, I've had a few panic attacks, but they were almost all caused by lack of sleep. I'd talk to my doctor, but he always suggests new medication. I'm currently taking about 2-2.5 mg a day of xanax. Is it ok to take it sooner than the 6 hour period I was told to? Some days I take one right after waking up, then maybe 2 or 3 hours later I feel the need for another. But usually that is the only time I feel like I need another that soon. I take half milligrams at a time. I've read most people on Xanax take around 5-6 milligrams a day, so I feel as though I'm doing pretty good with not getting a tolerance, and only taking it when necessary. I've got no where else to vent this, so I hope some help can be done. I'm fed up with getting that feeling. It happens when I'm driving as well. Thanks for your time