Afraid I’ll stop breathing

[Wilburbudgirl]

Hello....I get rib cage tightness a lot from anxiety but but tonight when I got in bed it was feeling tight, and I drank some water( I have always drunk water before bed) and then I lied down and now it’s suddenly like I’m paying close attention to my breathing and I’m afraid I’m having trouble breathing and that I’ll stop breathing😩 also that drinking the water somehow did something bad when I laid down and that there’s something wrong with my lungs suddenly ☹️ and that I’m going to die

[Tarishalovesherse]

I think that's our biggest problem when it comes to anxiety like we're going to die, we only say that because we never felt so low a day in our lives we never harm like we do know so of course we will think the worst , and there's nothing worst that can happen to us then dying. WE WILL NOT DIE WE . take it one day at a time and you will feel better and be better

[blackcat64013]

Hi Wilburbudgirl,

I have had a session with a psychologist called Addressing Unhelpful Beliefs. It really was about challenging my core beliefs (how I make sense of the world). When my/ core beliefs are negative they can impact a lot on my/your functioning and quality of life.

The 1st step was to think about the patterns or themes that I can identify i.e. breathing and dying

The 2nd step is to ask what evidence is there for and against this belief. Pretend I am a lawyer in a court and prosecute the core belief. Challenge strongly

The 3rd step is to question if I would still believe this from a different perspective. Would my best friend or family believe this of me

The 4th step is to think about how I could test this belief in some way. What action could I carry out that would show me this belief isn't true. How could I test it. Can I collect evidence to the contrary.

I actually had a work sheet to write the answers down and remind me when I next have the same negative thought.

I still have some of the same thoughts but they bother me less and less and occur less frequently. There must be something good about this therapy

[kevoreally in reply to blackcat64013]

Well ill be damn thats a good CBT therapist you got yourself there love the scenario you just gave lmao our minds can be a rather difficult manipulating criminal -_- but you have out done it and gave a wonderful reply! Love it! Law and order in our heads haha

[Wilburbudgirl in reply to blackcat64013]

Thank you! 😊

[kevoreally]

You should invest in a pulse ox monitor they are pretty afordable and they show your pulse and your SP02 readings which is your oxygen level if you see your breathing is at 100% this may give you relief on your stop breathing worry