Holding breath without realising!

[sarabear]

So i keep noticing that i hold my breath LOADS like all the time. When im talking ill notice that when i stop i can barely breath and even sitting in silence or watching something on tv all of a sudden ill notice that im doing it again! Im guessing its something to do with anxiety? Does anyone else get this? Could it be making me feel more anxious cos theres not enough oxygen getting into my body or whatever! So weird :huh:

[littlemrs]

I do this all the time and I'm unaware I do it. Usually my husband pokes me and says, "breathe!" I think I do it more when I'm extra stressed. It's something I've done for years, and probably isn't the best thing for me when I'm feeling panicky.

[swanick15]

When I go out and and I'm walking I listen to music and I have noticed that I seem to forget to breath and then suddenly get a stitch, that's the only indication I have. I think it is just because breathing is a reflex and although we can force ourselves to stop breathing we can only do that for so long before the diaphragm releases and the lungs refill. Its because we are not aware of breathing that we just don't think about it about and can stop for a short while.