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Fear of not being able to breathe

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Posted 3/16/2015 10:14 AM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone

I am fairly new here - have posted a few times in the chronic pain section.

I suffer from anxiety and depression and have been up and down with in since I was 17 (I am now 24) I think I may have GAD as I am ALWAYS worrying about something, I am never calm and relaxed and content and once one worry goes away, I have another. I actually find all that okay to deal with as I was a very nervous child so I have accepted it. My main issue that is affecting my life is a fear I have of not being able to breath.

I dont know why I have this or how to get rid of it but its making me miserable. I regularly have panic attacks but my main symptom of the attack is shortness of breath, I have the other symptoms like intense fear, racing thoughts, tingling fingers, nausea etc but its the fear of suffocating that really gets me.

Sometimes I am just sitting still and my chest goes tight and I feel like I cant breathe and the panic is just absolutely terrifying. It has made me scared to exercise because I am so worried about being out of breath. I have been to the doctor multiple times about this and they have listened to my chest and taken my oxygen levels which have always been 96 or up but I still cant shake ths feeling. It always passes in the end but it feels so real and so scary at the time. Its like my body is not working properly or I dont trust it to work properly. I feel trapped in my body when it happens. I have been given an inhaler (I think just to shut me up) and the inhaler doesnt help so I dont think this is asthma or a real physical problem but I dont know how to make it stop!

I am so sick and tired of living in fear all the time of not being able to breathe it is absolutely exhausting and I dont know why it has happened. My mum used to say to me that as a child I would always say I couldnt breathe ( I could) then as I grew up I didnt have any problems, I was always sporty and running long distances etc so obviously had no worries then. When I was about 16 or 17 it came back all of a sudden, I had the fear of not being able to breathe again! My mum then died almost 4 years ago of lung cancer and I watched her suffer being short of breath and I am sure that didnt help with the mental side of things for me. I have been suffering with feeling like this for almost 8 years now and I just cant carry on like this.

If anyone has any similar experiences or can offer any suggestions on how to get rid of this I would be so grateful. I can cope with the anxiety in general and I am not going to kid myself that it will all go away as I know I am an anxious person naturally but I dont want to live with this fear about not being able to breathe. It is so frustrating because even when I KNOW I can breathe, I still feel like I cant. Its like I have a mental block. Any help would be much appreciated.

Posted 3/16/2015 11:52 AM (GMT 0)
I had the same problem for many years when I was your age. I am now 67 and don't usually have it much now, but every once in awhile when I'm having a particularly difficult anxiety attack, it comes back. I went to every doctor and tests always showed I was fine but I never really believed that I was doing it to myself. What you are most likely doing is hyperventilating....what I found helped me was to breath into a paper bag...don't know if that was really helping or whether it was all psychological but it worked. Over the years I got so used to it that it finally started to subside and I would stop and think "oh, I haven't had this breathing thing lately." Im sure there is nothing psysically wrong with you but anxiety always makes us suffer in one way or another and apparently that's whats bothering you the most right now. You will eventually get past it and know how to deal with it better when it hits as time goes by.
Posted 3/16/2015 12:54 PM (GMT 0)
Hi andwes, thank you for your reply. I am sorry you suffer with anxiety also but it does make me feel better to know that Im not alone in this worry. I am hanging on to the hope that it will one day go away as I used to have different worries as a child that seemed debilitating at the time but I now dont have as an adult. I have been through quite a traumatic experienc the past 6 years or so, My grandma died of lung cancer, tehen my Mum and then my Grandad and they all went quite quickly.

We were only told the day before my mum died that she was going to die and I dont think I have gotten over the shock of it really. I also dont have a relationship with my Dad, he let me down hugely when my Mum died aswell did her side of the family. I am sure all of this has a lot to do with my anxiety being so bad. I just know there is nothing I can do about it but hoping it will dull over time. Its been almost 4 years and I still have flashbacks about my mum suffering and certain things that happened and were said.
Posted 3/16/2015 1:04 PM (GMT 0)
Darling, I know exactly how you feel.  The feeling of not being able to breathe is so scary!  But believe me, it's just a feelilng...you've been examined and everything is ok physically.  You aren't going to Pass Out,  you won't faint.  You're not going to stop breathing.  It's just a feeling.

I went through this for three years.  Like you I felt that I couldn't breathe.  I knew I was breathing because I was alive, but I was convinced something was deathly wrong and someday I wouldn't be able to breathe and I would either pass out or die.  Obviously, none of the above happened.

Stress...anxiety...the feeling of not being able to breathe...it all feeds on one emotion to the next to the next and you become sure you cannot breathe...you cannot believe it's " just anxiety."  But it is.

What helped me and finally broke the feeling of the inability to breathe?  In the middle of the feelilng of breathlessness I began to chant over and over in my head..." I can breathe...I can breathe!"  I would just concentrate on that chant.  If scary thoughts would try to crowd it out I would concentrate even deeper on the chant and crowd out the scary thoughts.  Soon I was able to breathe normally.  I don't know if this will help you or if you've already tried it, but it worked for me. 

Oh, the misery of stress and anxiety!  It can manifest itself into so many scary feelings within us...but it's just feelings...we are really ok.  We will get through this. I'm praying for you.  Keep posting.  There are so many people who share your feelings.

Joni

 

Posted 3/16/2015 1:44 PM (GMT 0)
thanks loverain, I will definitely try the chanting. I can see how it could help, blocking out all negative thoughts. It really does help knowing that other people feel/ have felt like this so thank you for taking the time to reply to me.

I saw the doctor today and he doubled my dose of citalopram which I take for depression. He also prescribed my propanolol for the panic attacks so I am hoping this will help a bit, who knows.
Posted 3/16/2015 3:22 PM (GMT 0)
Hi hh and welcome (again ;) I responded to your other post as well, so be sure to look for that.)
I am so sorry to hear of your losses. This is understandably an anxiety trigger, and I wish you much healing!

Good advice above! So I will just add the usualy recommendations that I make to all new members...I don't know what if any treatments you have already tried, so forgive if this is redundant...
Therapy, self-help and possibly medication are the usual treatment options that anxiety sufferers explore for anxiety management. Any one of these, or a combination thereof is a good plan to discuss with your doctor.
We have a lot of great self-help available to check out here in our Resources. The suggested coping skills can help very much with the physical symptoms you have been suffering.
In your other post, you mention possibly using meds for treatment as well..
...and to round out an anxiety managment plan, therapy is always a recommendation.
Here is the link to our Resources. Check out the stress relieving exercises especially...

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=9&m=104206

...breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation and meditation will all lower overall stress levels, and help to relieve physical symptoms.
Post with us anytime if you find it helpful...we are here to listen and encourage anytime.smile
S.C.

p.s. I have a favorite breathing exercise that is not included in the Resources above. It was so effective for me when I was dealing with what you describe. I will gladly post it at your request.smile
Posted 3/16/2015 6:32 PM (GMT 0)
Hi SC thank you for your reply!! It is really appreciated. I read all of you guys comments and suggestions and am going to try some things out. Please do post the breathing exercise you find most effective! Thank you.
Posted 3/14/2019 8:47 PM (GMT 0)
I am no doctor but I can give my advice from an experiencer who delves into the souls' point of view. So this will be a completely different point of view and not for everyone.

I also have this anxiety, and I'm determined to stop it. I've had it all of my life and feel it comes (for me) from having the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck while being born or even before being born as my soul entered this human experience and it suddenly became too dense like my soul was suffocating. I'm very spiritual and have faced a lot of fears within myself but this is the most difficult one I'm finding to get past.

I know it's in my mind when it happens, but I can't stop it. So last night when it happened again, I decided to feel into it, even more, to find out the trigger. I felt into my soul and felt like it was suffocating, like this life as a human was too small and I wanted to feel free again but I knew if my soul left I would have to stop breathing which scared me, one thing kept triggering the other.

There's a fear of dying with it because dying is a fear of falling into a way more denser place. It's like this life could be compared to an adult being subjected to watching a Dora The Explorer kids show over and over and after a while, you'll just feel trapped because you want more, like I've been subject to live such a simple life that I know I'm beyond.

There is, of course, the physical pain of feeling like I just can't get enough air but I think that's the bodies reaction to the mind being triggered by my own insecurities of not feeling good enough or wanting to live beyond what a human body and experience can give.

I am still working through this and once I do, I can share more.
Posted 3/15/2019 3:24 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Bobby and welcome!

I am sorry that you experiencing your current state of dissatisfaction that is causing you anxiety and physical symptoms. A lot of anxiety sufferers are known to have a high intellect/IQ and often suffer from overthinking, analyzing things thoroughly and, conversely, boredom at times.

This can cause us a lot of existential questions and allow doubts and negativity to creep in, stirring up anxious thoughts and feelings.

Considering medication, therapy and self help is something that I recommend for anyone struggling with anxiety. These three main management strategies are all proven effective either on their own, or in combination...depending on the individual need.

However, beyond that, I want to suggest something else to you as well. I struck a chord with me when you said you wanted to transcend the human condition. There are two things that I think will help you to do the closest thing to this.

The first is finding, or honing an interest. I am a dancer, and when I am practicing my art, I do feel lifted out of the regular day to day feeling of existence! There are times when we are so fully in a moment that it does feel beyond human...and these times usually happen when we lose ourselves in something we are passionate about,

The second endevour would be volunteering. When we get outside of our own selves/minds...we are really and truly free...and beyone that, it benefits others, which just perpetuates the happiness cycle. I have found so much joy in volunteerig and helping others...and I can't tell how much it has improved my own general well being.

I do hope you find the answers that you are looking for. Feel free to keep posting with us if you find it helpful, and be sure to check out our Resources for great self help.

Peace and progress,

Scaredy Cat
Posted 3/15/2019 4:35 AM (GMT 0)
Thankyou for your helpful advice, I have truely looked deep within myself (over analyzing lol) and realized it stems from not feeling good enough when I’m around my partner. As it mainly happens when I get into a relationship. This could also stem from a parent who couldn’t physically touch us. Now I am getting to the bottom of this it should start clearing. I have faced many fears and feel this is my biggest so I’ll be so proud to have cleared this. I am very creative and writing a book at the moment, so my focus is on that and creating a great life which honestly I feel I have. I love my life, just need to clear this strange anixty that raises its head every now and then. Thanks again you’ve been a great help.
Posted 3/16/2019 3:31 AM (GMT 0)
Absolutely!

May you have continued progress and much success in your writing!

Keep us updated if you like, so we can keep you in support!

S.C.
Posted 4/6/2019 4:11 PM (GMT 0)
The not being able to breathe can be very frightening. You have gotten some of the best advice ever from the moderators of this site. I myself have had the issue of "not breathing" off and on for a few years now but Kitt gave me the best advice. Since, logically I know I am breathing, I have come to the counting shapes advice. I begin at one point and breathe to 4 counts on one side of a "square" then stop very briefly - following the square on each side breathing in 4 counts then breathing out 4 counts. Once I see that I am breathing like this I move on to different shapes - anything to keep your mind busy. Some days I just get so fed up with it that I say "today I will IGNORE you!" It works occasionally. Best of luck to you-don't give up! Hugs
Posted 4/7/2019 10:18 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for your advice, yes Ive been doing something like that naturally when I feel it coming on and have stopped it. Convincing myself to change my neuron path in my brain. I usually like to get to the point where it's triggered so I can totally clear it for good, but I think this one came when I was born with my umbilical cord wrapped around my throat. I think its been triggered now because I am making some big changes in my life and just as being born is a big change to, its igniting the fear of suffocation. I am determined to completely cure it, so I might have to sift through heaps of reasons till I get the one that triggers it for me, but once I clear that it will be gone, Ive done this with many other fears in my life and they've all but gone. Feel this is one of the last ones.
Posted 4/10/2019 4:58 PM (GMT 0)
B.,

Great progress...and may continued healing be yours!

S.C.
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