Breathlessness

[familygirl]

Anyone get this? Seems to come out of nowhere for me.

[Mable]

Breathlessness is one of my worst symptoms, def anxiety related! Once you remind yourself its this, you will start to breathe normally!

Mable.

[familygirl]

How often do you get it? Doesn't happen everyday...maybe twice a week a few times a day.

[nomorepanic]

Shortness of breath
The sensation:
You feel that your breathing is forced and laboured. You become conscious of how you are breathing and you have a hard time catching your breath. It seems like you have to force yourself to breathe, in fear that if you don't, you'll stop breathing and die. Or, for no apparent reason, you feel out of breath and find yourself doing an unusual amount of yawning in an attempt to catch your breath.
The reason:
When stress biology changes the body, it quickens the breathing and respiration so that the individual is ready for immediate action. Unfortunately, this also means that the breathing becomes shallow in nature (unless we are physically exerting the body such as running, fighting, swimming, etc.) which results in the body not getting enough oxygen. That’s why we feel out of breath. This is a natural occurring biological outcome resulting from stress biology.
Sometimes this symptom will be persistent from day to day, and other times it may appear for awhile, then disappear. Both are common. Once the nervous system calms down, you breathing will return to normal.
Also, because breathing is an automatic bodily function, you’ll never have to worry about not breathing. Your body does it automatically. It may be shallow, but you’ll always get enough oxygen.
Regular exercise helps to maintain regular breathing patterns.
As with all symptoms, when the nervous system gets sufficient rest, this symptom will diminish and eventually subside.



Nicola

People will forget what you said
People will forget what you did
But people will never forget how you made them feel

[Mable]

Hi again,

I think Nicola has given the best explanation for you. Personally, I get breathless several times a day, or conscious of my breathing which I feel is not deep enough. I then worry about the breathing, esp that there is something wrong with my lungs.

When I am not stressed, this symptom subsides, although it can occur when I don't feel I am worried about anything!

You could try some yoga breathing, I find this helps when I can apply myself.

Best wishes

Mable

[ConfusedByLife]

I seem to feel breathless all the time and even more so when anxious. Im thinking of going to my doctor. I think the meds i take, binge drinking, anxiety and family history are all contributing factors to mine. It is a very uncomfortable feeling tho, especially when speaking. Very embarrassing for me when u can hardly speak and people are looking at you like "have u just run a marathon ?" Thing is I go to gym twice a week and gave up smoking 2 years ago, so i don't understand why it's still such a problem.