Constant Awareness of Breathing

[clarec]

Hi Everyone,

I did touch on this on my topic I posted yesterday about CBT, but the symptom I can't stand the most about my anxiety is my constant awareness of my breathing. This is worse when I don't have much to do or when I am trying to get to sleep. I know that i shallow breathe which I am trying to correct, but when you are constantly aware of your breathing the last thing you want to do is think about it even more to try and deep breathe!!! I used to be aware of it occasionally but now it is like an obsessive thought. Also when this website was down due to the fire, i went on another website and found this exact same problem and found many people that suffered from it, but they were all doom and gloom and said they would never recove from it and had been suffering for 10 years or more!! I can't bear the thought that I might be aware of my breathing for the next 10 years!! So I just wondered if anybody had experienced this and if so any positive tips?! I'm wondering if exercise would help although I hate doing that at the moment because again it makes me more aware of my breathing!!
Help!

Thanks
Clare

[Alexandra]

Hi Clare

I do'nt know whether this will help but if you maybe listen to relaxing music & read before bed time, then you hopefully will be so relaxed that we wo'nt have the constant thought of your breathing on your mind, you will be to tired to even think of it.

Take Care

Alex

Many People Will Walk
In & Out Of Your Life
But Only True Friends
Will Leave Footprints
In Your Heart

[clarec]

Hi Alex,
Yes I've tried all sorts! I do HAVE to read every night as this is the only way I can eventually get to sleep, there is no way I could just get to sleep without having my mind occupied on something! The only problem is this part of my brain that concentrates on my breathing seems to be so much stronger than any other and always manages to override other thinking!! so when I try to concentrate on something, I may be successful for a while then my brain will think 'Oh you are not concentrating on your breathing, better go back to doing that'!! Nightmare!!!
One of my main problems is I hate my job, it is painfully boring and tedious and I rarely actually have anything to do, so gives my mind the perfect oppurtunity to focus on my breathing. I am starting my dream job in a couple of weeks and am just praying this will be enough to help focus my mind on things other than my breathing!!

Thanks
CLare

[Alexandra]

Hi Clare

I do understand what you saying hun & hell it can be hard trying to settle at night at the best of time.
Easier said than done i know but try & stay positive & think of your dream job coming up soon. I bet when you start it you relax so much better.
I reckon you will sleep alot more soundly by the time your head hits the pillow. Hang on in there hun.

Take Care

Alex

Many People Will Walk
In & Out Of Your Life
But Only True Friends
Will Leave Footprints
In Your Heart

[Piglet]

A good book which is a nice simple read is Hyperventilation Syndrome by Dinah Bradly which I got off amazon.

It helped me a lot with correct breathing patterns and made me realise how my breathing was causing the other symptoms.

Love Piglet xx

"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.

[Quirky]

Hi there,

I suffer from hyperventilation too and am seeing a breathing therapist to help change my breathing, she said it can take up to a year or more of hard work but that is different for everyone and depends on your exact problem.

The book Piglet recommended is great, there is now a slightly newer version of that book called Self Help for Hyperventilation Syndrome by Dinah Bradley, it incorporates everything from the previous book and a few extras like more stories from other patients and how they overcame their problems.

Good luck,

Lisa

[Meg]

Hi Clarec

It may be that you are not hyperventilating at all and this is just an awareness that you are now in habit of concentrating on.

Seems to me that you need to change how you think aboiut the breathing, make it your friend not an enemy and through yoga or tai chi learn new ways of being positively aware of your breath and start slowly to enjoy the experience of breathing and how it can be altered a bit by volantary - yet ultimately it does control our body extremely sucessfully.



Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

[Batdog88]

I have exactly the same problem!

Suddenly one day for no obvious reason i become aware of every breath i take and it become uncomfatable like someone is sat on my chest or i am breathing through a straw. It is unbelievabley distressing and can make me very depressed and im always panicked.
Due to this breathing sensation i have regualar panic attacks too which are the scariest things imaginable.
I think the breathing awareness stems from anxiety about something but is worsened and prolongued by the anxiety i feel when i breath....a vicious circle!
Im trying all i can to stop being aware of my breathing but its so uncomfatable that its not working so far. every breath feels like i have breathed out instead of in.

Sleeping is impossible!! Last night i got so panicked i ended up in A and E but they just gave me a bottle of Valium that i am unsure whether to take.
It makes me not want to leave the house and is putting alot of pressure on my relationship as i am always anxious and difficult to be around

Its good to know others suffer from this....we just need to beat it and continue our normal lives.

If anyone has anymore advice, tips etc then dont hesitiate to reply, unless the tip is to try and distract myself as thats tried, tested and almost impossible!

[mysonmarcus]

Hi

Some interesting comments here about introspection on breathing. Please see this as a sympton of anxiety and has a cause. The cause will be a core belief about debilitating illness, health, dying etc etc........ it needs to be addressed in stages.

Lets change the word 'anxiety' to 'worry' because we relate to this word better having heard it from chilhood. The never ending 'worry' about your breathing is strengthened while you are in a medium to highly anxious state......... thought feeds feeling/feeling feeds thought.

The anxious state is manifested byinto a single pointed focus on a fear hence you not being able to 'forget' yourself.

While in this heightened state, any task it is not easily accomplished. Thought is NOT under conscious control. This is very important to realise about yourself. It will reduce tension if you 'resign' yourself that you are this way at present, with no way o allegiate it immediately.

In this state you will find it helpful to be 'taking' away thought to the point you are ONLY feeling, adding no words of any nature, negative or positive..............nothing much else going on (very tough at the highest anxiety levels but they will only last at peak for a short time).

I hear people scream 'HOOOOOOOOW do I stop this intense focus'?..............

As gently and softly as you can manage bring your consciousness (thoughts) back to an empty mind (anxiety levels need to lower so wait till past peak).................remain still and bring your thoughts to quiet, no frustration, just the process.

The important message here is that this is NOT an exercise to deal with a panic attack but more about a new way of being.

When you have practiced and practiced controlling your mind in this way then anxiety connected thoughts will be easier to live with. Yes I did mean Live with.

You will know with experience that wanting and wishing 'it' away gives rise to further fear, frustration and helplessness. Lower levels of anxiety are needed before a further step back to normality can start.

I wish you all the very best.

Mark

[aGor]

Hey!
Paying attention to your breath really is a pain, I do it sometimes, but I used to do it a lot more for a few years ago.

What I do is that I simply turn on some relaxing music and try to think about something else, but that may be a little hard to do.

A little tip: you could try to draw some drawings to get your thoughts on other things

[Tori Frances]

Hi,
I have had this exact same symptom and very distressing. I found nothing I could do but just let it happen and try to distract self. I only had episodes of it however and don't always feel like this so try to remember it will be over at some point - you will have been through a whole day without it and suddenly remember and that will give you hope. It is not your fault - just another symptom of anxiety that, as the illness is treated/takes its course will gradually lessen.

[brackenbeard]

I gained control over this affliction by saying to myself "it will never happen again." I repeat that whenever i feel the awareness coming on. So far I have never had a bad episode since i began saying this. One thing you don't want to do is get any deeper into thinking about your awareness of breathing. It's good to just repeat the simple statement "it will never happen again." I can't stress enough the value of not thinking any deeper. Say this "I won't think any deeper." I haven't gotten rid of the awareness of breathing but i feel i have it under control. You can get control too.

I will never have another scary episode. I have the power to change my thoughts. I'm not worried about the continuation of this attribute of myself. I will be free of this.

[KayleighJane]

I would love to see a breathing therapist but how would i go about arranging this? through my gp or is is a private thing? x

[thots28]

Hi,
I'm new here but have exactly the same problem as you so thought I'd send a quick reply.
The awareness of breathing is just another side affect of long term anxiety. There are lots of other bodily functions people become obsessed with then suffering anxiety. A lot of people check their heart/pulse for example.
I've been suffering with the same as you for a long time but finally trying to get over it now. It isn't the breathing that you should be trying to stop, it is the underlying anxiety. There are lots of posts from people and books available etc. I've started a course on getting over anxiety and it seems pretty good so far.
Remember, you can't just stop breathing, your body won't let you. Try and start getting over your anxiety and this will slowly go away. It's scary to start with but worth it.
Good luck!

[twistedwhisperd]

I LOVE this post!! it is sooo comforting to read about people who feel exactly like i do. Im aware of my breathing way too much and this makes me panic and my chest becomes tight. The trick is to distract yourself, it really does work! I also yawn when i feel like i cant breath... because obviously you feel like you are breathing deeply when you yawn.

[Meewah]

Clare

This is a great thing. conversely you will not be listening to your breathing you will be listening to the chatter in your mind that you can sense your breathing.

Buddhist meditation is centred around truly feeling your breaths. Your problem is you are not listening to your breathing your are having a full on war in your head that you can sense it.

Learn to focus on your breathing, slow it down, count with it but don't fight it. We all have a monologue in our minds and even though you think all you can sense is your breathing conversely its not the breathing its the monologue that's the problem.


Hope that makes sense.

Heres a link to an interesting reference

http://www.how-to-meditate.org/breathing-meditations.htm/

[scaredstiff695]

awesome post glad i seen this xx going to try some techniques esspecially by breaconbveard x

[Kate21]

I LOVE this post!! it is sooo comforting to read about people who feel exactly like i do. Im aware of my breathing way too much and this makes me panic and my chest becomes tight. The trick is to distract yourself, it really does work! I also yawn when i feel like i cant breath... because obviously you feel like you are breathing deeply when you yawn.

This happens to me too I always worry that other people can hear me breathing, particulary if I have my head phones on, on a bus or when i'm walking down the street, I get a tight chest and when I walk past people I try to hold my breath and get past quickly so they don't hear.
I agree with the distaction techniques I try to focus on something like counting cars or my footsteps, sometimes this helps.

It really is a comfort to read all these posts, I don't feel comfortable telling anyone I know about this.

[yellowrose]

I for some reason developed this habit of focusing on my breathing. It does not feel like hyperventilation. I just focus on it. I can forget about it. but for some odd reason i have triggers such as the wind. when the wind hits me i focus on my breathing agian. I feel really alone and frusterated if anyone has any ideas please let me know.

[hereandnow]

I find this series of posts fascinating. After reading the book inner game of tennis by timothy gallwey ~ 15 + years ago, I expanded on his suggested practice of intentionally bringing one's attention to focus on their natural breathing - between points in a game of tennis, to keep them in the present moment and minimalize a wandering thinking mind that could say follow a progressively destructive path like - I screwed up that last shot, i'm doing horrible today, i suck in general, etc. I understood his thesis that in sports performance, our own thinking mind can interfere with our performance - something about a cluttered / thinking mind interferes with performance, when people are "hot" or "in the zone" in the flow, etc, they are not thinking... The question I understood him to pose was how to maximize those peak performances... and minimalize our own destructive mental interference . I recall an exercise was to try not to think for thirty seconds. I recall the exercise being difficult at the time. I recall him saying he did not know how to have his ideal "empty" mind but instead would give the thinking mind a distraction to occupy it to prevent it from thinking. Between points he suggested intentionally focusing the mind on breathing, during points - intentionally focusing attention on the ball, the path, spin, etc to the exclusion of some mundane mental command like "lift the racket higher, follow through, etc" that would most likely result in a futile result, trying to consciously control one or a few muscles during a swing that in reality uses fluid coordination of perhaps hundreds of muscles. Anyways, after having success applying these exercises to playing beach volleyball(not too different to tennis) and experiencing having a much more rewarding time at the game - I ended up gradually applying the focusing the awareness on the breath intentionally outside of the sport to life in general. In retrospect, I was suffering from anxiety and depression but the practice of regularly stopping my over thinking mind by focusing on my natural breathing regularly I believe greatly treated my depression and anxiety to this day, ~ 15 years later....

I apologize if the above rambling text is unclear.. it saddens me to hear people post about the awareness of breathing as a curse to them, when it is the only blessing i have found in my life to give me peace of mind... just wanted to share thoughts/experiences with those that posted about their awareness of their breathing being an annoyance to them.

I wish you all mental health. I feel intentionally bringing my awareness to my natural breathing is the only thing that brings me mental peace.

[Meewah]

Hi All

Have a look at this great website. I found it on facebook and it is recommended by the Times newspaper. The aim is to watch what happens in your mind not try to take your mind off thoughts. When you get good at meditation you can add some really scary thoughts and dissipate them also.

http://www.getsomeheadspace.com/


Take Care

Mee

[jessicalittler79]

hi ...i have same thing now for 2 days its awfull ...iam tryimg to learn how to get breathing under control;....:) hope u get better soon

[Mike3321]

BeyondOCD.com has a section on Sensorimotor Obsessions.
Seems like a great website that addresses many of these issues of breathing awareness and similar conditions... Woot :)
I'm not crazy apparently.

[MyNameIsTerry]

BeyondOCD.com has a section on Sensorimotor Obsessions.
Seems like a great website that addresses many of these issues of breathing awareness and similar conditions... Woot :)
I'm not crazy apparently.

Good find. There is a long running thread on the OCD board that might be helpful too for people with this form of OCD.

Yeah, there is a useful possibility of using Mindfulness meditation to observe it to dispel the fear that seems an interesting option.

Sensorimotor OCD is a rarer form that seems to get little coverage anywhere and it was BeyondOCD that helped me to understand it.

I would point out those that this form is about being compelled to control the autonomous function though, not just awareness as a lot of us do that without it developing to the crippling levels of that intense form of OCD. I've had many forms of OCD and also had several bouts of this awareness of breathing and feeling like needing to control it but thankfully it hasn't lasted long enough to become another form of OCD. I think this one must be one of the worst in OCD, it controls every second of your life.

[Starryeyed]

I have this problem and feel like there is constant pressure in my nose. I try not to think about it and take my mind of it but with their being constant pressure in my nose it is so hard to switch off. Does anyone have any tips? Since my first PA I have been constantly aware of my breathing and it is getting so tiring. Any CBT would be greatly appreciated.

[Starryeyed]

Any CBT please

[Confetti]

Marvel at the truth, you are breathing just fine, it's preferable to the alternative, each breath you suck in is a miracle, it's actually kind of soothing if you just continue to let it happen, it will happen anyway once you forget about it.