I have...

[KenzieM]

I have these two things I made up in my mind and now I believe them.. scares the hell out of me, I have 1 fear that I am not breathing so I start rocking back in fourth I feel I cannot breath or that I will stop breathing... 2 I have a fear that if I go to sleep I will die in my sleep so I wake myself up and have to try to stay awake. because if I go to sleep then I jump and I dont allow myself.. its really bad.. I fear of death so much it freaks me out so much... and then I wonder if others have these same things I do as well.. Cause I feel alone, people tell me I cant just stop breathing but then I just still feel like I can and I dont know how to get that out of my head, people think im silly for thinking like that..

[Gattinko]

Hey kenzie, that looks perfectly normal, i suffer the same symptoms as you since i was 10 i suddenly become aware od my breathing. Its all mind thing do you feel something else like ectopic beats or something?

[KenzieM]

I am glad i am not alone.. I really want to get over these fears because i am allowing it to effect my life, but yes I end up feeling that way. more really when I start getting into my head about this, I kinda get dizzy and my anxiety goes up more.

[b1b1b1]

I can only repeat that you cannot stop breathing. The body fights to breath and you cannot stop it. Try therapy.

[KenzieM in reply to b1b1b1]

I need to learn how to change my mind of thinking that I can. but I dont know how.

[KenzieM in reply to KenzieM]

I need to learn how to change my mind from thinking how I do to the fact I cannot stop breathing. Im just wondering on how and why I ended up making myself believe it.

[Jeff1943]

b1b1b1 is absolutely correct, KenzieM. Breathing is what's called an involuntary nervous function: your body keeps you doing it whether you're thinking about it or not, sleeping or even under an anasthetic. You can't not breathe.

So you're worrying needlessly. This knowledge probably won't stop you worrying about not breathing but may provide some reassurance.

Your feeling that you're going to die is due to the exaggerated response caused by over sensitised nerves. We are all concerned about not dying prematurely but your over sensitive nerves magnify that concern ten-fold into an obsessive worry that death is imminent. Well it isn't, you can tell the undertaker to stand down and cancel the wake😆. This knowledge probably won't stop you worrying about dying but may provide some reassurance.

To recover from these two obsessions you need to tackle the cause not the symptoms. The cause of course is your oversensitised nervous system, maintained in that state by the constant flow of fear hormones released every time you think about breathing or dying.

The Acceptance method as advocated by the late Claire Weekes is the best way I know to stop the flow of fear hormones which sensitised nerves thrive on but there are other methods as well.

[HelloPanda23 in reply to Jeff1943]

Recently, I went through a terrible ALS fear. I thought I had the symptoms of ALS, but after going out and enjoying myself, I realized I don't have a single symptom and it was the anxiety getting to me. I could do nearly everything normally, and I logically shouldn't have a single reason to fear this terrible disease. The problem is, I know I don't have ALS, but I think my fear is more about getting ALS. I think that after researching and realizing that ALS is unpredictable and can occur in anyone at nearly any age, I started to fear that I would get it soon. Since science can't explain why it occurs, and there's no cure, the fear is even much worse. Though the fact of the matter is that at my age, the chances of me being diagnosed with this disease is around 1 in a few million. It's nearly impossible for me to get it, and yet I fear that I will. I've exposed myself to these thoughts and I have accepted that if I must die at a young age due to ALS, then I will have to accept that. Overthinking won't make a change, and so I relaxed and it's barely affected me ever since, but the thoughts sometimes pop up and almost get control of me. So my question is, am I supposed to accept that I'm going to have these fearful thoughts every now and then, or am I supposed to accept that I may get ALS in the future. Because I've already tried accepting the fact that I may get ALS in the future, but the thoughts were still there, and so I don't know. It's a hundred times better now though because the fear isn't as debilitating and I can nearly enjoy my life as much as I used to, but I feel like my fear is mainly at my thoughts and why I'm still having them. Please give me advice, it'll be greatly appreciated.

[Jeff1943 in reply to HelloPanda23]

You say you've actively persued acceptance and you feel 100 times better. That's good. For the full story on acceptance it's worth reading Claire Weekes' first book 'Self help for your nerves' obtainable from Amazon.

[Jeff1943 in reply to HelloPanda23]

HelloPanda23, I'm not medically qualified in psychiatry, but I've been experiencing anxiety for nearly 50 years. In my case it's inherited so I'll never be entirely free of it but with the understanding and reassurance that Claire Weekes' message brings plus employing her Acceptance method allows me to minimise the symptoms and I am free of it most of the time.

I had never heard of ALS but I just looked it up and it's the kind of complaint any suggestable person can identify with.

You've done well to greatly reduce your concern about acquiring this illness but the shadow of it still lingers on. In answer to your question I don't think you should accept that you could get ALS sometime, I would accept that there is such a remote chance of acquiring it that you won't get it.

Also it's important to accept that you you will continue to get the strange thoughts for a while but this doesn't matter, accept the strange thoughts without fear because they are of no consequence.

By accepting them you stop generatating all that fear hormone which allows your nervous system to recover and when it does the strange feelings will pass.

Why your anxiety latched on to ALS is hard to say, it just has to latch onto something. I have a friend who drives aroubd with 2 spare wheels in case he gets two punctures and I have two identical satnavs in my car in case one breaks down when I'm a long way from home🤣.

[HelloPanda23 in reply to Jeff1943]

Thank you, I have found myself doing that already, and my fear of ALS has reduced much more. I barely even thought of it all day today, and when I did, I'd not care and would be fine without any fear. Thanks for the advice, I will keep applying these techniques to help me out.

[KenzieM in reply to Jeff1943]

Thank you Jeff,

Yes I need to figure out why I do these things because honestly it really does suck and its not good for me mentally. If I can just be ok with dying or maybe not breathing, but I wonder is there proof that people dont just stop breathing? like I just need proof.

[Jeff1943 in reply to KenzieM]

It's a biological fact that we can't stop ourselves from breathing no matter how hard we try. No reported cases ever.

[HelloPanda23 in reply to KenzieM]

If you ever sleep, then that's enough proof. You're not conciously breathing while alseep, your subconcious does it for you.

[HelloPanda23 in reply to KenzieM]

Also, I used to be fixated on my breath as well but not for the same reasons. Due to my panic attack, I felt breathless and so I got scared about my health. After conciously breathing for 2 hours snd concentrating on my bresth to make sure I wass getting enough air, I calmed down. The next day, I thought about my breath and controlled it all day. This has lasted about a month. I've gotten over it when I distracted myself, but it usually comes back and so fight it.

[b1b1b1 in reply to KenzieM]

Yes, there is medical proof.

[Cat33]

You aren't silly for fearing that but you will keep breathing I promise You are just tuned into it that's all It's like we never think about blinking but once you do you notice it You will always get a breath

Please think about buying Dr Claire Weekes books they are amazing and will help you so much 🌼

[flaxxy703]

if we don't feed an obsessive thought it will die of inanition.

[spinningtop]

Everyone feels like this at one time or another. Imagine you're on a ventilator how you would feel, or hooked up to a heart monitor. Diagnosed with cancer and told it's stage 4 & you know you don't have long to live. Did I hit on anything you may be suffering? If not, just be glad you can sleep at night with none of these things on your mind. God Bless You.

[b1b1b1 in reply to spinningtop]

Very good thoughts to keep in mind. It is possible to blow day to day problems out of proportion and thinking of what you said can help put them into perspective.

[Dixie9326]

Young children will frequently throw temper tantrums and hold their breath until they pass out.. The autonomic nervous system will step in and breathing will resume :);)