Stress & Asthma

[Shezxx]

Can stress cause Asthma Attack guys?

[Beth_19]

stress certainly can contribute to asthma attacks in my opinion. if you are under a respiratory consultant I would ask if they have a CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) team who can help you deal with stress and how it relates to your asthma

[Shezxx in reply to Beth_19]

I do think it was stress related but i didnt know how to control it. Prob with tht is they will think panic attack and it wasnt.

[Beth_19 in reply to Shezxx]

thats is why I would suggest looking into the mental aspects of it. My consultant has referred me to the specialist CBT team who work with respiratory problems specifically asthma and the panic associated with being unable to breathe. I'm looking forward to seeing what extra tips they can give me

[Shezxx in reply to Beth_19]

I hope they help you with this. Let me know how u get on x

[Beth_19 in reply to Shezxx]

one of the ones the consultant told me about it to get someone you trust to put their hand on the middle of your chest and then put your hand over it, ask them to take deep calming breathes and you will find yourself matching them. its wierd but it works, I used it only yesterday when I was triggered and my breathing went all off and naturally started to panic. A friend helped me and it took about 8 inhaler puffs and 15 minutes of calm breathing with them, but it settled much easier than other episodes I've had in the past.

[Shezxx in reply to Beth_19]

Im glad this works for you. Thankyou for sharing as i know its very personal in here.

[Lisa_G in reply to Beth_19]

Please share any tips. My breathing is awful when I get upset/panicked!

[Beth_19 in reply to Lisa_G]

one of the ones the consultant told me about it to get someone you trust to put their hand on the middle of your chest and then put your hand over it, ask them to take deep calming breathes and you will find yourself matching them. its wierd but it works, I used it only yesterday when I was triggered and my breathing went all off and naturally started to panic. A friend helped me and it took about 8 inhaler puffs and 15 minutes of calm breathing with them, but it settled much easier than other episodes I've had in the past.

[Lisa_G in reply to Beth_19]

Glad it helped. I find that too. My husband is very good at getting me to focus on his eyes and try to concentrate on breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth to calm my breathing down. Happened on Saturday night unfotunately. But it does work. Only needed couple of puffs of ventolin and lots of fresh air!

[Lisa_G in reply to Beth_19]

I'm dreadful at panicking with it

[Beth_19 in reply to Lisa_G]

dont worry about it, panic is a perfectly normal response, but as asthmatic etc we do unfortunately need to learn to control it a little bit. Glad you have a good hubby to help you out

[Hidden]

Yes it can, you tense up with stress. Yoga style breathing is great to practice for stress and to train you to use all of your lungs which helps with peak flow

Hope this helps. Good luck

[Shezxx in reply to Hidden]

Thankyou

[Mark_in_Wales_CVA]

Yes, and have to be careful that it doesn't become runaway. I.e. get stressed, asthma exacerbates, more stress due to exacerbation, asthma gets worse...etc, etc. Also take care that some medications may also have side-effects which cause some people more stress - Symbicort and depression is one example...

[Shezxx in reply to Mark_in_Wales_CVA]

Oh really i didnt know that. Thanks for that.

[WheezyAnne]

It does not cause Asthma, but makes the existing symptoms worse, so anything we can do to reduce stress, anxiety, depression is a good thing. Unfortunately long-term health conditions such as Asthma do tend to come with anxiety.

[Shezxx in reply to WheezyAnne]

Thanks for your help. I just dont want to mention it incase they say panic attack n dismiss all ive been saying.

[Lisa_G]

Stress definitely triggers my asthma, especiallyt if I'm upset about something

[Shezxx in reply to Lisa_G]

Oh gosh how do you stop from stressing out ?

[Lisa_G in reply to Shezxx]

Not very good at it to be honest! Symptoms def affected more if I get upset. Usually end up needing ventolin if I've been crying!!

[Shezxx in reply to Lisa_G]

I wonder if the cons know about this cos they havent even mentioned anything about stress to me. They must know everybody has stress in one way or another dont they.

[freefaller]

Oh Yes! I was hospitalised after a stress/Asthma attack. though it did conincide with very hot and dry weather and high pollen count too!

[Shezxx in reply to freefaller]

Oh no thats not good. How do you not get stressed out? Alot of ppl say the weather is bad for asthma attacks.

[Lisa_G in reply to Shezxx]

Worse in winter if I get a cold which always leads to chest infection but dry muggy weather makes it bad too

[Shezxx in reply to Lisa_G]

Winter is a huge trigger isnt it besides being stressed about things. Then ur stressed ur unwell n worry abt the nxt asthma a.