breathing exercise help?

[Marebear913]

Hey everyone! I was just wondering what kind of deep breathing exercises that you all do to help get the shortness of breath to go away? I'm still constant feeling like I cant take a deep breath or I feel like I'm being choked. There are so many different ones I can try but I'd like to know which ones work best for people on here who have awful physical anxiety symptoms? Please and thank you all!

[Agora1]

Hi Marebear....A good one is called "Sinking & Slowing Breathing Meditation" by the Quiet Mind Café on YouTube. Also "Sympathetic Breathing Meditation by them as well. These videos will help get back in sync with your breathing slow and deep as well as help relax the throat muscles that are making you feel that choking sensation.

It's all about relaxing your body. The muscles in your upper abdomen including the diaphragm are extremely tense making you feel as if you can take that deep breath. It has nothing to do with your lungs or heart but strictly a muscle tightness. Same with the throat area. Once your body let's go of fear and anxiousness, you will feel better. xx

[Marebear913 in reply to Agora1]

So it is possible to feel that tightness in my throat all day every single day just from a muscle being tight? is it possible for a muscle to stay tight like that every day?? and I will try those, thank you!

[Agora1 in reply to Marebear913]

Yes it is very possible because it's hard to not feel it or think about it. It's more than annoying. As long as your food and drink go down okay, it is more due to anxiety than a physical cause.

[Marebear913 in reply to Agora1]

For a while, I was barely eating and lost a ton of weight because the tightness in my throat was so bad that it felt like food was stuck even though it wasn't and my breathing became worse. I'm just starting to eat again and push past that. I feel like I can't take a deep breath ever. It's so scary and frustrating because I feel like I'm going to stop breathing at any time

[Agora1 in reply to Marebear913]

It's a terrible feeling. Try readjusting your posture. When we get scared we tend to round our shoulders as well as bring them up to our ears. We clench our hands and immediately go into a tense state of arousal. Our Autonomic nervous system is just that. It automatically takes care of our every need from breathing to keeping our heart beating. It needs our help in relaxing.

You can try standing against a wall which will allow you to stand straight or you can stretch your arms over your head to open up the diaphragm or you can jump up and down a couple times, sometimes that jars the tight muscles into relaxing. When I use to get that I was so sure there was a medical cause and had a Swallow Test done. Very simple, not invasive. Proved to me that it was just muscle tension causing that feeling.

The more we focus into our physical symptoms the longer it prolongs the agony. If it continues, check with your doctor to rule out any issue going on short of anxiety. xx

[Marebear913 in reply to Agora1]

Thank you so much for all of the tips and advice. It helps so much knowing that I'm not alone and you can defeat anxiety. I can't wait until I can beat it. I will try all of those things and let you know if they work for me or not. Thank you so much, again. It really means the world

[Agora1 in reply to Marebear913]

My best Marebear. There's something out there for everyone of us that works. Never give up. You are never alone xx

[Lu2356]

Hello. I learned 4-7-8. 4 seconds in through ur nose. Hold for 7 secs. Release through mouth 8 secs. Something else I learned was tilting ur head up and smiling. Yes! Smiling. It tricks ur mind to go with whatever ur body is doing. Not so much to confuse but to distract or break the anxiety. Try it! See if it works. Did for me. 😄

[Agora1 in reply to Lu2356]

Excellent advice with the breathing and 'yes' with smiling. It works for me as well. xx

[Lu2356 in reply to Agora1]

I have looked for so much info online. Going to different doctors. Always trying to prescribe different medications for my anxiety or pmdd or whatever stressful thing I experienced. I realized that counseling has always helped. Exercising also. I want to try everything natural before considering meds. I had tried lorazepam in the past and all it did was make feel drowsy and super anxious. I turned to drinking. After 15 years of that and smoking, I didn’t get anywhere but get multiple dwis and many hangovers and so many regrets. I hurt my family and lost friends. I hurt my career. So for the novel... anyways, I NEED to get back on the ball and move. Anxiety is the flashing light in ur body telling u that u need to pay attention to something underlying with ur mind, body, and/or soul. Listen to what it says. We fight it so much, but we have to truly listen. Keeping a journal has helped me tremendously. ☺️

[Marebear913 in reply to Lu2356]

Thank you for the advice! I thought about starting a journal

[Lu2356 in reply to Marebear913]

Ur welcome! And the best thing about a journal is that u write or draw whatever you want and not feel judged. Puts things into perspective and u start making and taking baby steps to a better you for your own good! 💕❤️

[Marebear913 in reply to Lu2356]

I will try this, thank you so much

[Hidden]

Try breathing into a paper bag. You sound like you might be hyperventilating. It’s not uncommon for that to occur with panic attacks.

[Marebear913 in reply to Hidden]

But even when I'm not having attacks, the shortness of breath is still there. It never goes away. It comes on cue the moment that I wake up to when I go back to bed at night.

[Hidden in reply to Marebear913]

I am sorry. That sounds aweful. Have you sought out a second opinion to rule out anything physically wrong? Allergies? Past history of smoking? Do you work in an environment that uses chemicals that give off fumes?

[Marebear913 in reply to Hidden]

I have never smoked a cigarette in my life, no allergies, and I talked to two different and they both said anxiety. And I'm a stay at home mom so I'm not around any chemicals or fumes. So I don't know..

[Agora1 in reply to Marebear913]

Hi Marebear, living in a state of fear causes us to change our way of breathing without even knowing it. We only feel the results which can be a shortness of breath.

Physically, we are either hyperventilating or actually holding our breath. I've notice w/o thinking I tend to hold my breath at times when going up the steps only to find when I've reach the top, I'm short of breath. Sometimes when having a confrontation with my daughter, I start to breathe faster. With both the key is to recheck your breathing and to get it back into sync. Slow down and breathe deeply, exhaling slowly.

The other reason is psychological regarding having the responsibility of being a stay at home mom. We have all we can do to take care of ourselves when we suffer from anxiety and add to having to be there for our children 24/7 for the next ?? so many years use to put an unbelievable amount of anxiety on my shoulders. The "what ifs" would feed into me. With that the anxiety rises, when anxiety rises so do the symptoms. Could be focused on the heart or breathing. The more we focus, the longer it stays.

Something needs to change in order to anticipate the problem every morning upon awakening. It needs to be stopped before it goes into a chronic condition with no physical cause. Seeing a therapist may help or medication for a short time. Know that this will eventually go away as all other symptoms of anxiety do. They run their course, get bored and move on to another symptom, that is if we allow it to. Wishing you better days.. xx

[Marebear913 in reply to Agora1]

I do feel like there is a lot on my shoulders being at home with my kids. The shortness of breath feeling is so overwhelming and to wake up with it every single day and go through it all day long is the most irritating and annoying thing to deal with. I'm trying my best to try different things to help make it go away. No success yet but gotta keep going. thank you for your response.