I suffer this as well. However, i have found a way to treat it. I don't begin to understand why this works, but it does. I have three levels of treatment. First is that i take a healthy amount of wide spectrum digestive enzymes. I have often felt that gut issues, stress, anxiety are extremely related. Meaning one can set the other off and then. All are happening. Stage two; drink aloe vera juice (from natural pharmacy). Stage three; fast and let my guts empty out and have time to work out their issues.
Almost all the time the digestive enzymes work. I just take a couple of them before each meal for a couple of days.
Hi i just had to say thank you so much for this amazing tip!I have been suffering for years with panic attacks and i have been reading a self help book which has helped me in some ways,but it also discusses a whole lot of other issues and problems i never knew of and never experienced.But since reading about them i have actually began to wonder if they will affect me too.and one of them is regarding breathing.Well i never had shortness of breath with panic attacks but i thought i'd learn more about breathing techniques to calm me down.I began focusing more on my breathing(never a good idea) and since then i have developed the need to sigh a lot and every few seconds.But your tip has worked wonders.
Hey,
I have the same problem, it started a few months ago during a meditation retreat where I was focusing on my breath really intensely for long periods of time. I have a history of depression and after 6 days of focusing on my breath, I had my first panic attack. Since then I've had exactly what you are describing: I feel overly conscious of my breath, unable to take a full satisfying breath or yawn, and general heaviness in my chest which makes it feel hard to breathe. I haven't found a solution yet but I did find something which has helped me a lot called 'alternate nostril breathing':
1. close your left nostril with your thumb, and inhale slowly with your right nostril (try not to worry about getting a full breath, just try to breath slow)
2. close your right nostril with your index finger, and exhale through your left nostril slowly and completely till there's nothing left in your lungs
3. inhale slowly through your left nostril
4. close your left nostril with your thumb, and exhale slowly through your right nostril
5. repeat, alternating nostrils.
Hope this helps. :)
I have had those same symptoms since I was a kid. They are usually most prevalent when I am going through times of anxiety. I also struggle with acid reflux- GERD. Whenever I drink carbonated beverages or eat Mexican food I feel like my lungs are full of gas and I can't take a full deep breath, or If I am stressed out I can't take a full deep breath. This also triggers my yawning mechanism so I yawn a lot. Very uncomfortable, but my doctors can't find anything wrong. When I do smoke a cigarette (not often!) it actually makes it easier for me to breath for a while and then I go back to being anxious. For this reason, I am trying to quit. It has not impaired my life too much, but it would be nice to find a way to cope with this in a better way. I am always concerned that it might get worse
people that pay attention to their breath to much because of anxiety will think they have shortness of breath sometimes when they dont, breathing when your scared get like that because of the shallow breaths your taking
Hey zam! I have experienced these symptoms myself. But, with mine I also had this catch in my breath. The only way I can describe it is, like a hiccup with no hiccup. It's strange. Mine was anxiety and acid reflux related. If you had all those tests done and everything turned out fine, then it probably is fine. Stress and anxiety can make you feel horrible and you can experience some terrifying symptoms.
=(
It sounds to me that you are just making yourself stress out and become even more anxious. Just like I do with myself. Though, if you're still worried, try going to the doctor one more time. Have the tests you are worried about run again and let us know what's going on. Good luck!!
=)