chest tightness

[cmac21]

Does anyone feel like their chest gets really tight and they feel like they can't breathe?

[cmac21]

Thank you RubyWitch, I definitely will!

[RubyWitch]

I hope the breathing helps.......it works really well for me!  Glad to hear you're seeing a psychologist............you're definitely on the right path.
I hope you'll keep me updated
Best wishes
RubyWitch

[cmac21]

Thank you. I am seeing a psychologist next week. I sometimes do a meditation CD before bed, but I have not done it in quite awhile. I will definitely look into some yogic breathing exercises.

[RubyWitch]

I totally understand.

Are you being treated for the panic disorder? If you aren't, I would strongly  recommend getting into some therapy (CBT) to find the root cause of your panic. Once you've identified that, your therapist can give you a great deal of knowledge to understand why you suffer from it and tools to help you overcome it.

Your therapist can teach you various breathing exercises to help when you get that suffocating feeling. They work. When I feel my own anxiety level rising, I do a few minutes of breath work and 99.9% of the time, I can ward off the panic.

I seldom, if ever, tell anybody to Google anything, but until you get established with a therapist, find a good Yoga site that will teach you some very basic breathing techniques. Practice them until they are virtually second nature. The instant you feel yourself getting anxious, begin the breathing exercises........
So often for those of us with anxiety/panic, we breath wrong. We breath too shallow and too fast, which can lead to several nasty symptoms. Hyperventilating, which happens when we breath too fast can cause us to feel dizzy, odd, depersonalized..........like we're out of sync with our own bodies. It's scary. Breathing correctly can reverse those feelings VERY quickly. Breathing too shallow can upset the balance in the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. When we breath in, we take in oxygen, when we exhale, we give off carbon dioxide........when that balance changes, our bodies react..........among what I've already said, chest tightness can be a symptom because we simply are not taking in enough oxygen to expand our lungs and the build up of carbon dioxide just makes that feeling more intense because our lungs WANT to expand and get rid of that crap.

Please consider some therapy and do some research on Yogic breathing either on the Net or from a good beginners book. (Or take a class.........most experienced Yoga instructors know and understand about "anxious breathing!") If you do take a class, don't hesitate to inform your instructor of this issue, he/she will work with you personally.

I wish you the very best. You CAN beat panic.
RubyWitch  

[cmac21]

Thanks. I do have panic disorder and have been for a stress test and EKG. I know it is likely anxiety, but it is a symptom that I hate the most. It's hard to not freak out when it happens.

[RubyWitch]

This is a very classic symptom of anxiety/panic and also claustrophobia.

But I would strongly suggest you see your doctor for a complete physical to rule out any medical reason for this symptom. When the exam is over and all the tests are done, if the only card left on the table is anxiety, then you need to address that.

RubyWitch