cant stop thinking about my breathing

[Bowny]

im not having a panic attack, but all i can focus on is my breathing and how it feels like every breath is pathetic, feels like im gonna stop breathing at any point. is this just anxiety because im not actually having an attack, and i got a stiff neck and tight throat to go with it.
luke x

[joyce1980]

You know I had this problem once.. you feel tired of breathing in a way... good news is this anxiety does not last, you wont think twice about it soon.

Stiff neck and tight throat is part of the fixation and anxiety x x

[valleybear]

Bowny
I once went through this for months at a time. It is just anxiety...or certainly was in my case..the more you dwell on it the more you feel it and so it is a vicious circle.
As joyce says the up side is that it does go away in time...you may not be in panic mode but your anxiety is still causing this so the more you can relax and try to think of other things the better. Take care X

[Brunette]

Hi Bowny,

Keep yourself busy, it will take your mind off it.

[momof3boys]

I have been the same way lately, all my muscles are tensed up and it feels like I can't breathe properly and I am constantly checking to see if I can take a deep breath.

[Midnight]

I have the same problem occasionaly. All I can think is 'breath in - breathe out' or I feel I will stop and suffocate. It is part of anxiety and occurs because your body is hyper aware, you become aware of every movement and feeling. Sometimes you will focus on your breathing. Best thing to do is distract yourself and remember breathing is an automatic function, you cannot hold your breath forever!

[Maj]

You've got tense chest muscles, that's why you have the suffocating feeling. It's not actually your lungs so please don't worry. You will always get enough breath. Just think, when you are sleeping you don't even need to think about breathing, your mind does it for you. I've had this symptom and it is really unpleasant, but it will pass. Try to take nice, slow breaths. It's a very common symptom of anxiety.
Myra:hugs:

[leesome]

I've been like this for months mate and I've hit an all time low but, if it helps any, i've been the doctors today and she did me a whole lot of tests and as far as she is concerned, my lungs are like race horses.

She is a great doctor and said it is nothing more than my anxiety.

Funnily enough, for the first time in months, I've spent the rest of the day breathing absolutely perfect.

Don't think if I'd got a serious illness that I would suddenley be ok because the doctor said so.

Being aware of your breathing is horrible as there is no escaping it...please...try to believe it is more probably a case of your anxiety.

[B-gal]

Hey, I absolutely get this from time to time, and not because Im anxious, I just suddenly become over aware about breathing, especially at night if its quiet. But this does go away when you stop thinking about it. I usually stick a film or something on if its at night and Im in bed and I stop thinking about it within minutes. Hope u feel better :)

xxx
xx
x

[Kasha]

Hey love.
I am exactly the same.
Last night I took deep breaths for SO long that It drove me mad, and made my breathing go all weird. Just try and breathe normally. It is terrifying. I hate it so much :(
The only things that helps me temporarily is eating. Because i get SO transfixed on my breathing, that NOTHING can distract me. :( x x x

[Carys]

HI Bowny, just so you don't feel so alone in your feeling, letting you know there is another very similar thread ongoing started by someone else....

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=68599

It might be worth reading that one too, for some extra support.

[alittlesunshine]

Hey guys. I just dealt with just over a month of this. My advice would be to either see a chiropracter to verify that the cause is not pinched nerves in your neck first. Otherwise, what I ddid was fought against the fear response from the body and spent the course of a week fighting the panic of not complying to breath and eventually broke the fear response but then had to deal with the next fear of if I was breathing and then relearn how to hold my throat muscles during the exercises as to allow my body to breath but not myself. Also downloaded a heart rate monitor for my phone and monitored my heart rate during the process to insure that I wasn't indeed choking myself. Took a lot of willpower but it is worth the peace of mind because the breathing was driving me insane.

Also, it has been found that if you vertibrae pinch the nerves for the autonomous nervous system that it will cause you to be concious of your breathing. Found that out the last day of my struggle after wards. Kick in the pants...
Good luck and I hope these two options help you guys through it. I couldn't find a solution so I wanted to post my findings because the issue almost drove me to very bad things.

[kennethman1]

can you use medications to help abit?

---------- Post added at 08:01 ---------- Previous post was at 07:14 ----------

also why did these symstoms go away for a few days them came back yesterday?

[Ohme1977]

Hi there! Just wondring if you're still having this problem or you overcome it? Im having the same problem for about 3 nights now and i been losing sleep due to constantly focusing on my breathing. I was feeling hopeless everytime it happens to me. I never had to focus on my breathing before but since i recently have a severe panic attack for about 3 weeks now ive been focusing on my breathing especially at night before bed and its really taking a toll on me. During the day i could fight or divert my mind somewhre else and it works but when its bed time im having a hardtime distracting myself eventhough my anxiety meds makes me relax and sleepy. I dont even remember being anxious but when i start focusing on my breathing i would start to breathe shallow which causes me to have some shortness of breath and then i'd get tense and panicky. I hope this is just a phase im going through and itll pass eventually. Or i am just anxious and my panick attack is fairly new? I tried distracting myself too by listening to music with my earphones but i still somehow find myself focusing on it still. It's good to know though that i am not the only one experiencing it. Please advise on how you guys cope on this. Thanks

[Fishmanpa]

This thread is many years old. I doubt you'll get a response from the OP as they've not logged on in as many years.

Positive thoughts