Breathing awareness is bothering me...

[lessthanjimmy]

I have been able to cope and defeat everything except for the fact that I'm overly aware of my breathing which leads me to panic. Any suggestions? Deep breathing doesn't really work for me btw.
I was doing so well too, perhaps I'm on the road to recovery.

BTW I have never been a worrier infact I have always been a carefree person. Don't ask me why my anxiety came about...

[Charmbracelet81]

I have this also. I brought it up to my therapist last week.
I was doing very well actually,and had finally conquered my heart fear and then all of a sudden (and I mean SUDDENLY) I began feeling as though I wasn't getting air and now I focus on it ALL DAY LONG...just as I did with my heart.
My therapist said I have come such a long way and anxiety is getting so much better, and my mind doesn't like "unemployment" so it found something else to fixate on. The thing is, I have to nip it in the budd, so I don't start old rituals and safety behaviors I did when I had such a strong fear of heart issues.
How did your's come on? Suddenly?

[lessthanjimmy]

yeah pretty much just suddenly. I can't remember when, BUT I'm hopeful that I'll beat it. I'm also unemployed but I'm a little scared that if I get a job I'll freak out while I'm working. I'm going to get a job tommorow though.

[cosma05]

I have also experienced this. It happens when there is nothing wrong with my breathing (not irregular in any way). Why do we pay attention to our autonomous bodily functions? I'm still trying to figure that one out. I also panic if I feel my heart beating faster or if I feel a palpitation. What helped me get over this fear was heading back to the gym and doing cardio. I figured if I can get my heart rate up to 160 and breath heavily while doing cardio and be completely fine; I can go about my day and not panic when I become aware of my breathing. This also happens with the movements I make. For example I think about moving my arm and how I moved it as opposed to it just coming naturally and not over observing it. I mentioned all this to my therapist and he stated that I'm overly sensitive about my body and surroundings. Remember, this necessarily isn't a bad thing.. It makes us keen on things others ignore. Its a double edged sword though, at the same time it causes anxiety. FML

[jj1983]

This is true about being over aware,this is my issue. DID you guys know I read somewhere MOST people with anxiety have a higher iq than those who do not have it? Maybe THAT explains why we all are so guilty of thinking too much, and too fast!

[leslie132]

Maybe joining a yoga class would help? Yoga feels extremely soothing and you'd tackle it head on.
Meditation would also be a good exercise.

[cosma05]

This is true about being over aware,this is my issue. DID you guys know I read somewhere MOST people with anxiety have a higher iq than those who do not have it? Maybe THAT explains why we all are so guilty of thinking too much, and too fast!

Yeah I've heard that on several occasions. The opposite can apply too. Someone who is mentally challenged can suffer from anxiety because he/she doesn't have the mental capacity to cope with everyday situations... But that's not the case here, we're all competent if not closet geniuses.. or i'd like to think so ;)

Over awareness is something that seems to be hard for me to conquer completely. I find it that there are times where my mind is not constantly thinking about my body and movements...then something triggers it and I become keen on my breathing, heart rate, movements, surroundings, sounds and etc... It's like a heightened sense of everything with can be overwhelming.

It's almost as the subconscious mind looks for reasons to get anxious since being anxious is much easier than feeling normal.

For me, this sorta of invisible switch flicked and I have been battling it ever since. I've been getting the upper hand though. Lets hope it continues to get better.