Excessive Yawning and Constant Need to Breathe Deep

ive had the same problem for about 5-6 months now. It happened after i smoked and ever since then i couldnt shake the feeling like im being choked and cant breathe. i always need to yawn or feel like i need to take a deep breath but never or very rarely get the satisfaction of one. Went to pulmonologist and cardiologist and everything is normal from that standpoint. Ive theorized that I have tonsillar hypertrophy because my tonsils are huge and thats where most of my discomfort is coming from. Im going to an ENT soon to see if this theory has any merit. But if anybody has similar issues such as feeling like theyre being choked or feeling a sensation similar to when you are about to cry and have trouble taking deep breaths and yawning all the time then check the back of your throat and look at your tonsils. This could all be wrong as im not a medical professional but im hoping it will help.

Hi everyone, I think I can help most of you. I've been having this issue where you can't make proper deep breath and you feel like a fish out of water for about 10 years now. I know how horrible it feels and how it takes so much quality from your lives. I've seen many doctors and tried different medicine, all doctors saying the same thing it's anxiety and I always been getting confused, I live relatively calm life and how can I have anxiety all the time and I was refusing to accept that. And that's where the problem is!

What happens is we have anxiety attacks when we're experience shortness of breath, basically we feel bad when we think about bad things. I think something in our brain or upper (head) respiratory system getting tense, because of the initial stress and it MAKES US FEEL that we have a lack of air, when in the reality I think it's just triggering something that responsible for that feel in our head, sense is just very similar to a shortness of breath and it makes us breath more often/deeper then how we should breath normally and it makes it worse, basically snow ball effect.

Also it's very important to understand that this is a long lasting condition, you're going to get affected by things with-in next few days. That's why it's very hard for us to pin point why what we're experiencing is better or worse every other day. So it takes days and weeks to get this adjusted.

Even though I said I had this horrible thing for at least 10 years, last year it was almost completely gone.

WHAT HELPED ME: Running, you need to start running. I think our head is fighting all this extra oxygen that we force in ourselves because of the feeling of a lack of oxygen, you probably even have blocked nose in the mornings and evenings - I think this is a brain defending itself but blocking our airways to stop getting extra air that it doesn't need. When you'll start running you'll instantly feel that your airways open up, not in lungs but in upper section (head, brain) I could literally feel that I had some kind of swelling in my head open up (I know it's sound crazy 😃 ) You potentially will feel better right the way, but as I said it takes time to recover from this feeling. If you'll run every other day you should start feeling much better within next few weeks. I think during the run our body gets rid of all the extra oxygen we pumped in it and it trying to normalize it and get more (it actually need more) and chemistry getting better balanced.

We also think that we have this feeling all the time and I think we only have it when we think about it literally, you'll catch yourself later about the fact that you were not thinking about it and that's when you didn't had shortness of breath. As soon as you start thinking about it it activating that sense to check it and it happens. This happens to me every morning, I think I wake up without it and within next 10-15 seconds after I woke up I start feeling that it's getting back - my theory is that we don't have this shortness of breath when we sleep.

Sorry about the lengthy post and about my english (not my first language), I know how horrible this feels and I just tried to be honest and share my theories with you, I hope it will help some of you and you'll start feeling like a normal person again. Don't expect anything become better right the way, every day you'll feel slightly better and better until you'll start forgetting about it - FORGETTING ABOUT IT is the key, you make things worse when you think about it to much, try distract yourself when you start immersing in the darkness and start thinking about why and what's causing it. Try not to think about it!

You are likely one of the many humans that breathes incorrectly.

I want you to try this experiment.

Stand in front of a mirror, and take in the deepest breath you possibly can.

Notice - did you lift your shoulders?

That, my friend, is the definition of clavicle breathing or more commonly referred to as shallow breathing.

Now, I must warn you, changing the way you breathe is no simple task. You’ve been doing it all wrong for god knows how many years, so be prepared to feel uncomfortable for the first month of this transition.

Once you’ve mastered how to breathe properly, though, your quality of life will increase tremendously. More oxygen means better focus and clarity, as well as better endurance and muscle recovery. This practice will even help with digestion.

So how does one go about breathing properly?

Again, situate yourself in front of a mirror.

The first step is to stand up tall, and completely relax your shoulders.

Next, place your hands on your belly, and completely relax your stomach.

Yes, you really are that fat, EMBRACE IT

Now, you’re going to start inhaling through your nose, while focusing on three things:

Keeping your shoulders relaxed

Keeping your belly relaxed

Expanding your belly outward

This breath will feel uncomfortable. You might not feel like your getting enough air. That’s because your brain has been wired to correlate breathing to the lifting of your shoulders, whereas a proper breath is exercised with the expansion and contraction of the diaphragm.

Next, exhale through your mouth and repeat!

Congratulations you’ve just taken your first proper breath. Actually, you used to breathe properly as a baby, but once you got older and fatter, you tried to hide your stomach, forcing you to breath with your shoulders. (Not proven, but it’s the best explanation we can find)

Now, all you gotta do is consciously catch yourself when your breathing with your shoulders, and override that action by taking a deep breath with the expansion of your belly.

Once you practice for a couple of weeks, it will feel a lot more natural, and you’ll definitely begin to notice the benefits.

Next, is learning how to yawn through your belly instead of your shoulders.

I have the same problem and i worry that i have tourettes

I have the same problem and i worry that i have tourettes

Its caused by stress and anxiety. This translates into your muscles and prevents a full deep breath. Make sure you find an experienced massage therapist that can loosen up your back and neck muscles, your ribcage, diaphragm and do some ab work. This will help tremendously.

hello i have been feeling the same exact right now- i went and got a pft test for lung its a test for breathing and she told me i have mild to moderate copd i was shocked because for im not a smoker and im only 36 years and this breathing issue been with me for while it comes and goes- its not that i cant breath its exactly what you said. i dont have a cough i work out for hour or so without running out of breathe im not tired so my symptoms dont really match- inhalor she gave me doesnt help at all to ease the feeling- im going to another doc to double check this diagnose. i feel like my ribs are closed in tightly on each other when i strech it feels good to breath in when i forget to think about it i breath normal. also it maybe something to do with my diphgram i feel like its weak when i press down in that area my breathing feels so much better!

I've been experiencing this off and on since March 2020 and have found that ignoring the urge and occasionally giving in to the urge less and less often helps and eventually the body will no longer crave that extra oxygen as much. Remember, if your Pulse-Ox is the right number, that means you have enough oxygen. ignore it and give in occasionally and TRY YOUR BEST TO NOT THINK ABOUT IT. I feel as if we are all bad breathers for one reason or another that have relied on our mouths too much at one point or another. I have seen a dramatic decrease in the urge since ignoring it and trying my best not to think of it, and it may feel like you aren't able to breathe but just remember that you can breathe and give in to the urge occasionally. it will actually be easier that way. Wish you guys the best.

I have had the same issue with my breathing since mid January. I have had cardiac and lung test done and those test are all normal. I feel like my neck is tight and I have now made an appointment to see a Chiropractor.

I started applying heat to my neck and back yesterday. At this point I am just desperate to find the reason this is happening. I wonder now if I have a herniated disk. The Pulmonary dr. thinks I have anxiety so I am now on anxiety medication. The same Dr. also ordered a sleep study.

I hope you get some answers. There has to be something causing these issues.

i have just recovered from this!!! mine was stress and anxiety/anxiety attacks/panic attack related.. it took me 5-6 months to fix it. i dont know why it happened but it happened after a spate of anxiety attacks that i didnt even realise were anxiety attacks at the time but i felt smothered and like i was suffocating and this went on for weeks if not months. my GP wrongfully diagnosed acid reflux and wasted 6 months of my life and didnt really seem to care but its not a quick fix believe me!! getting your stress levels down dramatically over the next 6 months, regular moderate jogs (30-45minutes) per session 2-3 times a week. get your breathing so that the body has took control of it. over the coming months you will still feel the need to deep breathe even when exercising but it will become less and less. mine took 2 months before i noticed a difference and third thing is very regular meditation. 5-10 times a day. lie on your back, hands interlocked on belly then 10 breaths. deep breath in through nose into your belly then hold for whatever is comfortable then exhale through mouth with lips touching and puffed out cheeks so the air is slowly forced out separating the lips of the mouth. anxiety is caused by 3 things. stress worry or fear. stress is the worst to figure out as theres no obvious trigger its normally accumalative over months and years and very hazardous but reversible. your system and specifically nervous system could of altered but i promise you its not a quick fix. ive never suffered from anything anxiety related in my first 31 years of life, but moving house, renovating with no DIY knowledge, working a full time job 50 hours a week and having no downtime caused anxiety/panic attacks. not knowing what these were absolutely petrified me like words cannot describe. anxiety and panic attacks are terrifying, not knowing they are anxiety/panic attacks will be the worst time of your life. stress is stress. your brain doesnt know whether its a lion attacking or its a a leaky radiator you are struggling to fix. stress is stress.. find time to unwind. alot of time. im now 6 months into a mental breakdown recovery and alot better than what i was. my 10 a day anxiety attacks are now at 1 a day but im on no medication and i know that in time il be back and better than ever. stress is not a quick fix but them 3 techniques of stress reduction, moderate exercises and meditation have recovered my breathing back to pretty close to what it was before this nightmare year and im sure that in the coming months itll be 100%. i used to get the urge to yawn but the yawn would never expand or open my throat muscles and over past weeks that is back to normal. cheers guys. i hope this helps even one person. if you are going to get ill in life just make sure its not stress related!!!