Tips to deal with breathlessness at night please

[Pakadillis]

Hi,

I have began suffering from breathlessness where I feel the need to take in HUGE breath every few seconds, and cannot stop yawning.

I also wake in the night with the sensation of not being able to breathe.

I know I can breathe..... I know im not dying. My oxygen levels are always 98-99%.

I think it may have become a habit if anybody knows what I mean. Almost like a tic (Anyone who has had this may know what I mean). The reason I think it might be this is because I had a tic problem with scrunching up my nose when I was younger, where I would get this tense feeling and the "need" to scrunch it up that started with a runny nose but carried on long after.

Im thinking maybe this is the same.... maybe I am feeling this habit and "tense" feeling and "need" to take a deep breath in as breathlessness when it is infact not.

What I would like is some helpful tips to overcome this naturally and how to deal with this in the evening as it feels extremely unpleasant.

Thank you.

[jusroc]

body scan relaxation / meditation would help.

That and other relaxation techniques.

Jon Kabat-Zinn sells a recorded CD with his 45 min body scan relaxation meditation on it.

However, I would also recommend looking into other relaxation therapies in the day / week end also.
As, your mind is like a spinning wheel. And if it never gets time to slow down, it will spin faster and faster until you can handle no more.

Tai Chi Chan / Breathing Meditation / Yoga / Aikido / Shiatsu all very useful in relaxing the mind and body. The exercise element in some of them will also help as regular exercise cuts cortisol in the blood stream.

Please note, that there is no quick cure for anxiety and that you will likely have to work on relaxing every day possible for a number of years, possibly for life.

However, if you do pursue, you may end up as calm and as happy as those groovey tibetan buddhist monks.
:-)
although, no religious conversion is required.
good luck.