Anticipatory anxiety!!!

[bekw89]

So now my full blown panic attacks are out of the way, I have a worse symptom to contend with. I start to think about my breathing, then I think about how it feels like I can't breath, then I convince myself any second now i'll freak out and I fight it so much I can go for hours in some half panic attack state. Happened today unfortunately, I know the only way to overcome it is to relax but that feels like I have to go through the panic to come out the other side. I would love a way to stop it before it builds anyway anyone else have this?

[Oosh]

Yeh breathing is a tricky one. I think it's natural to feel panicky over breathing issues. But only if you're thinking about it.

Put your imagination somewhere else. It can't be on two things at once.
Put yourself in your favourite scene in your favourite movie or anything else that might be enjoyable. Picture it, hear it etc Just put your minds eye somewhere else and feel the different feelings it triggers. Meanwhile you have not been monitoring your breathing so your nervous system had been doing it automatically again.

Then you've shown yourself you have control over your breathing worries so it will lose a lot of its power over you.

I like to do small shallow breathes into the centre/bottom of my chest. Wait until your body asks for a breathe then just allow a shallow breathe to go into that area. Relaxed, shallow, just enough, feel the relief then put your mind elsewhere and let it become automatic.