Describe breathlessness caused by anxiety?

[Sabbine17]

Hi

I was wondering if anyone has had breathlessness because of anxiety and if so what does that feel like to you?

I’ve been breathless for the best part of 5 months now. It’s not the type you get when you’re unfit and trying to run, it feels like I can’t take a deep enough breath. If I breathe out for a really long time then the next one is better but it comes back. It’s fine when I sleep and gets way worse when I stand up for longer than 15 minutes. My lips are pale with purplish edges as well which is scary and I feel like I don’t have enough oxygen.

I work at an office so there’s not much activity to cause it. I have found temporary relief with vagus nerve stimulation (face in ice-cold water does wonders for about 10 minutes)

I know it’s not the same as the kind you get from panic attacks either because I haven’t had that in 9 months although I still have anxiety and I’m working with a therapist. I had a chest xray which was clear and bloodwork which excluded anemia and I’m not hyperventilating.

I’m not catastrohizing that I have anything major but I’m trying not to spiral again so any input of what it’s like for other people would be appreciated thanks!

[Fishmanpa]

Describe breathlessness caused by anxiety?

Breathlessness/Shortness of Breath

Positive thoughts

[ankietyjoe]

I used to have this all the time, and with a lot of other anxiety symptoms the best thing to do is ignore it.

There's a couple of things that are worth noting however. It is often caused by overall muscle tension, including tension in the diaphragm, which can cause the sensation of not being able to take a full breath.

Something else to look at is something called Buteko breathing techniques. It's quite common for people who suffer with breathlessness to try and force a full breath and constantly gulp air. This can cause a CO2 imbalance in the blood, similar to hyperventilation and will cause you to feel breathless. The counter intuitive solution is to take much shallower breaths and only through the nose. It's a little bit uncomfortable at first, but you soon realise you're not actually short of oxygen at all. There are plenty of resources online/youtube so I won't go into it here.

[Sabbine17]

Thank you both for your responses. And thank you Ankietyjie for the reassurance and advice, it’s just a difficult one to come to terms with but I do have muscle tension and I constantly gulp air in trying to breathe deeply. I will look into the breathing techniques maybe that will work

[Cuckoo8]

I’ve been having similar feelings for the last 2-3 years. I also suffer from chronic muscle tension and found some help from Pilates classes where I could just focus on breathing the right way.

[Sabbine17]

Thank you Cuckoo8 pilates sounds good maybe it helps with the muscles as well! I also sing a lot and that helps too because you just draw air in

I did try to do the Butyeko breathing and unfortunately it made me really dizzy I want to go get this checked out just to make sure there’s nothing actually wrong as it gets really bad when I stand up. I always had a bit of low blood pressure when I stand up which may be related, so they may be able to help with breathlessness to an extent? And hopefully in any case help me accept it and move on will update this thread in case it helps anyone else with SOB in the future.

[Azzbo]

Hi


I’ve been breathless for the best part of 5 months now. It’s not the type you get when you’re unfit and trying to run, it feels like I can’t take a deep enough breath. I feel like I don’t have enough oxygen.

I

Sounds exactly like when I had a b12 deficiency, Might be worth getting your b12 levels checked. Its a horrible feeling, Hope you fix it.

[Hope77]

Hi OP

Did u fix this? I have the same problem. Its worse when i stand up

[MaWi69]

It’s an old thread Hope, not sure they will respond (be interested myself though as I have had a similar thing for a week now. If I stand I get a bit dizzy for a bit then it seems to settle down, but doesn’t disappear. I bought myself a PulseOx tester to reassure myself and everything is normal (it helps the anxiety a bit).
I have LPR (silent reflux) and I have numerous other symptoms, but this one is new to me. I’m not sure if it’s anxiety about my other symptoms causing it or whether it is a symptom in itself.
But apparently LPR can cause just the breathing symptom - in these times of strangeness and when it may not be possible to see a doctor, it may help you to try and do some of the lifestyle changes they recommend for LPR? (Sleep on a wedge or prop up your bed, avoid fatty / acidic foods, avoid caffeine / chocolate / alcohol, avoid fizzy things, take gaviscon advance after meals and before bed, sleep on your left side, and don’t eat within 3 hours of bedtime).
But if your lips are tinged blue then I would speak to a health worker of some form (I am certainly not one!).
Hope it goes ok.

[DL45]

Describe breathlessness caused by anxiety?

Breathlessness/Shortness of Breath

Positive thoughts

That absolutely sums it up perfectly, the deep breathing where I almost gasp for breath, and particularly the yawning which I find really troublesome and prolonged.

But reading that is so reassuring!! Thank you!