Breathing.....

[mayson76]

Hiya Everyone,

I know I'm not the only one who has this symptom,and I have had it before, but this time it seems worse than ever.

Its the one where you can't get a deep breath, I've been like this for days now,and I can't stop thinking about it,which I know is only making it worse. Its got to the stage now where I feel as though I've pulled a muscle in my the upper right side of my stomach, in my back, and in the area where collarbone is.

I'm worried sick about it all, I've been trying to force a deep breath hundreds of times a day,so that has probably contributed to the pullled muscle feeling,but I can't stop thinking about cancer and my lungs etc etc.

I'm almost wishing for a different symptom to come along,to stop me thinking about this.

Does anyone know what I can do please, And has anyone had this so bad that they have pulled muscles by trying to get the deep breath.

I can take a deep breath now and then,and its not affecting my sleep, in fact sleeping seems to be the only time I'm not worrying and anxious.

Any help would be appreciated, I know we're all in the same boat,and I hope that one day, this anxiety will be gone from all of us.

Thanks for reading. xx

[andrewc]

Hi there

Sorry to hear about your breathing problem which is not a good symptom at all. I had this really bad last year and it was due to anxiety and later on panic attacks. It does go away but I do suggest to go to the doctor as it may be caused by anxiety. What helped me was to occupy my mind on other things after all you sleep OK therefore there is nothing wrong with your breathing.

I am sorry to be vague but please go to your doctor and see what the diagnosis is.

Best regards

Andy

[mayson76]

Thanks for your reply, I should have said that I have suffered with panic attacks and anxiety since 2003,and was on anti-depressants until the beginning of this year. I did seem to be better,but its as though it is starting all over again. I've probably had every anxiety symptom that there is at one time or another,but this is the one that I find it really hard to deal with. I probably say that about them all when I get them though.

[swirledpeacat]

Hi there,

Unfortunately, and I'm sure as you know, anxiety symptoms can take a while to alleviate, and I have found this to be the case with my breathing sometimes, so don't worry if it doesn't seem to be getting better straight away. I find that when I have these 'attacks' they can last anywhere between a few hours and a few days.

The best thing you can do in my experience is try some relaxation techniques. I don't know if you have any but I find that yoga (although I only know a few positions!) is excellent. Also there is something called tapping therapy/EFT? Google or youtube it, where you tap certain points around the top half of your body (there are some good youtube demo videos). I find this helps me calm down and takes my focus off the anxiety symptom.

Is there anything that has been on your mind lately that may have caused your anxiety?

Also ditto what Andy said about seeing your doctor.

Hope this was helpful, and hope you feel better soon!

Cat.

[charsey]

Hi Mayson, this was the first sympton i had when i started having anxiety/panic attacks nearly 7 years ago. I sometimes still get it but what helped me through it was yawning. If i could yawn and take a deep breath then, then i knew i was ok and it was me blowing it all out of proportion. I hope you get better as i know how scary that can be.
Take Care x x

[yanksforever]

This is a symptom of anxiety. It's not dangerous though. Besides you know you have anxiety and this is a classic symptom of it. Check out the symptoms section of the forum, a lot of people there have it too.

Charsey is right. I noticed that when I get this symptom (I've had this for a couple of days at least 4 times since I got HA), I start yawning right away. Try to stop trying to take a deep breath. Trust me even though you think you're not gettign enough air, you actually are. The body eventually gets annoyed with the odd breathing and you start yawning.

Also when you first wake up in the morning, you'll probably notice that since you're more relaxed, you're breathing is just fine..it only gets worst as the day goes on.

Just PLEASE try to distract yourself. Watch a movie, talk with friends, write down stuff, listen to music, play a game on the computer, solve a puzzle, exercise (that gives you a lot of air), go out for a walk, even talk to your Mom, lol.

I guess you can go to the doc. He can just give you anti-anxiety meds and perhaps tell you ways to relax yourself as I know from experiencing this how tense and tired your chest, back and abdominal muscles probably are.

Hang in there, this does go away.

[amu]

So true - hate this symptom as it's not one I can ignore or not think about for a while. It's awful to say something like this, but I can't wait to get rid of this and I'd rather have a new one instead :(
Actually I'd rather have no symtoms at all...