difficulty Breathing

[jma1024]

sometimes i feel the need to make myself breathe like i feel like im not getting enough air its so scary i just when cry sometimes usually when i get up and just go to my bathroom my heart starts fluttering and pounding and i had my heart tested 2yrs ago for everything and they said everything is fine beating nomarl all your valves are opening closing properly sounds like anxiety and i seemed to be ok but now its back to where i started i get up and my heart races its like i have a fear of walking sounds strange prob but i dont know how to explain it my doc kinda didnt yell but in a strong tone he told me im 110lbs and 19yrs old thats a darn good weight and said i should actually gain weight and that your heart is fine but i still get sharp pains and just freaks me out and my enxiety goes up again anyone that sounds like me or like to share there thoughts is welcome coz my family doesnt understand it be nice to talk to someone who goes through what i do to talk to:)

[snowpea]

I can definitely relate to this. In fact, my very first anxiety symptom that ever showed up 7 years ago, was the exact "difficult breathing" you described. It just came out of nowhere! It scared me so much I was up all night, and went to the dr the next day. She told me right off the bat it was a common anxiety symptom. She recommended breathing into a bag when it happens!

The heart thing is very common too. It's been a real bane for me for the last two years, I worry so much about it, whenever I have an attack it races sooo fast, of course the more I think about it, the more scared I get and the faster it goes! In times when I have high stress, I feel it beat faster when I stand up etc. Even though I've had my heart checked and seen doctors numerous times, I still fret about it. Ugh I hate it so much.

The thing is though, it's very very normal to have a racing heart, or palpitations when experiencing anxiety as your body releases adrenaline. People like us though, focus on something that is normal, and blow it out of proportion, and make things much worse! Even though it's the hardest thing in the world, I've found the best thing to do is to try to just not think about it!

[Gwenhwyfar]

I'm 20 and I have that problem too.

I'm super aware of my breathing and my heartbeat. I feel like I'm not getting enough air. I've had to call the paramedics twice in a month because I though I was having a heart attack. My heart was racing so fast the first time and I thought I was going to pass out.

The second time I felt like I had been stabbed in the heart. I still get those kind of pains in my heart. But I try and stay calm. It's the hardest thing ever though. And when I had the stabbing pain and had to call 911, my left arm even started to go numb. But I was told that people with anxiety sometimes will have all the symptoms of a full blown heart attack, but not actually be having one.

It's really scary, and I know it's hard to believe that you have something like this and it isn't more serious... but if you've gone to your doctor and they've determined that it's Anxiety, then you need to convince yourself everything's going to be alright and that you're fine... you're just too stressed out.

You have my empathy. <3

[unnerved]

One thing that you need to remember is that your heart can beat over 200 beats per minute for quite a while without any issues. It's not going to burst, or be damaged, or make you have a heart attack. I'm sure when your heart is racing it is beating much slower than 200 per minute. The heart is an amazing and strong muscle. The symptoms of a racing heart or a heart that is beating very hard are very common anxiety symptoms.

As long as your doctor has checked you out and let you know that there is nothing wrong you can put your mind at ease.

As far as the difficulty breathing, once again, a very common symptom of anxiety. Your lungs and breathing are controlled subconsciously, so, if you are not getting enough oxygen (or too much) your body will adjust. You don't need to consciously adjust your breathing.

These symptoms can be very scary and very hard to cope with, but once you start to understand what they are and how they work, it becomes much easier.