difficulty speaking

[potato11]

Hello

I've posted a similar thread before but not got a huge response, and it's something thats still plagueing me :(

Difficulty breathing is my main focus with anxiety, and when I started my new job as a Midwife last year, one shift I felt anxious and sort of 'choked' over my words to a patient - like I ran out of breath half way through the sentence - and went home 'sick' in a panic, thinking it was some sort of heart problem

Now this fear is up and down but still with me pretty much 24/7. Im on clinic at the minute and therefore this entails a lot of speaking to patients, I have done quite well really but there are days where I really struggle to speak comfortably because I feel breathless

It's also spilled over into eating meals with family/friends - because Im trying to eat, talk and appear calm - I often find these meals pretty distressing because I just keep wanting to take deep breaths

The ultimate fear is, I can't talk at all and drop down of a heart attack - it's like my voice catches in my throat like when you're emotional and trying to speak, but occasionally I also get a squeezing sensation in my chest

It definitely gets worse the more emotive the subject is that I'm talking about

Anyone with similar experiences or advice would be much appreciated :)

[Annie0904]

When we are anxious our oxygen levels can decrease which would cause us to feel a little out of breath when speaking. This happens to me sometimes and I jut try to take a few slow deep breaths in, hold it and let it out slowly before speaking. I appreciate it isn't always appropriate to do this but if you try to slow down a little when speaking it will help and tell yourself to relax :)