View Full Version : Rollercoaster.
You may all know from my numerous posts over the last 2 months i have been having a bad time with anxiety. Back pain, fatigue, feel like i can't breath etc etc. On Monday i woke up and thought right instead of sitting worrying i went for a walk for 1.3 miles and i felt better afterwards and upbeat. I was ok Tuesday and then yesterday afternoon i got the feeling i couldn't breath again and felt ill. I am the same today and feel like i struggle to breath but i am obviously, fatigue. It's like right at the back of my throat feels raw or been exercising. How can i feel okish 2 days and then feel just has bad again?
How can i feel okish 2 days and then feel just has bad again?
Anxiety is like a campfire. When you're in the midst of a spiral the fire is burning bright and hot. When the flames die down, there's still a bed of red hot coals burning away just waiting for some more fuel. So you may "feel" you're not anxious but your body is on high alert and has a bed of hot anxiety coals inside just waiting to flare up. Just like a campfire, the hot coals of anxiety take a long time to finally go out.
Positive thoughts
So one question I always like to ask is "what did you expect?"
Going for a walk and getting on with things is good, but that mindset needs to happen every day!!
I thought once i had a few days of feeling ok i would gradually continue to improve.
Nope.
From someone who has had horrendous depression and anxiety in my life, trust me, it's always a work in progress.
Today I feel awesome. Yesterday not so good.
You felt great on monday because you saw no point in worrying and GOT ON WITH LIFE!!
That is awesome, and I love you for doing that.
Tuesday, you felt ok, because monday was good. Then it starts to drift again...
So, the answer is... "see every day as a new opportunity to get up and do something, and to not be held back by your anxiety."
I keep telling myself if i had something wrong with my lungs i wouldn't be able to walk 1.3 miles and be ok for a few days with no breathing trouble and then feel like i can't again surely!
Catherine S
12-01-17, 17:23
Constant anxiety affects muscles making them tense, and that includes your chest wall muscles. Also, anxious people tend to shallow breathe, using only the top part of their lungs. This is why your long walk enabled your lungs to be used fully, which is why you could breathe easier on the walk than you can at home.
On top of this, shallow breathing upsets the balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the blood, so the lungs don't absorb the same level of oxygen and can make us feel we aren't getting enough air and making some people feel dizzy. This is why doctors tell you to breathe into a paper bag to restore the balance. Learning how to do some deep breathing exercises to use when you start to feel breathless should help. It takes time and practice but should help when you master it. Yoga is really good for this too.
ISB x
Sphincterclench
12-01-17, 17:27
Anxiety is like a campfire. When you're in the midst of a spiral the fire is burning bright and hot. When the flames die down, there's still a bed of red hot coals burning away just waiting for some more fuel. So you may "feel" you're not anxious but your body is on high alert and has a bed of hot anxiety coals inside just waiting to flare up. Just like a campfire, the hot coals of anxiety take a long time to finally go out.
that may be the BEST explanation ever for people with Anxiety disorders.
I think that's what i do shallow breath. It can last all day and doesn't go away.
From the symptoms page... makes perfect sense....
Breathing/Shortness of breath
The hyperventilation as above plus your bronchial tubes dilate thus requiring more air than usual to fill the lungs so feels that it's taking more effort to breathe – it is , you're taking in more air at each breath.
What you feel:
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.
What causes this:
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.
I just went through the exact same thing. Had EKG and blood tests, doc listened to my lungs and couldn't find anything wrong.
Yes i have had bloods done, ecg, lungs listened to and tapped, oxygen levels took (99%) and all ok.
What did you think when all these tests came back normal?
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