Anxiety ???

[Wickychic120]

HIi been having problems with my breathing lately an was wondering if any one as ever suffered with similar , sometimes it's like low breathing an like gotta make myself breath & others it like I feel like I been suffocated like there no air , it's really scary & twice I have woken in the night gasping for air , I been to the doctors they say it's anxiety but I not convinced , any help or advice would be great thanx

[Agora1]

Hi Wickychic120, I totally understand how frightening that can be. After all breathing is what keeps us alive. The difference here is that your breathing issue is not a heart or a lung problem but an issue being overly tensed chest wall & diaphragm muscles.

Because of the way we feel, our posture tends to be poor when we sit and stand with rounded shoulders, caving in the chest making it even more difficult to breathe.

Breathing is controlled by the autonomic nervous system. Unless there is a physical cause, our body will take care of that function automatically when awake as well as when asleep. Because of the tight tensed muscles, when your body does start to relax and fall into a deep sleep, the subconscious brain thinks that something is wrong and wakes you up in a startle. An alert goes off in your brain when nothing is wrong.

What will happen is to start practicing relaxation and deep breathing before going to bed. It takes time and it takes daily practice. Relearning the proper way to breathe. When anxious, we tend to shallow breathe or even hold our breathe at times making as gasp for a breath. You Tube can help get your breathing back in sync. One of the videos I watch

is "Sympathetic Breathing Meditation" by the Quiet Mind Café. Also by Quiet Mind Café is "Sinking & slowing Breathing Meditation"

One step at a time in reversing your way of thinking about your breath. Once you began to not focus on a natural bodily function, you will not have any problems with it anymore. xx

[Wickychic120 in reply to Agora1]

Thankyou so much for the reply I am trying so hard to not think about it , but it my thoughts always go back to it , I start EMDR this week I dono feel this will help or not with this new symptom

[Agora1 in reply to Wickychic120]

Wickychic, I've heard of EMDR but not familiar in how it works. However, think positive in that it may be the key in helping with this new symptom as well as anxiety in general. My best to you. Keep us updated in how you do. xx

[Ovoshelxx]

I usually have shortness of breath when ik haviny anxiety dont stress and find something to calm your body

[Wickychic120 in reply to Ovoshelxx]

Thanx for the reply , it's just so hard at the minute , I trying to keep busy to take my mind off it

[anxious61]

It is most definitely anxiety... I am going through the same thing right now... the more we focus on our breathing the worse it gets.

[Wickychic120 in reply to anxious61]

Its so scary I just feel like I gonna stop breathing it's driving me insane I trying to keep busy take my mind off it , I hope it passes, do you take any medication? Thanx for replying

[anxious61 in reply to Wickychic120]

I am 3 weeks in to Zoloft... Hoping it will help me... Again.

[RhondaT71]

Yes, I too have moments of shortness of breath. I was out for a walk, just walking normally the other day with a friend and I was having troubles breathing while trying to talk to her, it scared me. I was having acid reflux issues, a lot of burping up acid or just burping in general, bloating of my stomach when I would eat and left chest pain from the acid reflux and my doctor put me on anti-acid medication and I haven't had the shortness of breath since. If you are having any gas or acid reflux or bloating when eating problems that might be the cause. Just a thought. Otherwise as others have said it could just be from anxiety itself.

[Icanbeathis2016 in reply to RhondaT71]

I am currently experiencing the same issue. I honestly only hope its acid reflux because my mind tell me otherwise. But I am constantly burping or passing it on the other end, burning gut, upset stomach, vomit taste in my throat, constantly bloated. And its like I dont have an appetite to eat but only certain short moments throughout the day my stomach will calm down enough for me to try and eat. Sometimes eating calms the acid feeling down and sometimes it makes it worse until I burp and it sort of eases the feeling. At night is when it bothers me too. But yes I often wonder does acid reflux cause the shortness of breath. I too wake up from my sleep feeling as if I am gasping for air. Sometimes throughout the day I feel like I have to force myself to take in a deep breath to gather my air. Not to mention waking up coughing. Do you experience the same?

[RhondaT71 in reply to Icanbeathis2016]

I haven't experienced the coughing or waking up during the night with the shortness of breath but your acid reflux/GERD sounds like it might be worse than mine was. You probably already know this but anxiety is what causes the acid reflux and what we eat or don't eat makes a difference as well. Try some anti-acid medication and see if it helps you at all. It did help a little bit right away but I have felt the full effect after a few days. I would recommend going to see the doctor though. I have also, changed my diet. No gluten, very little sugar, and no carbs, very little spicy, no citrus etc. Look online for information on diets for GERD and you will see what makes it worse. Also, I have raised the head of my bed about 8 inches so that I am not lying down flat when sleeping which helps. Good luck to you!

[Icanbeathis2016 in reply to RhondaT71]

Thank you. Did you go to a gastro doc for your diagnosis? Or how did you discover it was acid reflux? Unfortunately for me I dont have insurance to see that doc. So that's what makes my anxiety worse because I just want to know that its not anything else worse. And I think becuase my anxiety is bad it makes my stomach worse.

[RhondaT71 in reply to Icanbeathis2016]

I was diagnosed by my doctor and it makes sense if you look up the symptoms of GERD which is basically a worse form of acid reflux. Like I said, I would try the antacids like Zantac since you don't have insurance and see if that helps at all. My doctor put me on ranitidine which is the generic for Zantac.

[AmbieBambie in reply to RhondaT71]

Interesting! I have noticed when I have the shortness of breath during the day, when I burp I feel better. It’s like the air pushing on me & makes pressure, at least that’s what it feels like. I may try an anti acid, thanks!

[Icanbeathis2016]

I too have experienced this several night being awaken from my sleep feeling like I'm gasping for air. As if I have actually stopped breathing and I'll feel myself raise up and dragging in air. This is always scary. Its time throughout my regular day that I feel like I have to force a deep breath to get some extra air in because it just seems like Im not breathing in enough. And yesterday was so much like that. I dont know if its because I kept paying so much attention to it it seemed like I had to keep dragging in for extra air.

[RhondaT71 in reply to Icanbeathis2016]

Yes, it does seem to get worse when focusing on it.

[NotaVetjustPTSD]

Have you been tested for sleep apnea?

[AmbieBambie]

Hi! I have been having the same thing! And my doctor said it’s all anxiety as well, but she was wrong about my heart, heart monitor results came back that I have svt & VTach, so now I don’t believe anything she said. She said ALL my symptoms were in my head & all due to anxiety. What a nice doc huh? I already switched docs.

During the day I feel like I have to put extra effort into breathing out of no where and when I yawn, I feel like I’m not getting oxygen (never was like that before)

But the scariest thing is waking up in the night gasping/ choking for air, i feel like I wasn’t breathing. I punch my chest & cough & try to run hot water to get the steam. It’s terrifying.