happycarrot
25-04-12, 05:01
For the past three or four days, I've felt as though I can't take a deep breath. Of course I know I'm breathing just fine, and I don't feel dizzy or anything like I would expect if I wasn't getting enough oxygen, but there is a weird sensation in my upper chest and throat that gives me an urge to take a deep breath. Sometimes I feel like I need to yawn just to breathe deeply enough, but I can't always yawn--it's like the breath gets stuck. My chest feels a little bit tight when this happens, and my throat feels a little irritated or swollen.
Of course I googled this even though I know better. A lot of websites say it's anxiety, and I've found a lot of posts here that seem to be about the same problem. Some say it might be the C word, which worries me, although I've been dealing with HA long enough to know it's probably not that. I also know that I have some respiratory problems--I have allergies, and I have asthma-like attacks triggered by certain substances, though I haven't been diagnosed with asthma. This feels somewhat like one of those attacks, but when that happens I feel like I'm not getting oxygen, and I don't feel quite like that now. My husband has also had a cold-like illness around the same time, though I haven't really had any symptoms of that. I had a little sinus congestion, but I took a decongestant--the sinus problem went away but I still have this.
I know it's probably an anxiety symptom, and I've noticed several people here seem to have similar issues, but the problem is, I wasn't feeling particularly anxious when this started. I had just taken a big exam the day before this started (I'm in grad school), and I had been very nervous about that, so I was trying to relax after it. Of course, now the breathing difficulty itself makes me worry. It's been hard for me to get to sleep because it seems to be worse when I lie down at night. I'm fine when I do sleep, though. If I can manage to stop thinking about it, I feel much better, but it's really hard to stop thinking about it. I've tried to resist the urge to yawn, and that helps somewhat. I've tried breathing exercises from my yoga class. They don't help much, but it is worse if I don't have good posture. Doing chest stretches seems to help temporarily.
If you've had breathing problems due to anxiety, does this match what you experienced? What made you feel better?
Of course I googled this even though I know better. A lot of websites say it's anxiety, and I've found a lot of posts here that seem to be about the same problem. Some say it might be the C word, which worries me, although I've been dealing with HA long enough to know it's probably not that. I also know that I have some respiratory problems--I have allergies, and I have asthma-like attacks triggered by certain substances, though I haven't been diagnosed with asthma. This feels somewhat like one of those attacks, but when that happens I feel like I'm not getting oxygen, and I don't feel quite like that now. My husband has also had a cold-like illness around the same time, though I haven't really had any symptoms of that. I had a little sinus congestion, but I took a decongestant--the sinus problem went away but I still have this.
I know it's probably an anxiety symptom, and I've noticed several people here seem to have similar issues, but the problem is, I wasn't feeling particularly anxious when this started. I had just taken a big exam the day before this started (I'm in grad school), and I had been very nervous about that, so I was trying to relax after it. Of course, now the breathing difficulty itself makes me worry. It's been hard for me to get to sleep because it seems to be worse when I lie down at night. I'm fine when I do sleep, though. If I can manage to stop thinking about it, I feel much better, but it's really hard to stop thinking about it. I've tried to resist the urge to yawn, and that helps somewhat. I've tried breathing exercises from my yoga class. They don't help much, but it is worse if I don't have good posture. Doing chest stretches seems to help temporarily.
If you've had breathing problems due to anxiety, does this match what you experienced? What made you feel better?