Breathless

[anxious elephant999]

Ok ive just had a big row with someone and have been crying hysterically,then i found i couldnt breathe and now my chest feels very tight and i feel like i cant breathe properly, is this normal to get breathless when crying badly as i cannot remember this ever happening before

[Maj]

Hi.

I don't think you are breathless because of the crying, I think you have been left feeling a bit stressed and this can make your chest feel tight and make you feel breathless. Then the more you think about it the more breathless you feel!! Try some controlled breathing and this often helps.

Take care

[janni]

I know what thats like. Its frightening and hard to deal with but it wont last forever, I think the emotions heighten the anxiety and muscles become tense, try rubbing where it feels tight tell yourself all is well inside its anxiety again and breathe in through your nose out through your mouth gently. Hope you feel better soon x

[JohnLuke300]

Don't worry it's part of the freeze response when you flight, fight or freeze response is triggered by panic. Panic is a state we are supposed to enter when in danger (unfortunately some of us get even when there is no sign of it :doh:). Our body responds in several different ways to panic, one way is the freeze response. Because panic causes us to breathe more heavily and more rapidly the chest muscle contract in the freeze response. This is to counter the movement of the chest and to reduce it. This is to help us freeze if being pursued by a predator (No one said the freeze response was intelligent).
So tightness of the chest and difficulty breathing in times of stress is usually a pretty normal and perfectly safe reaction (I've suffered from it for 30 years and it hasn't killed me yet. :D)