can't stop thinking about breathing

[montos]

Hi everyone,

I used to get this problem all the time but it hasn't bothered me in years. I can't stop thinking about breathing and then I'm conscious of it and I'm freaking out that I'm going to stop breathing altogther.

I know it is silly and I won't stop breathing but it is damn distracting and it screws up my breathing and I hyperventiliate a little bit which makes the problem worse. Anyone have any advice? It makes it hard to fall asleep.

Thanks

Montos

[Julie1975]

I have this to, it was really bad last night and took me ages to get to sleep to only wake up an hour later for it to start all over again.

Sorry can't be of any help

[angels22165]

Hi Montos, I too have this problem, always constantly aware of my breathing, and when I get out of breath even like walking up stairs ( think its the thought taht when I get to the top, my heart will be beating a bit faster) which then my chest goes tight then I start to panic and sometimes this develops into a panic attack, it is horrible and very scary. The thing I have started doing is distracting myself when the breathing seems to be going funny, like talking to my dog lol, or playing games on my phone, this is hard but if you try and not keep your mind to much on it, it will start to lesson. Take care Julie :)

[Carys]

Hiyer ! I had this only last night, so can relate to what you are referring to. Do you become very aware of your breathing, and it almost becomes like you are 'making' every breathe happen, as if you are having to work hard at breathing and that if you don't then you will stop breathing ? The trouble with this breathing thing is that it is an automatic bodily response to breathe, just as it is for the heart to beat, it functions without you being conscious of it functioning. By becoming so aware of it you remove the automatic nature of it and instead of allowing your body to just get on with involuntary breathing, you try and make it an action you are in control of. If a child having a tantrum holds their breathe indefinitely, then the worst that can happen is that they faint and as soon as they do their body starts automatically breathing again !

As soon as you forget about it, your body will take over as it should do and continue as normal. I find distraction works well, such as counting or focusing on something else that really demands you concentrate.

[montos]

Carys, that's exactly what I mean and the distraction thing worked well all day. At night inn bed is always a different story.
I guess I just need to get "bored" of this particular obsession and it will pass.

[lauren6]

Montos, I have had this since I am 9 years old on and off. Am now pretty old :-) It comes and goes during periods of higher anxiety for us and according to my old therapist, is THE most common fixation that peole with anxiety have. There is a theory that we try to control something and this is ne thing we can attempt to control. Who knows if that is true, but for me and everyone I know, this comes and goes. We find one thing to focus on, as you can see on this board, everyone has a particular, or many focuses.

It is a way of keeping us from focusing on what REALLY is bothering us. I recomment John Sarno's books to everyone Even though they're about pain, he believes that this is also a psychologically caused thing to distract us from what's really going on in our lives.

The other posters said what I was giong to say...the automic nervous system works for us...a dog does not stop breating, nor any other animal. I am also afraid that I will knock my breathing rhythm off, faint from it and every other imaginable consequence but it never happened! The trick is, don't get upset about it. Just know that we all have vivid imaginations, do try to get to the root of what may be bothering you. Just try to have a "so what" attitude toward the breathing thing instead of "what if?" I wish you the best!

[springblossom]

Do you have 'control' issues?

I do, and sometimes it can be hard to just 'let things happen'. Breathing is under the influence of the brain, 'we' don't need to get involved. The theory is easy but I understand that it's not always that easy.

[Jo3016]

Hi

I have a lot of problems with my breathing at the moment too - constant deep breaths, sighing and yawning, clearing my throat and coughing too.

My chest and upper back and neck ache too and I feel light headed. It really is horrible and a hard thing to snap out of once you start thinking about it!!

I hope you are feeling better soon.

xx

[Dkg123]

Align probiotic. Promise you're not crazy. Bugs can put your brain into a hyper mode. Scary I know

[Ditapage]

Whenever you TRY to breathe apparently it's automatically harder. It's like TRYING to walk. It's an automatic thing but if you started thinking your leg is heavy or weak, it would be harder to walk. Anxiety does this to me all the time. It's the same deal with breathing. That why the best remedy is distraction because the body is capable of breathing on its own. When I consciously try to breathe I feel more out of breath. What helps me is to start singing or reading a book out loud. It will distract you, reassure you that you have breath and it stops you focusing on your breathing because it goes back to normal.

[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

[hp1990]

//LONG POST AHEAD but i hope it will help others to cope up with this,WE ARE NOT ALONE WITH THIS MADNESS IN OUR HEADS

I too have this breathing focus problem and the description provided in many of these posts fits my condition very well.

I have a history of these crazy thoughts coming up and leading to panic attacks.I dont wanna mention them , its contagious but controllable unlike our breathing which needs to go on.

Probably the reason why we start picking up on these crazy ideas may be due to stress, empty mind.In my case i am a total introvert and i feel i have no purpose in life.All these thoughts get accumulated in my head since i have nothing else to worry about.

This is a very peculiar kind of a feeling.I have always kept this to myself for i have been scared others might start feeling the same way about it like me, or on the contrary others may think iam crazy.And my worst fear was myself being institutionalized in a mental asylum for this madness where iam put into a room covered with soft cushions and my hands tied behind and i cant even commit suicide to get rid of it.:weep:

I have felt that the basic reason we get scared and start panicking is that this irritation, or bothersome problem may never go away and stick with us for the rest of life.

A couple of days ago i got so focused on my breathing that i started feeling short of breath followed by a slight pain in the chest and coudn't even concentrate on my work.I immediate went over at my colleague's desk to have a chat and get my mind distracted.Well its tends to work at times but is difficult! Once my anxiety attack calmed i felt good again for the rest of the day.

May be we can never make ourselves forget this problem unless someone invents a method to make your brain forget certain parts of the memory:wacko:.But knowing that you aren't alone and that there are many others facing the same problem and its completely natural will help you to understand and relax your mind.

This thought certainly helped me have a positive attitude towards this problem.If if you have read this post completely, you may have noticed that you did not focus on your breathing for that time and acted normal.See there you are , its all good!! :bighug1:

[Ajit singh]

I was having the same problem the best thing you can do is to start do meditation and close your eyes concentrate on breathing rate go deep this will calm down your mind and slowly slowly you will stop thinking of breathing ..be determined till you not forget it I took 3 months to forget it was really frustrated but I do meditation daily in evening and morning and I finally come out of it...

[Jollyjamison]

The problem with me atleast is I have to convince myself that I’m not really manually breathing, rather just observing myself breathing. When I think I’m “manually breathing” I get anxiety. You don’t actually manually breathe, it just feels like you are. So people that say they are “manually breathing” are wrong, and just making the problem worse by saying that.

[aadilsocd]

If you’re having a lot of anxiety and can’t stop thinking about a bodily sensation like blinking, breathing or swallowing, then you probably have what’s called sensorimotor OCD.


I’m fortunate to be someone who successfully recovered from sensorimotor OCD. As theres still a lack of information on how to treat it as well as a lack of access to a suitable therapist for many, I've written a brief guide on overcoming sensorimotor OCD at https://sensorimotorocd.net/. It's based primarily on CBT and ERP. I hope it is useful to people who are struggling with this, though of course does not replace a qualified therapist who can address the issue.