Insatiable Mouth / Chest Breather????

[nearly_there]

Hi Everyone,

This is the first time I've asked a question on here; so go easy. My old chat room closed down as the Dr that ran it retired and all the ex-sufferers moved on. So thank god for finding this place / you guys! Plus that one was an American site; much nicer to know you are all closer to home!

Anyway, I am struggling to get over 3-4 years of General/Health Anxiety and feel like I have really set in stone a pattern of Mouth / Chest breathing for life. No matter how positive I feel, how much relaxtion I try and do, I always end up chest / mouth breathing.

First panic attack on the tube after big alcohol fuelled session, slowly down hill from there onwards.

I have almost conquered the Mouth thing - I sneezed through my nose for the first time I can remember back in Dec 05 (Seriously - I always sneezed through my mouth and thought nothing of it!) Now I generally breath through my mouth, although awake every morning with my mouth wide open and a really dry mouth; so it's obviously not 2nd nature yet.

Anyway, anyone have the same?

Anyone any practical advice / support to get out of this evil habit?

Also, any thoughts on this: Bearing in mind the thing about Mouth sneezing and mouth breathing for as long as I can remember. Do you think that this effectively was a major cause of my anxiety; mouth breathing made me almost guarenteed to become anxious at some stage????

I feel like I have always been very posistive about things/life etc; it really is the chest breathing that I struggle to control, then, when the pain and adrenalin follow, it is too late. If I could control the chest/HV, then the rest would be stopped before it starts.

I really believe that for me Mouh/Chest Breathing/HV is the cause more than (but not entirely) the effect.

Thanks in anticipation.


James
Nearly_There

[Piglet]

A couple of good books for you to try (have you already got them)?

Conciuous Breathing - by Gay Hendericks

Hyperventalation Syndrome - by Dinah Bradley

You can get both off Amazon.

I got them a year ago as I knew poor breathing was part of my problem. I'm not sure if this is a chicken and egg thing, which comes first the poor breathing or the anxiety but once started it does seem to be a viscious circle!!

Piglet xx

"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.

[Meg]

James

Most men do tend to mouth breathe so keep that one last to deal with.

I'm not sure how you can have learnt to sneeze through just your mouth as with the pressure it exerts it is automotically forced through nasal passages as well as the mouth. I'm presuming that you've had a medical review at some point.

Have you tried being referred to a respiratory therapist for your chronic Hv ? They can teach you well.

Yoga teachers on a 1:1 session are also great instructors.

I'm sure you know all these but just as a revision check .

How Do You Do The Breathing
Breathing.. wow
Breathing Techniques
CONTROLLED BREATHING
Working to get better, have a few Q's to ask...





Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

[Quirky]

Hi James,

I am also a mouth breather, well alot of the time I am. I have probably done it alot on and off through my life due to asthma and allergies blocking my nose. It came to a head when I first had anxiety and I started hyperventilating. The problem then became chronic and even walking up stairs felt odd because of my breathing pattern.
I am now seeing a respiratory physiotherapist on the NHS (waiting list was only a couple of weeks). She diagnosed me as having chronic hyperventilation and now gives me breathing exercises to do. She told me it would take 6 months or more to be fully recovered and even then I may resort to mouth breathing when anxious. I can say that is is really helping though and I certainly breathe through my nose alot now.
I was told more women mouth breathe than men but it doesn't matter what the statistics are really, just know there is help out there. The mind is a very pwerful thing too, even reading and typing this I can feel myself start to hyperventilate slightly as I'm becoming aware of it.
I recommend the Dinah Bradley book too, it was really useful to me.
Good luck,

Lisa

[delta]

Hi James
I have been a mouth/chest breather for most of my life, I hadn't realised this though until I saw a specialist last year, since then I have had a nose operation, a childhood accident had left my septum damaged which no-one had detected, also as a child I had catarrh continually and the habit of mouth breathing started then.

I am finding it almost impossible to nose breathe, I am having advice from a respiratory physiotherapist at the moment, I have had excellent advice but it's not just the breathing with me, I suffer with the whole host of anxiety related issues - I feel that if I could just master the breathing then things would improve for me.

I would recommend the Dinah Bradley book, it is an easy to read guide which has now taken it's place alongside Dr Claire Weekes in my 'never to be without' books.

Here are some other tips I was given which may help you:

Breathe less!

Low, slow breaths (not big) ½ litre at a time

Aim for 10 breaths per minute - Breathe in and out

Breathe in and out through nose.

Breathe diaphragmatically - (your stomach should go up when breathing not your chest).

Don't yawn, use swallowing to divert

HTH
D