Breathless

[warkie]

Hi,

Is it a symtom to anxiety to feel breathless? xx

[stewartmays1]

well they call it hyper ventilation and shallow breathing is all part of anxiety you may want to try something like yoga to help calm you down and control your breathing

[warkie]

im going to try swimming,my councellor said it will do me good

[Pennylayne]

There are some easy breathing techniques you can try and they really do help. You feel breathless as stewartmays says because your breathing is too fast and too shallow.

You need to be slowly filling your lungs until you can feel your lower ribs move outwards. The best way to take a nice big breath is to make sure every single bit of air is breathed out first, so to do this breathe out slowly through the mouth as if you are blowing out a candle, then pause for a second before filling your lungs by breathing through the nose.

Relaxing your muscles in your face and your shoulders and arms also helps a lot. The belly breath can be done anywhere if you feel breathless and tense.

1. Belly Breathing for Relaxation

Breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose. Make sure your shoulders are down and relaxed. In this exercise, your stomach should expand, but your chest should rise very little. So, if you want, you can place one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest so you can feel how you are breathing.

Exhale slowly through your mouth. As you blow air out, purse your lips slightly, but keep tongue and jaw relaxed. You may hear a soft “whooshing” sound as you exhale. That's good, listen for that sound every time your practice and learn to value it as the sound of relaxation.

Repeat this breathing exercise for several minutes. Make your outgoing breath as long and smooth as you can. The out breath is the key to relaxation.

2. The Measured Breath

You can sit or stand, but be sure to soften up a little before you begin. Make sure your hands are relaxed, and your knees are soft.

Drop your shoulders and let your jaw relax.

Now breath in slowly through your nose and count to four, keep your shoulders down and allow your stomach to expand as you breathe in.

Hold the breath for a moment.

Now release your breath slowly and smoothly as you count to seven.

Repeat for a couple of minutes.

3. The Bumble Bee Breath

You might prefer to be alone for this one as you'll be making a noise. Strange though it sounds, this little technique has been used for thousands of years for calming the mind.

Relax your shoulders

Close your throat slightly so you can hear your breath when you breathe in

Cover your ears with your thumbs and your eyes with your fingers

Keep your lips closed but lightly and your teeth slightly apart with your jaw relaxed and breathe out slowly making a long, low humming sound

Make your exhalation long and smooth

Repeat 5-10 times

Then sit with long slow breaths for a couple of minutes and enjoy the peace.

[ellabella]

Invaluable information Penny, thank you very much! I tried the buzzing one and really enjoyed it! yes enjoyed it! I will certainly make habit of that one. Thanks again Lots of love x Ella x

[stde]

I think anxiety can cause this and a host of other health anxieties.....think it would surprise us the percentage of problems that doctors deal with that are stress related, everything from this to aches and pains.....sometimes if we don,t express our emotions,either by talking or writing down our problems in a letter to ourself (getting it down on paper is another good therapy) i think they will eventually surface somewhere else.......best wishes...x