permanently shortness of breath

[Rikke]

Every time I focus on a symptom, to break it, then it becomes much worse and sends me straight into panic.

I have now for over a week not been able to breathe normally, if I DO NOT focus on that- I have Difficult breathing - if I focus on it-(breathing exercises, etc) - I go directly into panic attak

I have obviously developed a permanently shortness of breath that can not be trained away.

I have GAD, and I like it when my husband is home, my breath is always much worse when I'm alone, but breathlessness no longer disappear when he gets home as it did before

Is anyone else experiencing this?

[Speranza]

I would imagine an enormous amount of people on here get this! I'm lucky, it doesn't happen very often to me but it sounds as though you are hyperventilating. There are explanations on here by people who know a lot more than I do, but basically once you get into the pattern of shallow breathing/gasping for breath, your blood chemistry gets all unbalanced and then it makes it worse, sets up a vicious circle. You will NOT die from lack of oxygen, our bodies are absolutely brilliant at regulating themselves.

Don't think you are going mad, or stupid, or anything like that. I bet loads of people here have the exact same thing, and they are all still fine. x

[almamatters]

I have the same thing, although my oxygen levels are 98% (have had them tested loads of times, I still feel short of breath. What has helped me is breathing exercises. I have discovered my breathing is fast and shallow so by slowing it down and taking deep breaths it seems to help.

[Speranza]

My daughter was once having an asthma attack - I took her to hospital and she was on extra oxygen for a while, point being they showed her when we arrived that even though she was having trouble breathing there was no need to panic because she still had more than enough oxygen in her blood. It has little to do with how much we feel we are breathing in. Whenever I get this symptom I remember how she was fine.

[Rikke]

I have had breathing problems for about 3 weeks. Do not feel I can breathe and feel my throat is swollen :-(

How can I distinguish between anxiety and asthma?

I do not feel anxiety but when I've gone most of the day and could not catch my breath then comes the anxiety

Is there a way to tell the difference? :weep:

[Stu82]

I have the same thong but you have to remember it is only a symptom of anxiety and won't hurt us. There's a section on this website in symptoms that explains more about it which I found helpful.

I find I tend to feel short of breath more when I'm low on energy, feeling down, lonely or anxious about something else.

I think the best way to see if it's anxiety or asthma is to see your doc if you haven't already. I wasn't sure few years back so doc did my peak flow and it was very high and I go mountain biking regular and don't have any trouble apart from hay fever making my chest feel a little tight but no different to anyone else :)

---------- Post added at 19:13 ---------- Previous post was at 19:13 ----------

Sorry I meant thing not thong lol!

[lofwyr]

It is an extremely common symptom for anxiety, and of course it can cause further anxiety, making it worse. This whole chain sent me to lung specialists when I was way to young to be seeing or bothering lung specialists.

[Speranza]

Every time I focus on a symptom, to break it, then it becomes much worse and sends me straight into panic.


I have obviously developed a permanently shortness of breath that can not be trained away.


I think that nagging thought may be the bigger problem. I'm sure a search on here will reassure you that it can be dealt with in all sorts of ways. I think when we are wearied by anxiety, we come to a point where we don't believe anything can ever change - at that point we need to trust others to believe it for us.

I'm sure your breathing can be sorted. Begin to believe that, and the rest will follow. x

[Rikke]

I know you all can be right, and its properly anxiety, but I'm so scared, because what if it's blodclot in the lungs?
What if I suddenly can't breathe at all... How can I convince my self, that's it is anxiety and not something bad? :/

I admit...i am smoking, not much, but I have smoked for many years.

I was examinated by my doc for about 2 years ago, can I still trust these results?

[Speranza]

If it was, you woudln't be here now.

That is how you know it isn't!

[ankietyjoe]

I get this too, a lot.

Mine comes and goes throughout the day and sometimes it's worse than others.

It's usually a feeling that I cannot take a full and satisfying breath, which leads me to focus on the problem and often resort to yawning to get a full lungfull of air.

Other times I constantly feel like I'm short of breath, however I'm not panting or gasping and I can talk just fine which points towards there not really being an issue there.

What I do find is that a bowl of steam with a few drops of Eucalyptus oil can help as it opens up the airways a bit. Even if it's a placebo it helps me :)

Also, I meditate a couple of times a day and I find that for a period of time directly after the meditation the breathing issue is far less significant.