light headed

[robertz]

is feeling light headed with shortnessof breath normal for anxiety? really worried right now something is wrong! went to the hospital couple of weeks ago cuz i thought i was having a heart attack! they told me it was anxiety. only been dealing with anxiety for a couple weeks and already i can't remember what it felt like to be normal. they gave me lorazepam but im afraid to take that because of its side effects and also that maybe i don't have anxiety and this drug will make whatever is wrong with me worse. its horrible to have anxiety about the meds also. im 25 and a full time student but i didnt even go to school this semester because i cant concentrate on anything anymore. they did tests when i went to the emergency room, but now i think i have other things wrong with me. sorry this is so long but im really scared.

[LeeBee]

Hey robertz - shortness of breath and lightheadedness are really common symptoms of anxiety. The shortness of breath may be caused by hyperventilation, and hyperventilation can make you feel lightheaded. To combat hyperventilation try to take slow, deep, even breaths, and/or hold your breath for a few beats. It seems counterintuitive to do this when you feel short of breath, but shortness of breath from hyperventilation is caused by your oxygen and carbon dioxide levels getting out of whack. When you slow your breathing down this quickly returns to normal. You could try breathing into a paper bag too. Apparently brown is best, for some reason :).

Take reassurance from the fact that your heart got the all-clear at the hospital. Heart problems are very rare in people your age, and it's extremely likely that they would have picked up any problems that were there.

Have a search through previous posts on 'lightheadedness' or 'shortness of breath' - heaps of us have been through what you are going through. Have you thought about CBT or other therapies to help with your anxiety? Hope you feel better soon. :)

[robertz]

thanks leebee,

you really made me feel better, therapy sounds like a good idea. never heard of CBT before, what is it?

[kittykat]

Hi there,

cbt stands for cognitive behaviour therapy, what the therapist does is try to almost rearrange your thoughts. When i started i had to write down how many times a day i thought of something bad, with me its illness , so like pain in rib , possible causes , worst thing it could be then the most likelk thing it could be. I felt it didn't really help me much but then everyone is different, i always think its worth giving something a try as you never know, hope this explains it a little to you xx

[robertz]

hey kitty,
thanks for explaining it to me, it was very helpful:)

[LeeBee]

Yep, as kitty says, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, like all therapies, isn't for everyone. I've never actually had it, but have thought about it a few times when I've been really anxious and/or depressed. Friends who have had it mostly say that it helped them. Just depends on the individual and what suits them.:)