cant get enough air in ? Strange

[soggypops]

Hi its me again

Ive read lots of post about having the feeling of not getting enough air into my lungs and having to make yourslef yawn to feel the air reach further down and satisfying. Im going through this quite bad at the moment and was woundering how long does it usaually last for ?

Its been 5 days constantly now from when i wake till i sleep and its driving me insane. I cant eat or relax , im not weazing or anything so it cant be aa chest infection. Im just trying to get a satisfying breath.

Sorry to be a pain i just need a little reasurance.
Soggyypops
:ohmy: xx

[sandbanks]

Hi
I Do The Same, Always Trying To Take Deep Breath, But I Can't, But Thats Because I Don't Need To!!! Just Try To Think Of Something Else, It Makes It So Much Worse When U Worry About It All The Time. I No Its Not Easy, It Make U Feel Lowsy, And I Also Seem To Get It When I Out And About, Which Dos Not Help. If It Gets Really Bad When Im At Home I Lay On The Floor And Just Do 7 11 Breathing Into My Tummy And Try And Relax As Much As I Can,

It Will Go Just Dont Let It Stay In Your Head!!!
Can Alway Email If You Want To Chat I No What Its Like
Take Care
Sandy

[Tom_M]

It might be just anxiety thats tightening your tummy muscles. What I used to do was to lie down and when breathing in, make sure it was my stomach that was rising, not my chest. This way, you know your diaphragm is fully inflating your lungs. I was shown this method on one of the many relaxation curses that I attended.

[amandaj]

it does sound like anxiety i have it everyday 24 hours a day it wont hurt you but it not nice

[jacq]

Hi Soggypops, this is quite a common symptom of anxiety and unfortunately one of our own making. It is one of my worse problems and the more you think about it the worse it gets, my mental health nurse commented on it recently when i explained that i could never get a refreshing breath, he asked me to tense all of my muscles in the top half of my body as hard as i could, and guess what i couldn't because without even realising i was doing so my muscles were already tensed. I had thought i was quite relaxed but he pointed out that "your jaw is clenched you hunched over like an old lady and your shoulders are so high up to you ears i am surprised you can hear what i am saying i am not surprised you can't get a breath your chest must be as tight as a vice" and i never even noticed i had become so accustomed to holding myself that way for years. The yawning does help and i practise by tensing everything as tight as i can then letting everything drop down, it is really hard work and you have to keep reminding yourself constantly to relax. Hope you feel beter soon.

Jacq x

[belle]

..i have it right now! Ugh.

[sazzle]

I have this all the time, thought i was just going crazy or it was something they hadnt found. Welcome to the club!

[soggypops]

Hi everyone
Thanks for your replys. Its a nightmare symptom !!!!!

Ive been to docs today and have increased Cipralex from 10 - 20mg ( hope it helps) ??

I know its me but trying to stop this is soooooo hard.:ohmy:

Well im gonna beat this and thanks again for all your reasurance. Ive got dog training tonight so im hoping it will take my mind off it a bit ?

Soggypops
xxxx

[aliciajane]

This, with the anxiety, comes and goes for me.
I had it for 2/3 weeks. At first it drove me mad because I got even more panicky about it.
Once I accepted the fact that it was simply due to my anxiety I calmed down a lot about it, and it gradually went.
It does come back when the anxiety strikes me, but I know how to deal with it. It's uncomfortable and not nice, but you can cope with it.
Give it a few weeks, it'll pass :)

[delta]

I bought a book a while ago called Hyperventilation Syndrome by Dinah Bradlley, it helped me a lot and still does, hopefully it will be of help to someone else.
take care
:)

[Jo3016]

Hi

I have this too. I haven't been on here for a while as I have been feeling a lot better but it has just hit me again.

I have had a cold recently and a cough - nothing major or anything but the sense of not being able to breathe properly whilst being bunged up made me panic breathe. Now the cold has gone and I am stuck in the cycle of over-breathing again. I feel like only about one in every 20 breaths is satisfying. The rest feel like they get stuck half way. In reality, I know that it is just my body telling me that I don't need to keep taking large gulps of air! I have heard this called "air hunger" and I think it describes the feeling perfectly.

I hope you are feeling better soon.

[Amilie]

You can master this, it just takes practise. Like many of the other posts, I had this for years but have now been taught how to breath "properly" (thought I was doing quite well until then!!). When you breath in your stomach should be going out and when you breath out it should go in. Pratice doing this a lot through out the day and eventually you will get used to it. When you feel especially short of breath make sure your in breath is shorter than your out breath. The reason you are needing to yawn is because you don't have enough carbon dioxide. Instead of yawning, breath out for longer than you breath in. I generally breath in for 4 and out for 8 but you can change this occording to how anxious you are and how difficult you find it to start with. If it is hard to do then just breath in for 2 and out for 4 and gradually make the lengths longer as you get better at it. This DOES work. It is all science based and gets you breathing correctly and relaxes your whole body. Stick with it and practice whenever you can. :winks:
Here is some text from the internet that gives you more tips and info:


Breathing correctly is critical in maintaining the level of oxygen for energy, keeping the correct pH levels in the body, and enough carbon dioxide for bodily functions. Healthy people make 93 per cent of their energy aerobically ("in the presence of oxygen,") but poor breathing habits can reduce the amount of energy made aerobically to 84 per cent. Seventy percent of the elimination of wastes from the body is through breathing.
The good news is that poor breathing habits can be reversed. Among infants, correct breathing comes naturally. Observe a baby as it breathes to see its belly rise and fall with each breath. As we grow older, we are taught to "suck in that gut" and "puff out that chest" as we try to achieve as slim a waist as possible. Such resistance to the natural breathing posture restricts oxygen intake, which can lead to numerous physical as well as emotional problems.
1.1 "Bad" Breathing

Shallow "chest breathing" invites problems by delivering less air per breath into the lungs. Less air per breath leads to a higher number of breaths, putting in motion a series of physiological changes that constrict blood vessels. An imbalance between the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the lungs delivers less oxygen to the brain, the heart, and the rest of the body. Carbon dioxide (CO2,) is a vital gas that is produced by the body’s energy source: metabolism. The body’s ability to maintain a normal pH (the balance between acid and alkaline that regulates the body’s chemical reactions) depends on maintaining an adequate supply of CO2.
Too much oxygen and not enough carbon dioxide can create an agitated state. As you learn to exhale slowly, you conserve carbon dioxide and rebalance the system. However, too much carbon dioxide, and not enough oxygen, can create feelings of fatigue and depression. Learning to inhale slowly re-balances your system by taking in more oxygen. In extreme cases, a restricted supply of oxygen can contribute to anxiety, panic attacks, and even phobias. Less productive exhaling can also result in a buildup of toxins that would have been eliminated through breathing.
Stress, anxiety, and emotions all affect our breathing – the natural "fight or flight" response that increases respiration. As "civilized" people, we typically do not ease such state of arousal with immediate physical activity. Once breathing is in an aroused state, the physiological effects on the body remain after the stressful event has gone. Such arousal promotes rapid breathing leading to a metabolic imbalance where CO2 levels are too low and oxygen use is poor. The key element to many meditation disciplines is that breathing technique can affect one’s emotional state as much as one’s emotional state can affect one’s breathing.
"Bad breathing" is also performed through the mouth rather than the nose, especially during exercise or a stressful situation. Breathing through the mouth permits inhaling and exhaling large volumes of air quickly. This can lead to hyperventilation, diminished energy, and a weakening of health and well-being.
1.2 "Good" Breathing

It is easy to develop good breathing habits, but it takes practice. Most of us are completely unaware of our breathing – otherwise we would have to remember to inhale over 17,000 times a day! Breathing awareness and practice, or "breathwork," is an important part of training for athletes, musicians, vocalists, and public speakers.
To achieve normal levels of oxygen and CO2 in your system, you begin by focusing your attention on breath! Your goal is to reduce the number of respirations from a standard of 12 per minute to as few as four per minute – which can be achieved with practice. Deep, slow breathing will feel unnatural to many who first try it and may be uncomfortable to some. After years of shallow "chest breathing," some have a low CO2 concentration leaving them with a tight chest and malfunctioning diaphragm.
A slow inhale, followed by holding the breath, and concluding with an exhale twice as long as the inhale will help balance the CO2 level. One technique is called "4-7-8 Breathing" in which you inhale to the count of four, hold the breath to the count of seven, and slowly exhale to the count of eight. The slow exhale is key to most forms of breathwork, and critical to achieving stress reduction.
1.3 Bad Advice

"Take a deep breath" can be very bad advice to someone who is feeling anxious or is agitated. If such a person begins taking deep breaths, they are likely to experience an even more aroused state. A person prone to anxiety most likely is at or over their optimum CO2 level and needs to slow their respiration more than increase their intake volume through "take a deep breath."
Such advice can lead to hyperventilation (breathing too fast.) The amount of carbon dioxide in blood generally regulates breathing and a low level of CO2 tends to make the nervous system more excitable. If carbon dioxide is released too rapidly, the arteries and blood vessels constrict and an insufficient supply of oxygen to the cells results, including blood (and oxygen) supply to the brain. Restricting oxygen supply to the brain can stimulate the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) and cause tension, anxiety, and mood swings. Low levels of oxygen in the brain has been associated with depression and other changes in brain waves.

[Lucky07]

I've had this awful symptom for a year now. :( You are not alone. Sometimes I think it's almost gone, then it comes back. One thing I've found to help is to soak in a nice hot bath. I also feel pretty good after getting a massage. It's only temporary though.

[Angie]

Yep That’s me with my 1st panic attack and my first visit to A&E I described it to the doctor as ‘if someone s sitting n my chest and I can’t get enough air in’. Sill feels like that but now I understand it and now I have accepted it – it is not so much of an issue – I use a meditation CD when I am at my worst along with breathing exercises and it normally works

[sef802]

Hello everyone! I completely understand what everyone on here is going through. One of the most important things I have found is to breathe through your nose. (It could also be possible that you are unable to do this because of a deviated septum or sinus obstruction and that then the anxiety simply makes another problem even worse.)

Also, when my brain starts telling me it needs more air, I try and wait as long as I can to take a breath, and then slowly breathe in when I can't wait any longer. The important thing to remember is that if you are anxious and hyperventilating yourself, your brain will tell you you aren't getting enough air but this is actually not the truth, so you don't need to feel panicked.

It's also true that the more you think about it the worse it gets. I notice that sometimes when it starts to bother me and I then start researching it, it just gets even worse. So trying to watch TV or a movie is sometimes a good way to keep your mind off it and then let your breath slowly reregulate itself naturally.

Good luck everyone and just remember to relax as hard as it is.