Severe dyspnea (shortness of breath)

[cyandude]

Hi everyone,

Over the course of the last year, I've been struggling a lot with a feeling of hunger for air/breathlessness due to an aggravation of anxiety, though I haven't been able to find much information about it, and my doctor also said it's not a common occurence. I've done some physical exams like blood tests and a radiography to see how my organs are doing, and everything is working just fine, meaning it's 100% psychological. My question is: does anyone else struggle with something like this? It really takes away from my capacity to think things through rationally because I'm constantly being bothered by the need to breathe, even causes me to hyperventilate sometimes as well.

 

[WAITING TO DIE]

My anxiety used to be severe and I also had regular debilitating panic attacks.
I finally realised that anxiety was making me breathe the wrong way in everyday life .
When people are anxious they usually breathe by a method called chest breathing .
This usually involves short , fast breaths.
Chest breathing is when your stomach moves inwards when inhaling and is the wrong way to breathe.
The right way ( and most relaxing ) way to breathe is to breathe with the abdomen.
This usually involves slow, deep breaths.
The abdomen should push outwards on the inhalation and go inwards on the exhale.
Meditators use abdominal breathing because it calms the mind.

 

[cyandude]

When people are anxious they usually breathe by a method called chest breathing .
This usually involves short , fast breaths.
Chest breathing is when your stomach moves inwards when inhaling and is the wrong way to breathe.
The right way ( and most relaxing ) way to breathe is to breathe with the abdomen.

Yeah, I do diaphragmatic breathing since I'm a singer and need a lot of air to work with when performing songs, but the sensation still persists.
As you mentioned, my breathing is really shallow, almost mute sometimes. I try to work on that by taking some time off my day to take deeper breaths like meditating, though the breathlessness refuses to go away, and I'm pretty sure it won't with any other form of breathing exercise, as I've tried that a lot in the past, including pranayama breathing techniques. At best, they reduce the symptom, but never really eliminate it, and since I see that my shortness of breath is linked to an emotional/psychical trigger, I can say pretty certainly now that physical stuff doesn't rlly help.
After I started taking SSRIs, it's diminished a bit but the intensity increases and decreases kinda cyclically. I'll start taking lithium this week for my suicidality, so I'll see if that affects my breathing somehow since it's supposed to potentialize the effect of the antidepressant. Thanks a lot for the reply!

 

[carac]

Not really, but I have chronic pain which is largely under control now since I discovered it was all psychological and related to anxiety. I did a lot of work on mind body medicine and watched loads of YouTube videos.

I don't know if it will be any use but you might want to try Dr sarnos 12 daily reminders. They were originally for psychological back pain but can be applied to many other mind body issues.

 

[cyandude]

I don't know if it will be any use but you might want to try Dr sarnos 12 daily reminders. They were originally for psychological back pain but can be applied to many other mind body issues.

Thanks a lot, I'll def check them out

 

[carac]

Thanks a lot, I'll def check them out

You can ignore bits of them, but it's just something to reinforce that you are safe, there is nothing to fear, it's just your unconscious mind trying to get your attention or distract you from some emotional issue.

 

[R.F.]

It's more likely to be of psychological nature than of physiological. However, you can try holding your breath for as long as you can or go on a jog while only breathing through your nose. Those are good exercises for your lunghs in case it's actually your body. Just don't do it all the time as a consistent lack of oxygen makes your brain go boom boom

 

[Celerity]

Do you possibly have any acid reflux symptoms? Even if you do not have heartburn during the day, you may have it at night. I can get this if I eat too late (<4 hours before bed). The acid sloshes forward while you sleep and damages receptors that influence the sensation of breathlessness. This is typically accompanied by raw/burning sinuses and even a runny nose.

Does your shortness of breath worsen or improve with cardio? If it gets better with cardio, you may have this false asthma. The solution is simple - take acid reflux meds and avoid food or drink before bed.

 

[cyandude]

Do you possibly have any acid reflux symptoms? Even if you do not have heartburn during the day, you may have it at night. I can get this if I eat too late (<4 hours before bed). The acid sloshes forward while you sleep and damages receptors that influence the sensation of breathlessness. This is typically accompanied by raw/burning sinuses and even a runny nose.

Does your shortness of breath worsen or improve with cardio? If it gets better with cardio, you may have this false asthma. The solution is simple - take acid reflux meds and avoid food or drink before bed.

Nope, nothing related to acid reflux, my organs are fine and there's no burning sensation. It's also independent from physical activity.

 

[Pluto]

I have a lot of issues with puffing and panting, being in constant physical discomfort and being very low on energy in daily life. And it's not because of being unfit because I push myself to complete a very intensive exercise regime. Maybe I am breathing incorrectly, I'll see if that helps.

 

[MeltingBrain]

In my long experience with doctors, they pin anything they don't understand to anxiety. Is the breathing unconscious or conscious ? Does it happen all the time or only certain times ?