Automatic breathing stopped

omg i feel like this! im having yawn to take deep breaths do you feel like this xxx

Thanks for this post which seems to describe pretty well what I'm dealing with right now.

So it's been over a week now - 24/7. I don't have a job at the moment so there is nothing to distract me, no friends no nothing. I'm 95% sure my mind is causing this although this is getting quite scary.

Have any of you experienced chest pain along with the breathing thing , as well as belly stiffness ?

I've literally just cancelled my medical appointment because I just had one about three weeks ago (for unrelated, skin issues) and I don't want to be labelled as that patient. I'm no hypo and I hardly ever go to the clinic and I'd like my file to stay that way so I'll still be taken seriously.

Just like most of you, it goes away when eating but that's it. It can get me to hyperventilate which leads to an increased pulse and eventually dizziness (on the cusp of fainting, i.e sweaty hands, light head, vertigo, etc.). Overall I feel like I'm having a 24/7 panic attack while not necessarily being stressed, like I am fully able to write this, think of lighter things, etc but it's still running in the background.

I have anxiety issues and a history of OCD but I am still on the wait list for a psychiatrist (should take another 6 months or so).

Things that make me believe it's stress-related are :

-It doesn't wake me up at night whereas a constant belly ache + chest pain probably should.

-It goes away while drinking/eating/singing

-I have a history of stress/depression

On the other hand :

• I have a chest pain that may increase while taking deep breaths
• My stomach feels heavy overall (but no problem eating)
• It all starts the moment I wake up thus doesn't appear to be overthinking-related
• I feel a permanent pressure in my chest, like a pinch that I can distinctively locate.

Hoping to have some replies here to reassure you can indeed suffer permanent physical pain from anxiety and maybe help the next one 😃 Thank you!

I am too afraid to sleep and I am on the verge of losing consciousness when I try deep breathing. It seems that I'm really stupid

Hi everyone - I want to share my contribution to this because finding this forum really helped me.

I had the hardest year of my life this year, and finally last month I broke down. I cried the hardest I've ever cried, and I didn't hold back, because I wanted to sort of release the trauma and built-up emotions in me.

And usually, when I cried really hard before, I felt the usual sadness, but with it, a specific, sharp tinge of pain. And that pain usually only lasted for a couple of seconds before it faded. I never tried to ignore or prolong that tinge before, I always just let it come and pass as it did.

Last month, though, when I cried it lasted much longer because I held on to it, because I thought doing so would help me really release all the pent-up emotions.

This happened again when I broke down the following day. And for a third day after that.

It was an intense emotional surge, basically, and I felt lighter and less burdened afterward.

A few days later, however, I got sharp chest pains. Like, my heart and chest hurt so bad, all I could do for the following two weeks was lay in bed, because fatigue came along with it. It was the worst chest pain I've ever had in my life.

Then, it got less painful. But it got more acute. Instead of generalized chest pain, it was in a more specific spot. But I could get out of bed and do things again.

And then: my automatic breathing shut off.

I noticed it immediately because it's really taxing, having to manually take each breath. All day long I was tired of breathing, and it was like the setting had been switched from default: having breath in lungs to having the lungs empty.

I made it through the day, exhausted and ready to sleep. And then I couldn't. Every time my eyes would close and I almost fell asleep, I would get jolted awake to breathe. Somehow, I fell asleep for an hour or two, but that's all I got.

At this point, I was panicking so bad. Because I had been coping with all the previous problems and pain by escaping at night in sleep. What would I do if I couldn't sleep?

The next day was the same. I got like two hours of sleep that night.

The day after that, I took a four hour nap somehow. But the chest pain was still there, I was struggling bad, so I went to urgent care, where a EKG was done. I was told there were abnormalities that I should go to the ER for - I go to the ER, and everything comes back normal. X-rays look fine, tests done showed nothing wrong, etc.

I tried to explain the situation to the doctor, about the automatic breathing, and you could tell she just didn't really understand, and she told me "don't worry about the automatic breathing."

So now I know that it's all in my head - because before, I was panicking that there was something wrong with my heart, and I think it was making it worse. But once I knew I could control it, I wasn't as worried.

So I go home, take melatonin, and somehow fall asleep for eight hours. I struggle with the problem for about a week more before I start drinking tart cherry juice before bed every night.

I will say this: I haven't skipped drinking the cherry juice since, so I don't know how solid my sleep would be or if I could fall asleep without it at this point, but I have been sleeping and breathing manually again.

I just wanted to write this in case I could help someone. Because when this started happening I was so exhausted, my mental state was deteriorating fast, and I told my mom, "I can't live like this," and I was seriously thinking about how I could go on living like that.

So if there's any key points you should take away from this:

• If you're cleared by doctors, it's probably anxiety. Which means you can control it. And if you've struggled with OCD or intrusive thoughts like me, the whole, "it's just a thought, it holds no weight" mentality could help. Tell yourself it's going to be okay. Have faith and trust that you will breathe. If you managed to sleep for an hour, you can breathe automatically, which means you can sleep for longer.
• Try to de-stress as much as possible. It's not ideal, but be lazy. Seriously. Watch your favorite movies, try to distract yourself. Do everything that comforts you.
• Sing! I sang a lot, and it felt really weird, because it felt like this pressure/weight was folded in around my chest/heart, but in the long run I think it did definitely help!
• Drink tart cherry juice before bed each night!

Disclaimer: these are just things that helped me, and I'm still not 100% better and how I used to be. My chest still feels weird, and in fact, it feels cold. Like it feels like a rock in my chest, and my feelings literally shut off. I can't feel a thing, which isn't ideal for someone like me, but I'm just grateful I can at least sleep right now. I wish you all the best.

Hi everyone,

I've been experiencing similar issues to you all for over a month now. I feel like I have to breathe manually all day long, and if I don't it feels like I'm holding my breath. I've been to see a cardiologist, been to see a pneumologist, and had in-depth blood tests (including an electrophoresis). Doctors have told me I'm healthy and it's just a psychological/anxiety sort of issue. Thing is, this happens all day long and there has not been a break since it started out of the blue one day. I am 19 years old and see no reason as to why I should have these sort of issues. I sleep fine at night, until I wake up and can't go back to bed. I thus haven't had more than 6 hours of sleep in a month, which has been making me super tired throughout the day. It's also been giving me sone back and occasionally chest pain, but doctors have told me that's because of me not breathing properly and thus soring up my muscles. I'm trying to convince myself it's a psychological thing as the automatic breathing process can't fail (and even if it did I wouldn't be sleeping), but this is not going away and it's made my life miserable. Please please let me know if any of you guys have been able to get rid of it and if so how. All the best

I'm new to this blog and was searching as I have many times before about my stress problem and its side effects . I've had this problem of shortness of B . for 35 years. and it's just short of a panic attack where the first time I experienced it was being hung over badly which triggered overwhelmingness of anxiety and it rose up to my chest feeling y bloodpressure boil then wheezing in the chest then I noticed or felt like I wasbt getti g any oxygen. it doesbt go away for months sometimes but this was I. the start . I've had panic attacks after this where my heart would pound and not stop for months as well . it caused chronic insomnia as my heart beat would shake the bed. everyone told me the same old crap . hot bath go for a walk. chamomile tea. meditation square breathing. nothing worked. actually a hot tub or any euphoric pleasure would work but soon as I got out or stopped the Exersise it would return . they gave me xanax and that just got me to sleep but still suffered. its f*****g horrible and I dont know anyone who has this. I'm 55 now and i do t get panic attacks where I'm dying . but It takes a couple days or something very relieving to get rid of it . like if I were to get Into a argument where there is yelling that would help but cant do that all the time or if I broke a few dishes or Had a shot gun for skirt shooting g that would help. but if you have any suggestions to get rid of this where my diaphragm is stuck and my airway feels tight and cant breath on my own . oh another thing is massage helps and a happy ending takes it all away but only for the few seconds of the endorphins that are released during orgasm. so I have to concentrate on something else . to take my mind off of it works. but it also feels like being locked in the trunk of a car. thoughts,

Nathalia,

The mind is amazing. Your mind is amazing, look what it is doing to you. Of course we don't believe that our minds can be tricking us, after all, it's our minds and we know them best. But we don't, do we?

It seems like you are suffering from GAD - general anxiety disorder. Something is making you anxious so your mind wants to find a reason for this. It can't so it will make it easier for the mind to worry about something that you can put symptoms onto. The vicious circle of anxiety perpetuates even more anxiety. Thus it goes on. You've done all the right things, the doctor the tests etc: but that hasn't done much to dispel your anxiety. The cruel thing is that it lies to you. I know only too well how my mind tricked me for 50 years. I'm 72 now and I've still not got cancer, a brain tumour, a stroke, not even a heart attack that I thought I was having. We all present different symptoms of our minds when the mind is full of anxiety.

I used to think I was going to pass out because I had to ensure that I was controlling my breathing properly. I was so afraid that I would stop breathing if I didn't make it happen. The thing is, if I'd have passed out, my breathing would have regulated itself and be perfectly normal. It's so hard to believe other people who try to help you understand what is really happening to you. I was like that for so long and wasted so much of my life to the beast in my mind. Stand up and say out loud "I am a strong, intelligent human being" The mind believes what hears out loud, it's less inclined to believe anything you say just in your mind. Any time you are feeling that things are getting out of control, say out loud that you are not listening to the beast in you mind and that you are getting better with every breath you take.

Please know that you have everything you need to be better.

{{ gentle hugs }}

Carol