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Anxiety and dysfunctional breathing

6 replies

walnutcakelover · 07/09/2012 22:40

I suffer from horrible anxiety, I feel like i can't breathe. My Dr said it is dysfunctional breathing, she has told me to go on cipramil, which i'm anxious about. I have tried self help books, and they haven't helped. Would the medication sort out this stupid breathing problem, cause it's really getting me down. Thanks in advance.

OP posts:
marmitetoastie · 07/09/2012 23:07

Have you tried sorting out the anxiety instead of the breathing?

CrikeyOHare · 07/09/2012 23:13

Does your chest feel tight & as if you can't get a deep enough breath?

Never heard that it was called "dysfunctional breathing" but I do know that it is virtually universal to all anxious people, including moi :)

Breathing is an odd thing. We feel like we're in control of it, but actually we aren't. You can slow down & speed up your breathing if you want to (and even stop it for a short time) but your brain simply won't allow you to do yourself any damage, no matter how hard you try.

When we're anxious we get into a cycle of trying to control our bodies and find ourselves paying attention to things we've never paid any mind to before - our breathing patterns, heartbeat, even things like swallowing. And because we're paying such close attention, things start to feel laboured and difficult. That's what's happening with your breathing.

I don't like your doctor calling your breathing "dysfunctional" because that implies there's something wrong with it - there isn't. You are breathing normally. You are getting in enough oxygen & expelling whatever it is that is expelled. Your breathing is fine - believe me, you'd know it if it wasn't.

What is dysfunctional is your thought patterns and that's what needs to change. Knowledge is power in these situations. You need to learn and understand that no matter how uncomfortable, nothing physiologically dangerous is happening to you. Once you fully understand and accept that, you can start to let go of those fears that grip you and all of a sudden a day will pass and you'll notice that you didn't think about your breathing once.

For me, understanding panic was the key to eliminating it. I never took any meds, although I know other people have been helped by them. I still get that laboured breathing feeling sometimes, and can feel myself slipping down that slope into panic, but I know that it's just a feeling & can't hurt me, and it loosens it's grip almost immediately.

There are some great websites devoted to panic disorder (and all of them talk about the breathing issue) which have helped me a great deal in the past.

It's horrible what you're going through, but it can be beaten, I promise. Knowledge & understanding really is the key.

Good luck :)

shitmagnet · 08/09/2012 08:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

walnutcakelover · 08/09/2012 08:45

Thanks ladies. shit my breathing is more like a yawn ( air hunger), I do suffer acid reflux aswell, which I take lanzoprazole for. I am currently reading " The Linden Method" for my anxiety, because i don't want to take any medication. crikey I also don't like my dr for calling it dysfunctional breathing, eversince she has said that, it seems to have my made my breathing worse, maybe it's a subconcious thing. I agree it is all to do with my thoughts.

OP posts:
Startailoforangeandgold · 08/09/2012 08:58

"Crickeyohair"(sp) is right.
I suffered for years with spectacular feeling like I was going to die head aches.

At first I was petrified to go to the Drs. In case they were something serious. Eventually I think I sort of worked out the couldn't be because they always happened at night or the weekend.

I did eventually go to the Drs after they resurfaced very badly and I found myself having them during the day.

He diagnosed anxiety migraine and gave me some pills. These worked, but they made me high. I decided that clearly this was all in my head and therefore told myself that very firmly.

I know I'm ridiculously lucky, that is honestly all it needed. Mostly I can simply say to myself "Come off it head there is no need for this nonsense" and find something to distract myself. Around my period a paracetamol helps because a slight real headache can trigger it.

walnutcsakelover medication may break the cycle, it did for me (although I think I only ever took two), but in the end you have to learn to control the anxiety that causes you breathing problems.

walnutcakelover · 08/09/2012 09:06

Thanks star that helps, it's so hard trying to change the way you think, hopefully this linden method will cure me.

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