Difficulty Breathing

[meltedchic]

I recently had this difficulty breathing a few days ago. I spend that day getting mad at my sister for her wrong doings.
I even remembered shouting at her several times. That night, while sitting on the couch, my heartbeat rapidly increased-
it became faster like its about going to explode. Then, minutes later, I'm shivering and my hands are turning cold. I'm now
experiencing difficulty in breathing and I don't know what to do that time. I'm thankful that my brother assisted me by giving me
a paper bag to breath in. I wonder why I had this difficulty back then. Did you guys experience this?

[Fishmanpa]

Sounds like a text book anxiety attack.

FMP

[meltedchic]

Yes, maybe. I'm just worried what if my anxiety becomes more aggressive. As much as possible and as early as now, I would like to receive treatment before it gets worse.

[ankietyjoe]

The first thing to do is accept that anxiety is a perfectly normal bodily function, and you have already described the cause. Anxiety is caused by stress, so the best way to avoid it is to avoid stress. You cannot eradicate anxiety any more than you can eradicate sweating or breathing, but you can eradicate an unhealthy relationship with anxiety, and that includes not worrying about it happening again. It might, it might not. It's not dangerous.

[Solarbind]

The first thing to do is accept that anxiety is a perfectly normal bodily function, and you have already described the cause. Anxiety is caused by stress, so the best way to avoid it is to avoid stress. You cannot eradicate anxiety any more than you can eradicate sweating or breathing, but you can eradicate an unhealthy relationship with anxiety, and that includes not worrying about it happening again. It might, it might not. It's not dangerous.

It is simple to tell but quite hard to deal with stress especially in times when you are really torn in between things. I tried walking, it helps ease down stress but it comes back in a while..ugh!

[ankietyjoe]

It is simple to tell but quite hard to deal with stress especially in times when you are really torn in between things. I tried walking, it helps ease down stress but it comes back in a while..ugh!

Nobody is pretending it's easy, but that's what you have to do.

Also, try and move away from the idea of 'I did this, but it didn't work'. Dealing with a relationship with anxiety and/or stress takes a long time. Making changes to lifestyle takes a long time. There's no quick fix, but that's what people tend to look for.

A better way to look at this would be 'I tried walking and it helps!'.....'now what else can I do to help more?'

[meltedchic]

The first thing to do is accept that anxiety is a perfectly normal bodily function, and you have already described the cause. Anxiety is caused by stress, so the best way to avoid it is to avoid stress. You cannot eradicate anxiety any more than you can eradicate sweating or breathing, but you can eradicate an unhealthy relationship with anxiety, and that includes not worrying about it happening again. It might, it might not. It's not dangerous.


thanks for the response. I am trying not to overthink. I am trying hard to manage stress as much as I can. But still...I dont know - I am having a hard time breathing, I also feel heart burn. ;(

My neighbor advice to talk to a therapist or counselor for it might help me with anxiety and stress because I can not do it alone. Have you tried talking to one? How was it? Is it really helpful?

[ankietyjoe]

I had one course of CBT about 15 years ago which I found very helpful, but again....you're reacting immediately to what you perceive as problems that need an immediate fix.

Even if you 'beat' stress and anxiety today, it might take several weeks for your breathing to return to normal again. Anxiety and stress are like ocean tides, they don't just switch on and off.

All you can do right now is deal with right now. If you're struggling to breathe (you're not, it just feels that way) take five minutes to sit down, slow your breathing down, breathe through your nose (this matters) and keep telling yourself you have plenty of air, this is just a sensation.

Heartburn is a common side effect of stress. Your digestion doesn't work properly when you're stressed. It might be uncomfortable, but it doesn't require overthinking. Deal with the stress and the reaction to anxiety. The rest will sort itself out over time.