I thought I was the only one that felt like this. God Bless you all for being with me on this! My husband got mad at me yesterday as my mom's in the hospital and he finally went up there with me after he got off work. I have had bad bad bad anxiety and panic since I was very young. Just walking, exerting myself, big open spaces and big buildings set off my panic like crazy. Yesterday we were in the hospital and I stood up to hug all my family that was in the room bye and my wind felt like it got sucked out of me. and I'm always breathless anyways on top of that.
But worse than anything my husband doesn't understand and got mad. He said he wasn't but I saw his face. He says he has anxiety and he might to an extent but I have it severely.
I'm glad I found this thread. I've had anxiety since I was 7 or 8. Used to stay up all night and look at the stars and wonder and was very scared. I'm 32 now, haven't had anxiety in years. I thought I had it licked, but I started having breathing troubles a month ago. It got so bad that I had a severe panic attack, but I thought I was dying or would pass out and stop breathing. Went to the hospital and they said acute bronchitis. Took all the meds and a month later, I'm better but still short of breath. Went to the hospital again and took another chest x-ray, still nothing. I know now that it's panic attacks. I had panic attacks 2 years strait from 18-20, I'm 32 now. I don't remember constantly being short of breath in those years and I'm not freaking out or anxious anymore. I think it was bronchitis that brought this on, I just have to fix that first. You need to find out what's giving you the anxiety. It can be something that's happened in your life or even a health problem that can be fixed that's causing it. If you have a health problem that causes shortness of breath or rapid heart beats or high blood pressure, it can cause the anxiety even if your not anxious. You have to find the root of the problem and in the mean time just tell yourself it's just anxiety and you'll be ok and keep calm.
Hi I am 14 years old and every since my scar from the last time I smoked weed 3 months ago, I have been seeing little flashes of lights and constantly off balance and worrying about death and can't focus in school is this anxiety? Also I keep telling myself that their is something horribly wrong with my health but then I feel perfectly fine when I don't think about it. I need some anwsers and I just wanna get back to my normal life
I've had this same issue for 4 years. Doctors say "it's just anxiety" but won't do anything and it's so severe that sometimes I'd rather be death than constantly feeling like I can't breathe. Going to see a counsellor again in the hopes they'll sort it. I'm not anxious but this makes me anxious and then it gets worse.
I'm 17 year old female.I've been under a lot of stress with university entrance exam.I experienced different symptoms of anxiety attack but worst of them was constant shortness of breath.My doc said it is anxiety and nothing is wrong with me.I went on propranolol and fluoxetine.They reduced other symptoms but shortness of breath was still there.I tried many different remedies and tricks including breathing exercises but they didn't work.It got worse when I wanted to focus and study my lessens.
Finally I figured out how to stop it.I do this when I want to start studing or I stuck in any other stressful situations.
I wonder:I'm doing it very well(even though I think I don't),I'm able to cut it,everything is alright...actually you should believe everything is totally alright and nothing bad going to happen.Just do it and don't be afraid of anything may happen at all.Be sure it works.good luck.(sorry for probable grammatical mistakes!I'm little slow at english!)
I have these same feeling like I'm not getting enough air ,it just use to happen when I go upvand down stairs everyone says its cause I'm unfit but now it seems to take I've my everyday life I'm so scared every time I go tovdoc she test for all kind of things n I'm fine ,no I'm not I feel like I'm dying I'm scares to sleep I'm scared to walk at the mall noone understand I take gabipenton doesn't work at all I'm going to make an appt for polmonoligist this week so my Herat rate can go up to 130 again from nerves this is crazy I can not live so I'm glad other have the same thing
Hey i am a 33 yr old female and have been dealing with panic/ anxiety since i was 17 but not until my 2nd child a year ago did i have this breathing issue. I feel like im not breathing right and it makes my neck sore and my ribs. It just makes so tired like it's a job to just breath. Has anyone found that an everyday pill for anxiety gets rid of it? I've tried meds but they give me bad side effects. I have ativan for my bad attacks.
so funny you said that about your engineer father. My brother in law is an engineer and thought same thing about his wife. Always saying anxiety is all in your head and you can just stop it. Until, he was in his office and his red light on his phone kept blinking and he had to tape a piece of paper over it and low and behold that was the start of his anxiety!
I'm going through the same thing I take a hot shower and use a towel roll it up long ways lay on it starting from your tail bone and breathe slowly and think about the good times with family and friends also use your fingers to rub your temple stay on the the towel for half hour a day. Feel free to sing in the shower positive thinking. It helps me.
It's about time I found people who are experiencing the same problem I'm having. I've had a constant shortness of breath for 3 weeks now and it won't go away. I had a panic attack 3 weeks ago (trembled & dry heaved) and never really recovered from it. I had the runs and dry heaved early in the AM during my panic attack causing me to spiral in fear. I went to the ER because I thought it was something very serious and it turned out to be an anxiety attack. My EKG results came out completely normal along with my oxygen levels, etc. I was already feeling sick from allergies and all the pollen from outdoors which eventually led into me being diagnosed with
sinusitis 1 day later. The doctor prescribed me with antibiotics for the next 10 days and those symptoms eventually disappeared. The only issue that is left over is my shortness of breath. For some reason it is still lingering and it's very bothersome. I constantly called pharmacists for medical advice and there were so many different answers from life threatening to anxiety. I visited the ER again yesterday to make sure I was on the safe side and sure enough my results came out normal again. My blood pressure was slightly high but the nurse told me it was from all this stress and fear I've had for 3 weeks straight. As of now I'm still feeling the shortness of breath and I scheduled an appointment to see a pulmonologist this Friday again to make sure I'm on the safe side. When will this misery ever end? I never worried about my health this much since I was in middle school 7 years ago. I had a constant fear of having heart problems for 6 months straight back in the 7th grade and that was horrible. I never smoked, nor drank in my life and I'm 20 years
old so what gives?
I have never posted on a forum before but I felt compelled to do so on this topic. 9 weeks ago I suddenly began experiencing breathlessness which didn't go away. It was very distressing. After a week I visited the doctor who diagnosed anxiety. Another week later, it hadn't improved so I visited a different doctor for a second opinion. The diagnosis was the same. It was very hard to accept because I didn't feel like I was anxious, except the breathlessness was making me anxious. I was in a vicious cycle, day and night. A couple of days ago, I came across a YouTube clip by Robert Litman. It is called "The Relationship Between Breathing and Anxiety". It is a 35 minute clip which demonstrates and explains techniques for helping with anxiety related breathing problems, using a technique called Buteyko. It made a massive improvement to my breathing within 24 hours, breaking the cycle. It is drug free and simple to follow. It gives practical techniques to follow when symptoms emerge. I hope it helps anyone else experiencing anxiety related breathlessness.
30 year old male, turning 31 in a few days.
I've been constantly short of breath since January. Symptoms diminished slightly, for a while, but returned with a vengeance.
Every time I go to the hospital, my oxygen level is 95-97%, usually, but when they hold a stethoscope to my chest, they say they don't hear air movement. How is that even possible?!
I'm an ex smoker. Quit in early January when I first began to experience these symptoms. I did relapse, but am happy to report that I've not had a ciggie in a week.
Countless ER visits in the last two months. It's been insane. It's like an ongoing nightmare.(thank god for good insurance, right?) Every visit has come to nothing.
Oh, both my feet are swollen, for days, now, by the way. I've told this to the doctors, who seem to just brush it off.
They've run scores of tests on me. Quite impressive, actually....EKGs, x-rays, CT scans, extensive blood work, you name it, they've done it. Negative negative negative. Nebulizer, Ventolin inhaler, Prednisone....taken it all, does nothing.
When I went yesterday, they gave me a much stronger anti-inflamitory. Provided some relief, but with awful side effects. Jittery, rapid heart beat. Called my doc. Waiting for a call-back. Meanwhile, I've quit that med, but the chest tightness and dyspnea have returned. Quite upsetting.
I've been referred to a Pulmonologist, but the referral process takes a long while. God knows when I'll finally get to see this doctor. Meanwhile, the symptoms are practically unbearable. I'm at my wit's end. What am I supposed to do?!Take more pointless trips to the Hospital?
Feel really in the dark, helpless, in need of a doctor who can answer all my questions and relieve the symptoms!
It could be panic/ anxiety. But for this many weeks, continuously? It's quite confusing. I really don't feel this is the case. I'm generally calm. I feel the anxiety is a result of the breathing troubles, not the other way around. Anyone who can't breathe would feel anxious and scared, would they not?
Panting every minute of every day. Sleeping is difficult- impossible. I just sit up and watch TV until the fatigue is so great It no longer Matters if I'm short of breath. Sometimes that works, sometimes, it doesn't. A gathered a bunch of sheets, pillows, towels and blankets in a huge ball and then sort of draped myself over it. It's screwey, but it helps with the chest pressure-- ever so slightly-- to where I can kind of relax.
Starting to feel like the boy who cried wolf, though I don't feel I deserve to feel that way. My symptoms are genuine. I shouldnt have to feel like a malingerer when I know I'm not.
The worst part is knowing that I brought all this on, myself. Smoking, being fat, etc. God, I'm such a bloody screw-up. I hate how I've treated myself. Have I done irreparable damage to myself? Am I out of second chances? Can I ever feel normal again? I feel lost and in the dark. Scared as heck, too.
Anyway, it feels good to verbalize what I'm going through. I hope that other people with similar experiences to my own will respond to my post. Thank you.
In end of june 2015 I had stomach problems, I went to the doctor and found hookworms on me.I took meds and got better, but I noticed my heart rate was increasing by the day.At that moment I had broken up with my girlfriend and got so emotional and stressed. Then the I developed hard pounds of my heart and became afraid. I then got my first panic attack in July.I was rushed to emergency that day.After many tests I all over the months nothing was found to be the problem. I was then diagnosed with Anxiety disorder. After a month i developed shortnesd of breathe.I used Alprazolam 0.25mg,it really help to come down but its very addictive.I was then referred to a psychiatrist. I have been trying yoga,deep breathing but I still can't get my constant shortness of breathe away.I will continue to try the techniques you mentioned above. I hope I will get better soon.my email is ***@****, just in case you have the best way to end it,tell me how.
I really hope this information helps you : One of the scariest parts of my apparent anxiety was the shortness of breath episodes that I was experiencing for days on end. I actually googled about it and read instructions that 100 percent have helped me immediately after following them and now it is a thing of the past! So basically what you want to do is TAKE A DEEP BREATH IN THROUGH YOUR NOSE AND WHEN YOU BREATHE OUT PUSH YOUR LIPS TOGETHER LIKE YOU'RE BLOWING SOMEONE A KISS. "PURSED LIPS". Blow out all the air in your lungs while doing this. Repeat this 3-4 times in a row. Make sure you go slowly and blow it all out. You may feel like you need to take a huge breath in, just relax and continue. This 100 percent works and its not mental . Apparently when we hyperventilate we leave extra air in our lungs from not breathing correctly and it causes us to feel like we arent getting enough air. So breathing out through the pursed lips makes sure to push all the extra air out. I promise you this will work. It drove me crazy until I read about it and applied it and now Im happy to say I dont experience this anymore! Good luck!
can u please send me a link I cannot see your email.
did this ever go away for you?
TO d2015eenyc
God bless you man. I tried everything - antidepressants, herbs, anti
anxiety meds, therapy(kind of working) and non of it works.One year i was dealing with the shortness of breath.
After doing the things you wrote on the first day i was feeling 80 percent better, on the second 90 percent.
I dont know how to thank you. To all of you- STOP SUFFERING, do
the things written in the post above and you will get better immediately.
You just have to normalize your breathing. The moment you try to do so, you
will feel what was the natural way of breathing before the shortness of breath. Slowly breath through your
nose with your diaphragm. If you are not sure wheather you are breathing with your diaphragm or with your
lungs, just place your arm on your diaphragm and when you inhale your arm will go up. SLOWLY INHALE AND EXHALE THROUGH YOUR NOSE AND DONT OVERBREATHE.
This is old and I am sure the original people posting have found a new symptom to ruin their lives but I came across this in an internet search and wanted to give someone hope.
After about 2 years of high stress I started getting heartburn and suddenly I could not breathe. For that whole week I assumed anxiety and tried meditation and anxiety exercised to calm down. Well it didnt work and the heartburn got worse I got acid in my throat all the time. I saw my dr after inhalers didnt work, who then gave me steroids. when that didnt work, i started taking meds for the heartburn thinking it was the acid reaching my lungs. For months I suffered and you know what hell it is. Sometimes I felt like I had to force myself to breathe. Finally i started thinking about the fact that limiting my diet and taking acid medicines by my doctor and I still couldnt breathe, i panicked. Whats wrong with me and I cant live a life where I feel like i cant even perform a basic function necessary to being alive. Then like a lightbulb went on i considered my shortness of breath, despite how serious and constant it was, was maybe an anxiety response, within a week i was breathing 90 percent better. By the next week i am at 95 (this week).
Many of you have been already told its anxiety so why not give some of my methods a try. You know you cant just calm down, you have to trick yourself. Consciously breathe slow, and use your nose to take slow breaths. Dont breathe deeper than feels natural, fight the urge to do that and fight the urge to sigh. You do not realize this but you are hyperventilating, and breathing slow will stop the hyperventilation response. But you need to keep trying. Practice breathing from your stomach and not your chest. This will feel really bad at first but by the next day i noticed improvement, and each day after. Also, i had developed chest tightness and can feel my chest tighten. I would practice massage and stretching to become aware of the tightness and try to break the cycle. Another method which is great for all anxiety related physical symptoms is an amazing trick. Focus on a physical feeling you have that feels bad, and try to use your brainpower to make the feelings or pain more intense. You cant, its impossible. Try hard! This exercise causes your brain to actually relax its grip. Amazing. Remember, keep practicing its like exercise. You wont be ready for the playoffs in a day. And you might relapse but if you keep trying youll notice you bounce back faster each time.
We are all a work in progress, if its not the breathing its something else. Stay strong, youll beat this.
I'm only 15 and a few days ago I had the biggest panic attack I've ever had and had to he hospitalised, my pulse rate was 150 and I thought I was gonna die, from the moment I wake up to when I go to sleep if I can, I'm always short of breath, reading everyone comments and seeing that this could last for months and years scares me as I'm already sick and tired of it, I'm on propranolol to stop my heart beating to fast and I'm just stuck on what to do, I don't want to live like this
hey ive been having shortness of breath for like 1 month..and whenever i try to control it it gets easier to breath after sometime but,it cimes back mostly at nights.I went to the doctor and he said i have a mild infection in my lungs.im in antibiotics but it isnt working so now i dont know what to do. anyone who has been through anxiety breathlessness can u tell me if this would ever end....believe me it will give me a hell of a relief. thanks
Hi guys, I know some of the replies in this post are from a while ago but, I wanted to share my experience with you.
I got costochondritis at the beginning of the year, with that came chest pain, I was then told by a doctor I had a heart murmur. Consequently I then had to go for lots of different test to rule out any serious problems.
Enter anxiety over my health. The pain persisted even thought the costochondritis had gone, I then started to feel the need to yawn or sigh to catch my breath. When I couldn't do it, it would stress me out even more and Id feel a bigger urge to need to do it. This caused me pain in my chest, back, neck and jaw.
The doctor prescribed me a drug for anxiety, just to calm me down when and if I needed it. It worked slightly on the SOB but not as much as I'd like.
And then, two days ago I had a sports massage. Before the massage the last asked some questions about health etc and the SOB came up.
Whilst massaging she told me that the area around my ribs was so tight she wasn't surprised I was finding it difficult to breathe. She worked on that area the most and I'm happy to tell you all my SOB has eased up a lot. Not entirely but, instead of every 5 minutes it's a few times a day.
I don't know whether this was because of tension sue to anxiety, or whether I have subconsciously now forgotten about my SOB and therefore not trying to do it all the time.
I just wanted to share with you as I know how helpless j felt and my SOB and urge to yawn and sigh was only for a couple of weeks.
Anyone suffering, I urge you to go and try a sports massage. Explain to the therapist you're ailment and just see whether it makes any difference to you.
:)
I have had my fair share of problems due to anxiety, and i always look the symptom up to see if others are experiencing it, well.. what i always see is questions but no answers because once people have figured out there miracle solution, they dont think to post it to let others know and it always leaves me hanging. Well i have found a way to strongly minimise this symptom. so you feel like you can't get that good breath or maybe you struggle for a few minutes to get it and when you finally do it only relieves you for a few minutes then you want another one?
- Breathe OUT (the more you breathe out the more you can breathe in)
- DON"T TRY TO CATCH YOUR BREATHE
this is the biggest cure, it might be hard at first to not go for the big breathes but believe me it works. I challenged myself to not get a big breath in for a whole day it was hard but the next day i would say my shortness of breath was about 25% better, then i kept doing it and it kept getting easier and easier and better and better. this is due to super hyperventialtion.
If your having an episode where your shortness of breath is really severe,
breathe slowly through your nose, you can also place your two index fingers just below and to the outside of your nostrils and spread your fingers out toward your ears (this opens up your airways)
-cfoncentrate on how much you CAN breathe
it might feel like you could die but you are getting all the air you need everythings ok.
all this advice is obviously once you've been assessed by a doctor and given the all clear from any more serious ilness's
does anyone els feel the need to yawn all the time?