Anxiety/Breathing Issues

[WillowClover]

Hello, I have had anxiety my whole life but in the past few months everything has spiraled. At the beginning of June, I switched from SSRI to SNRI at suggestion of my PCP. The SNRI ultimately made things much worse for me. Then I had to go through withdrawal symptoms from weaning off of the SNRI which was hell. I tried another SSRI before ultimately going back on to the original SSRI I was on, as recommended by psychiatrist.

I have been seeing a therapist as well and trying to do more grounding, breathing, and meditation exercises on my own. I have considered inpatient and partial hospitalization program but ultimately decided on an adult day treatment that is more flexible and not as big of a commitment (I work full time and have two young children).

Just wanted to give some background as I have had some new symptoms come up that are unfamiliar to me. I have always had difficulty getting a “full” breath when I am anxious or having a panic attack. Now it’s like my breath “catches” as I inhale and it’s annoying and concerning. I am generally healthy and do not have any diagnosis of asthma or other respiratory issues. I assume it’s just my anxiety popping up in new ways, and I don’t know how to settle it. I try breathing exercises but it’s like my breath is shaky and not strong. Anyone else struggle with this? Any tips/advice? Because the anxious part of my brain keeps trying to tell me it’s definitely a respiratory issue and I’m probably going to die.

[embeal92]

Aww, I know that my anxiety seems to develop with time as well as the symptoms changing too. It seems like the different levels of anxiety make the symptoms different and more scary. One time I had such a bad panic attack I was hospitalized and it came out of nowhere! I was 13 months sober at the time and starting an awesome job the next day (which I think started the panic attack subconsciously in the first place but didn't really realize that was what triggered it) and started feeling "weird" and I was have dissociation and hyperventilating. I couldn't catch my breath for anything. That was probably the worst one I've ever had but eventually it went away and I was traumatized by that experience that it triggered panic attacks Everytime I tried to go to bed for months afterwards.

Also when I switched from my effexor XR to just Wellbutrin and abilify, I thought I was losing my mind.

So just hang in there. I know it seems like you're going to really lose it but I promise as the days go on you will get more and more stable.

Hope this helps!

[Huckfinn18]

I have used some videos from YouTube. Look up box breathing or breathing for anxiety attacks. They have helped me and I use them often. Good luck.