Feel better generally but can't shift one symptom

[damianjmcgrath]

I used to post on here a lot but I haven't done so for a few months I think. I was struggling to combat my anxiety and felt pretty alone. Every example of anxiety I read about on here or in books didn't seem to match my experience and it made me worry. However I got myself into a place where I started to feel slightly better, thanks to reading some of the Claire Weekes books. Those spoke to me more clearly than anything else.

I've mostly got rid of my heart worries and I don't get panicked by social situations and whenever I do feel bad, I'm more able to ride it out and lessen the feelings.

However, there is one thing that has remained a constant - one symptom I can't shift. It's the feeling of not getting enough oxygen or air in my system. I clearly am, as I never hyperventilate or cough or struggle for breath. But I have a feeling like I'm short of it.

Sometimes I can't quite get to the end of a sentence. Walking feels slightly more of an effort than usual, and I notice myself breathing slightly heavier quicker than usual. Most of the day, I feel worn out, like I've been awake all night. My head aches a bit like it does when I'm tired and my upper chest aches. My energy levels are low and go even lower after food or exercise.

It's really hard to describe but it feels like I'm running on half power, like my lung capacity has shrunk.

I don't have any other symptoms of a serious health concern - my appetite is good, my temperature isn't raised, I'm functioning in that I go to work, and do everything I need to do. It doesn't stop me walking or tidying the house - I just feel a bit under powered if that makes any sense.

Is this likely to be anxiety related, maybe due to shallow breathing that I'm still doing subconsciously or could it just be poor fitness levels and maybe a dietary issue? I eat reasonably well but perhaps I'm intolerant to something.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks

[artist12]

Hi Damien, it's good to hear that your trending in a good direction in general.

I experience the problem you're describing sometimes, too. For me, it gets to the point when I have to yawn excessively and feel like I can't breath in deeply enough to get enough air. The fatigue, dull headache, etc come with it, too, but I think that is generally how I feel when I get really worked up with my HA.

Sending you well wishes.
-Angela

[Mindknot]

My two suggestions would be:

1/ Fitness level?
2/ Posture?

I've had a similar problem, and have discovered (thanks to my osteopath) that I hunch forward rather a lot more than I imagined I did when at work. If you do something similar, or indeed have ever done it, all the muscles in your chest area & upper back are probably very used to being in that position and spring back there. Any kind of tightness around your rib cage and diaphragm may restrict your breathing - obviously you still can breathe, but you will have 'more room' if your muscles are more relaxed & have room to move. You have to work to fix it, but gradually I'm getting to the point where I realise why my breathing isn't quite right and pull myself back upright.

This position:
...try not to.

Generally increasing your fitness improves a lot of things too (especially breathing!), I've let that element slide somewhat lately and it's definitely noticeable even small things like climbing stairs or running from the bus feel harder...

[damianjmcgrath]

Hi Damien, it's good to hear that your trending in a good direction in general.

I experience the problem you're describing sometimes, too. For me, it gets to the point when I have to yawn excessively and feel like I can't breath in deeply enough to get enough air. The fatigue, dull headache, etc come with it, too, but I think that is generally how I feel when I get really worked up with my HA.

Sending you well wishes.
-Angela

Thank you.

It's interesting you mention yawning. I do find myself yawning excessively too actually, those deep bring-tears-to-your-eyes yawns, maybe 5-10 times in a row. I thought that was a bit of proof that I'm low on air!

When I'm feeling anxious, I do get the fatigue and lethargy, but since I've been working on my anxiety, the anxious feelings have subsided a little bit, but now I'm left with seemingly random bouts of fatigue that don't seem related to anything, and even when I don't feel super-tired, my default position seems to be around 75% awake, if that makes sense.

My two suggestions would be:

1/ Fitness level?
2/ Posture?

I've had a similar problem, and have discovered (thanks to my osteopath) that I hunch forward rather a lot more than I imagined I did when at work. If you do something similar, or indeed have ever done it, all the muscles in your chest area & upper back are probably very used to being in that position and spring back there. Any kind of tightness around your rib cage and diaphragm may restrict your breathing - obviously you still can breathe, but you will have 'more room' if your muscles are more relaxed & have room to move. You have to work to fix it, but gradually I'm getting to the point where I realise why my breathing isn't quite right and pull myself back upright.

<image>

Generally increasing your fitness improves a lot of things too (especially breathing!), I've let that element slide somewhat lately and it's definitely noticeable even small things like climbing stairs or running from the bus feel harder...

That's all very interesting. My posture is pretty poor, I work in an office and I either sit like your image showed, or almost lying right back. Now I think of it, my posture definitely isn't helping my body get enough air. However, I'm not entirely convinced that posture alone is the cause of it, as I'm sure my posture has been poor for quite a while. I've been working in an office for 18 years and it's only been in the last 3-4 months that I've started experiencing this "low on air" feelings.

Then again, correcting my posture can't hurt, so I'll give it a go.

Mindknot - you mention fitness, and that's another area of concern for me. I walk around 2-3 miles a day, and I used to jog 30 minutes (around 5-6km) three times a week. However, over the last few months, I've been finding that harder and harder to do, and my breathing gets a bit more heavier, etc. Surely, I should be finding it easier as my body will be used to it by now, and I would presumably have been getting fitter? The fact that I'm finding it harder is an extra worry for my anxious mind.


I'm reasonably sure anxiety is playing a big part, as when I get into my very tired state, I can feel my heart beating a little quickly, and what feels like, weakly. It's almost as if I'm ill with flu or a cold - it's that kind of wiped out, struggling feeling, and my heart beating quick is like it's trying to fight off an infection or something. I don't have any illness symptoms though.

[Mindknot]

That's all very interesting. My posture is pretty poor, I work in an office and I either sit like your image showed, or almost lying right back. Now I think of it, my posture definitely isn't helping my body get enough air. However, I'm not entirely convinced that posture alone is the cause of it, as I'm sure my posture has been poor for quite a while. I've been working in an office for 18 years and it's only been in the last 3-4 months that I've started experiencing this "low on air" feelings.

Then again, correcting my posture can't hurt, so I'll give it a go.

Mindknot - you mention fitness, and that's another area of concern for me. I walk around 2-3 miles a day, and I used to jog 30 minutes (around 5-6km) three times a week. However, over the last few months, I've been finding that harder and harder to do, and my breathing gets a bit more heavier, etc. Surely, I should be finding it easier as my body will be used to it by now, and I would presumably have been getting fitter? The fact that I'm finding it harder is an extra worry for my anxious mind.


I'm reasonably sure anxiety is playing a big part, as when I get into my very tired state, I can feel my heart beating a little quickly, and what feels like, weakly. It's almost as if I'm ill with flu or a cold - it's that kind of wiped out, struggling feeling, and my heart beating quick is like it's trying to fight off an infection or something. I don't have any illness symptoms though.

I think you are right there, anxiety will emphasise any slight problems that you may already have - for example with the 'hunch' I know that I personally experienced a lot of tension in these muscles when feeling anxious (because they are being overused when they shouldn't be) & the hunch got worse as a result - causing my breathing to feel tight and laboured - and adding to the cycle of anxiety.
I think it's lots of little things that add up, I for one have found that my body habits (habitual positions that I didn't realise I had developed over many years) have played a significant part in my HA concerns, so understanding those alongside understanding my thought patterns has helped me to gradually feel less anxious about my body. I don't think any one without the other would have been as effective. So, I just raise those ideas as other angles you could consider to be contributors to your problem.

I'm not sure about the fitness thing, always feel like I'm going backwards with it myself.... but I have also noticed a similar effect when 'repeating' similar exercise over a period of time - maybe try something a bit different, could be your mind is getting tired of it more than your body? (I don't know if that can happen, but feel like I get fitter quicker if I'm having fun )

[Justanutter]

Damian, I feel exactly the same. I haven't been on here for a while as I tried to stay off and sort myself out. This time of year is especially. hard - dark mornings and nights. This will be the first year for about 10 years that I haven't been on AD's for the run up to Christmas as my GP took me off them a few months ago as there were contraindications with the betablockers I was taking apparently and I didn't want to try any others but my energy level is awful. I feel like I have something wrong with my heart as I have a dull ache in the top of my chest through to the top of my back most days, which gets worse if I talk to people or go to the shops so that sort of tells me it could be my anxiety but my HA is through the roof all the time, despite CBT, self-help books etc. I desperately want to go and get some tests but I am terrified and have become Dr phobic. It's awful and I'm sick of it and so are my family and I keep it from my friends as they wouldn't understand. I am just a miserable, irritable old woman these days!! If one more person in the family tells me to exercise as that will cure me - I will scream. I can't do the day to day stuff I used to do at the moment and keep my job down - life surely shouldn't be this much of a struggle??!!! I just don't know what the answer is anymore. I have tried to just 'get on with it' and ignore how bad I feel but it makes me so sad to struggle alone like this.