Please Help! Cant seem to take deep breaths! Please

[Swiftly-]

Im 15 and this started to happen 3 weeks ago and still is the same.
It is all i can think about and i feel like its going to be with me for the rest of my life!

However, it has generally been getting better, and i usally can take a deep breath everytime, however i seem to need to from the time i wake up till the time i go to bed! It is really annoying.

I excersise regually and have no health issues.

I have also started to get lots of headaches and a weird stomach feeling, like butterfly's in the stomach!

If anyone has this and managed to "cure" it please will you help!

Thanks

[BornWorrier]

Hiya

This is classic anxiety. I suspect everyone who uses this board has that "can't get a deep breath" feeling.

I promise, promise, promise you that your breathing is PERFECTLY normal. The problem is that you're thinking about it and it then starts to feel laboured. It may also make you feel like your chest is tight.

Is it exam time for you? Any home or school problems? Worry and stress do produce anxiety symptoms. Could you talk to your Mum or GP?

Anyhoo - you are completely fine. Honestly. The minute you stop worrying about it, it'll stop.

Think about it like this - if you won the lottery tomorrow, do you think you'd be worrying about your breathing as you jump around the room in excitement? You wouldn't - you'd forget all about it because your mind would be distracted.

The butterflies feeling is exactly the same - a sign of anxiety.

You'll be totally fine. I promise

[Swiftly-]

Well, school is just starting and i have a hell of a lot of work.

Also, i have always been very self consious.

[rozie]

Dear Swiftly,

Please believe me when I tell you that this is nothing serious. I know exactly the feeling you are talking about. The reason you need to take that big breath is very possibly because you are taking a lot of shallow breaths most of the time. Your body is just trying to slow you down and asking for a little more oxygen which is why you feel that need to breath in deeply.

When we have a lot going on especially around exam time or leading up to it or if there seems to be a big pile up of school work, we can often become highly stressed without really realising .

On the surface we may seem okay even to ourselves but almost without realising we can be over breathing. ..Taking lots of shallow breaths. We can sometimes make ourselves quite light headed with this also.

Anyway, I won't go on much longer..Just wanted to reassure you. I had all these same problems when I was fifteen and NO they don't last your whole life. What you are experiencing is a perfectly normal response to the stresses that come with managing life at your age..or any age.

The trick is to focus on one piece of work at a time. Hard I know, because it may seem that as soon as you're half way through one subject, they land another piece of work on you and then you try and get ahead with that and you remember you have something else due in..Eeek, I'm needing to draw breath just thinking about it!

So..one piece of work. Make a plan of what you will accomplish today. Do what needs to be done bit by bit. Then move ahead to the next. Write down what you need to do bit by bit. Speak to a teacher you like and trust and show them how you are planning to approach your work. It will all get done in good time.

This will all fall into place and you will begin to see things in more proportion perhaps only when you are past this difficult stage. Please beleive me when I tell you . This WILL get much much better. Just be patient with yourself. The feelings, both emotional and physical are all perfectly normal and natural and you are fine and will be fine.

Forgive this long long long message.
But I really want to reassure you that all will be well.

With very best wishes

Rozie

[Swiftly-]

Thanks

Do you think if i stop trying to take the deep bretahs i will get over it?

I have been trying, but it seems impossible?

[Swiftly-]

PLEASE HELP?

The other posts have been very helpful, however, i need some reasurience.

Has anyone managed to overcome this by not taking the deep breaths?

[SleeplessFog]

You have to relax...I know that's hard sometimes to try to do, but you need to relax your shoulders....and put your hands on your abdomen....breathe as deep in as you can and feel your stomach go in, and then exhale slowly through your nose if you can....let your stomach go back to normal without forcing it.

You can do this...focus on relaxing and your stomach. Breathe evenly...don't gasp or let your breathing go fast in and out. I always count to 4....in 4 and out 4.

[f4Gg0t_43]

I have overcome this by trying to breathe normally and watching a movie to distract myself. By the end I was breathing normally and had no problems. All I know is if your limbs like your hands and legs and neck start to feel tingly (pins and needles) it means you are getting to much oxygen and you need to slow down.

[charsey]

Hi Swiftly,

Bornworrier is right i think every single one of us has had this symptom at one stage. I found that when i couldn't take a deep breath, i would try to force a yawn. I knew if i could yawn then i'm ok, try it.

None of us can say whether your anxiety will develop or continue through your life. Analysis what in your life is causing you stress, recognise it and deal with, it's the only way i able to get over my anxiety.

May be speak to your GP they can offer therapy depending on how high your anxiety is, as your young and in the "first stages" as such may be they can offer you therapy tools to help you control it. I hope you do