Fear of breathing ?!!!

[Abeechx]

I have this fear which so far no one else in the world seems to have! I've read countless forums and searched on different websites to see if I can relate to anyone but so far only me!! I FEEL SO ALONE :-(
My fear is with breathing and it's not that I think I'm going to run out of air or I can't breathe ..... it's the fact that I have to do it to stay alive all day everyday 24/7 and I can constantly feel my chest rising and falling and there is no escape. I dont like it and I'm scared of my own breathing I want it to stop.
I have moments when I think I just dont like this sensation! I am trapped and no one can stop it and I can't stop it.
Constantly feeling air going in and out of my body is making me have severe panic attacks!! So severe that I think of sucide as the only escape. I've had many suicidal thoughts but I don't want to do it as I have my daughter who needs me. The only reason I keep going is for her. This is causing me massive depression and I cry all day. I am seeing a cbt therapist and I don't want to take medication as I'm scared I will have to relie on that constantly as I'm always panicking. It seams like I'm scared and panicky every second of the day and I have about 10-15 attacks a day with my heart pounding and trembling. Please someone help me I'm loosing my mind over this. How can I get over this fear when there truely is NO ESCAPE

[Jade31]

Oh my love how very awful for you. I have an extreme phobia of vomiting which many people have not heard of. So I can see where your coming from. Do you what about the breathing it is that makes you afraid to do it? Do you remember a time when you perhaps stopped Breathing? My love suicide is never the right thing to do, your daughter needs you and so does your family, friends.... And you must live for yourself. It sounds to me that you find breathing to much of a burden/chore to maintain. Am I right?? I'm hear to talk to hun xx

[James160]

What you're feeling right now is just a very heightened sense of overwhelming anxiety, I've been in the same situation when i was diagnosed with Anxiety too, it's irrational as your body will continue breathing automatically, but your anxious mind has you monitoring every single sensation and makes you obsess over it (Keep in mind, it's not -you- who is obsessing, it's the sense of panic raising that sensitivity, we all aren't ourselves when we're in a state like this)

What you have to remember here are the facts, this is purely just your mind trying to get you uptight, you've been breathing the way you have for years and it's never bothered you until now, maybe there's a reason for that? (There is, the anxiety!)

This WILL pass, it's only temporary and once you begin to understand that this feeling of torment that's haunting you right now will vanish soon? it will :)

[LiziJenks]

I have this feeling sometimes, like I can't get enough air and what if my body just stops automatically breathing. Its a horrible feeling but the best way i avoid thinking about it is with distraction. I find the more you think about breathing the worse it gets! xx

[rima mohammad]

hello i had the same problem before but i was thinking about losing my memory and not suicide because i hate suicide anyway now i have a problem with swallowing and not breathing . im not thinking about breathing anymore you should just i dont know .. you should make yourself forget it by doing somthing usefull and take pills like feverin or citalopram

[Allicloud]

I think you're simply experiencing panic disorder. When suffering from extreme anxiety and panic, we tend to have very irrational thoughts and become afraid of things we were never afraid of before.
During panic attacks, I've become paranoid and afraid of random things such as breathing, the amount of space around me, the sky, my own existence and my own thoughts. When I'm not anxious, none of those things bother me at all.

It sounds like you need some remedies for calming your general feelings of anxiety (medication?) as well as some therapy. I think once you are able to feel generally calmer, things like breathing won't bother you anymore.

[Welsheroo]

Hi Abeech.
I googled fear of breathing, found this post and registered especially to respond cuz you are NOT alone. I too have this fear only mine is the fear of not being able to breathe properly as well as anxiety over every normal breath I take too...my heart beating and every pump also. It's hard to explain but it's as scary as hell to live with every second of every hour of every day. My overwhelming fear at the moment on top of those I listed is catching a chest infection or cold/flu which obviously affects your breathing. The fear is OMG...I just can't explain it but it's debilitating! :-( It's ALWAYS on my mind and I can't function because of it! :-( I've mentioned it to my GP a few times but he just says it's anxiety and gives me diazapam but unless I can take them everyday (which I can't and won't! ) then they are no good. I'm well aware it's anxiety...EXTREME anxiety but no professionals seem to be able to understand the severity of it and how deliberating it is daily! :-(
I too have been considering suicide cuz it seems my only way of escape from this hell hole that no one understands! :-(
It's coming into the winter season...my worst season of all for viruses etc so I'm dosing up on vitamins, have ordered face masks and I refuse to leave home in fear of catching germs. I open my windows daily to get rid of germs even though it's freezing out but on the flip side to that the cold air can cause you to catch a chill and therefore a virus...there is no escape! :-(
Just wish doctors understood! :-( :-( :-(
(((Hugs))) to you and here is you wanna talk to someone who DOES understand! ;-) xxx

[strongirl]

Hello girl! I have found your post about your fear of breathing. Did you still suffer from this? I have been suffering from this stupid problem about 15 years. Once, I got panic attack in car, which took about 15 minut. I though I was dying. That night I was lying in my bad concentrating to breathing, but suddenly I got an idea, that I would stop. I scared myself and started breathing more and more and I couldn´t get it out of my had. I felt bad, my hands and feet were cold, my heart bet so fast and my head was empty and full of unreal ideas. From this moment, my life has changed and breathing became problem Nr.1 for me. Every day, every minute, every second....I couldn´t stop thinging of this. I wanted to commit suicide as well. Bud I have never be so strong to do this. I have visited psychiatrist, as well as psychicist, but noone understood my feelings. They looked at me as if I was an alien. Now I am mother of two small children and I often cry for my destiny. I would like to be happy mum and give them a happy childhood. I have also tried alternative medicine as acupuncture, homeopathy, Bach essences, HRV feedback, but everything without longterm result. And the obsession about breathing is still here. Have you already found anything to stop this breathing ideas? How long do you have this breathing obsession? I don´t know anybody in our country, who is suffering from this, so I am very happy I have found this forum. Finally, I am sorry for my not perfect English, but it is not my native language :-) Thanks.

[Jersey Lilly]

Oh my I cannot believe I have found other people that are suffering this nightmare. I registered on this site just so I could post that you are not alone. It is completely debilitating and you feel trapped because your breathing is always present. I am a mum of two as well and it is so hard. I had a nervous breakdown last summer and whilst the adrenalin rushes and generalised anxiety symptoms have subsided, I have been left with this horrible obsession where I cannot stop thinking about my breathing. The sensation of my chest raising and falling frightens me, it feels so alien and because it is so irrational I worry that I am losing my mind. I never used to be like this but do take a little encouragement from what James160 has said above.

[Panicer]

Hi All, I also suffer from a fear of breathing. Very difficult to explain and sounds mad when I try to. I know it's completely irrational but that doesn't make it any easier. I suffered a panic attack that ended up with me passing out repeatedly through hyperventilation. The emergency room eventually got me out of the cycle by telling me to calm my breathing down. Three years later I had another panic attack and although I didn't pass out I have now somehow linked breathing with the discomfort of a panic attack and I struggle with it each day. Completely agree with James, it's being very anxious and being hyper sensitive to our body and surroundings that cause it. I've been having CBT for several months, it has helped a little but unfortunately the main relaxation technique is breath control and as we know that heightens our anxiety. I have also recently started taking fluoxetine/Prozac and that seems to be helping more. Only been taking them for 10 days but it's giving me a little bit of excuse the pun, breathing space and seems to allow me to break vicious irrational thinking cycles. Good luck to all, it's nice to know we're not alone.:winks:

[noitsbecky]

You certainly are not the only one suffering with this horrible mental state. I have had this since two years ago and I can relate with the torment the endless annoying thoughts of focusing on breathing for me I felt like I would stop breathing unless I tell myself to and that led to constant fixated thinking of breathing and no bueno when added to anxiety and panic attacks it's so hard to function when you can't stop thinking about it.

There is hope.

The doctor's and psychologists cannot help you but I found the root cause of my fears and destroyed them.

Out of my desperation to be free and normal again I searched YouTube for anxiety remedies. I came across the House of Healing AZ and listened to their video messages about anxiety and fear and overcoming rejection and I am no longer a slave to the constant thoughts of breathing! It's possible! I'm now whittling down all the other irrational fears panic attacks and anxiety gave me one by one and my heart beat fear, breathing fear, social anxiety, fear of riding in cars are no longer things I think about or scare me. Still working on fear of sunny daylight, and agoraphobia but I am heeeps better than where I was last year. Please try this I know you are as desperate to be set free as I was.

If I can do it You can too!

Trust in Jesus
Know that God loves you unconditionally
Satan is the father of lies and wants your mind as his playground
He gives you all these horrid thoughts and wants you to be in a weakened state and convince you to take your own life because he loathes and hates you!
Fight! You will overcome this hell.

Bless you all

[Roy ibbo]

Hello, I also suffer with the same obsessive, worrying, feeling of Dread over my breathing which have at times ruined my quality of life. I also sometimes don't want to be here. I first had this worrying thought when I was 11 years old, I am now 58. I had been free of these thought for about a while but 4 weeks ago I was told to come in for a health accessment this made me think about my breathing all over again, I became extremely anxious all over again, within 10 days I was back in the same mental hole of being once again obsessed with my breathing. I have been on 40 mg of citilapram for over a decade, this medication helped to block the obsessive thoughts about breathing, but it was not enough to stop these thoughts bursting through, so I asked for an increase but I was told I am on the maximum dose for my age, but I pleaded with the doctor and he agreed to give me Lorazepam as and when, these tablets do tend to bounce these thoughts away to a lesser or greater degree, so I would always ask for them, they DO give me some respite, and keeping busy throughout the day also helps.
Listen at the minute I can not see the way out of this, but I KNOW I HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE ON MANY OCCASIONS, It does come right, that's for sure.
Regards
Roy Ibbo.