Stress Related Breathing Problems?

You are the first person i've known (and I don't know you) that had this happen to them too! I was so nervous, I went to the emergency room and then my doctor and they found nothing either! I do not know what it is, it did go away for me after a couple of months (after the summer was over)
at the time, I had an insanely stressful job. Maybe that was it. I even had chest x-rays done and everything, and they found nothing.
Spiritually, I think, it is literally like I couldn't breathe because I was being "smothered" by stress. After I left that job I haven't had it since. If it continues after the change of seasons, i'd have it checked out again.

I used to have this problem and it does pop back up now and again but I can usually get over it rather quickly now. I think it is quite common as several people in my cbt group said they had experienced breathing problems caused by their anxiety.

Hi, stress and anxiety absolutely affect your breathing rate, rhythm and depth. An excellent and simple method of relieving and preventing these kinds of problems is through deep breathing exercises. Of course, though, if your job or a bad relationship or similar is the root cause, then you need to address these issues as well.

With deep breathing for relaxation, the emphasis is on a slow, smooth exhalation and a natural pause before the next inhalation.

Exhalation calms / inhalation stimulates.


Try this very effective exercise:

1. Sit or lie down. Place hands on lap or by sides, eyes closed. During the exercise keep the tip of your tongue resting on the roof of your mouth just behind your top teeth.

2. Gently exhale through your mouth to empty your lungs. Inhale slowly and smoothly through your nose for a mental count of 4 seconds or you can count 4 heartbeats. As you inhale gently push out your abdomen - this pushes down your diaphragm and ensures a deep breath.

3. Hold the breath for a mental count of 7. Don't tense up as you hold.

4. Exhale slowly and smoothly through your mouth for a mental count of 8. As you exhale let your abdomen fall back into place.

5. Pause naturally before inhaling again - this may be just 1 second or several. The more you relax, the longer this natural pause will be.

6. Repeat the steps up to 12 or so times, several times a day and whenever you feel anxious or nervous or know you'll be doing something that might make you feel this way. If you have trouble following the 4/7/8 pattern, be patient - you'll get there. If at any stage you feel dizzy or lose your breath, just stop, take some slow, deep breaths and try again or later.

Summary: exhale (mouth) to empty lungs/ inhale (nose) for 4/ hold for 7/ exhale (mouth) for 8/ natural pause / rpt up to 12 times.

There are also many other equally simple and effective exercises including acupressure that you can do for stress and anxiety.

Let me know how you get on with this one.



All the best,

matthew

www.Chinese-holistic-healt h-exercises.Com

Sounds like great advice matt!

My doctor told me the same freakin' thing... And I don't feel like it's anxiety... Because I had nothing to be anxious about... And it started up again!! But the "not getting enough oxygen" thing is making me anxious! That's for sure... And it's upsetting... I feel like it's because i'm overweight.... ..Which my doctors keep yelling at me about, too... And it's getting ridiculous because i've all I could.. Nothing works.. Not my fault....

Hi, yes, I do know how you feel, having had a panic attack once when stuck in a crowd... One reason i've made breathing exercises a daily part of my life for a long time. While gasping for breath/panicking etc is certainly frightening, you won't drop dead... Your body will adjust itself (of course unless you have some underlying condition, but you said your doc has checked you).

The thing with breathing exercises is that, while they can & do help you calm down during anxious/stressful situations, regular practice will prevent further episodes. The effects of daily practice accumulate - you shouldn't wait till you need them before doing them, that's the key. The more you do them, the better you will handle situations that would previously have rattled you.

The breathing exercise I outlined in this thread is just one of several that work very well, especially in conjunction with acupressure and self-massage.

All the best.

Matthew

www.Chinese-holistic-healt h-exercises.Com

Having had many types of breathing problems I can tell you this. First, don't worry - one of the main signs of hyperventilating is having to yawn often. Because I have bad ashtma I had to learn the difference between asthma and hyperventilation which can both cause and come as a result of ashthma.

The first things you have to do is breathe only thru your nose - this is an absolute. Without it you will continure to make it worse.

Here is the simple principle - and I know this all sounds too easy. But I want you to now I learned this at midnight one night when I was gasping for breath and thought I would die.

Okay, breathe thru your nose, and do it slowly, (very shallow breaths
) and do them as infrequently as is comfortable for you. In the beginning it will probably be only a second but it will grow as you calm down.

The idea is that if you exhale slowly and then pause for as many seconds as you can before inhaling again you will be building up carbon dioxide which controls your breathing. Most people breathe wrong and over breathe which causes the problem - of course in different levels of difficulty. But the more you store the carbon dioxide, the more you will come back into balance. THere are brething exercises you can do that will help a lot.

You can google hyperventilation and you will find all of your answers, I promise. I hope you get this note, because it will really help.

God bless you.

Has anyone ever had a doctor diagnose their symptoms? Do they have medications that can help?
And what type of doctor was it? Was it a general practitioner, or someone with a specialty?