I feel like I have to force myself to breathe. Plz reply :')

i’m sorry you are so scared. But please remember that anxiety can make it feel as though something is wrong when it’s actually not.

What happens is that when we have anxiety it’s easy to get scary negative thoughts which turn into fear. And fear is only based on an emotion it’s not based on fact. So you have to remember what is true. What is true is that you got checked out and nothing bad showed up. Everything looked good.

That means that the anxiety is causing what you are feeling in your chest. Any sensations due to anxiety are not harmful! I know they can feel scary because I’ve had anxiety for a long time but they can’t do any more than that.

what makes the sensations worse is when we get really anxious about them. Because then we are telling our brain that something is wrong. So the body will send out adrenaline which causes the sensations.

it’s really important to try and calm down your mind as much as possible. Then your brain will know that everything is OK. One way to do that is long slow deep breathing exercises. you can find these on YouTube. They are often called mindfulness breathing exercises for anxiety. there are also some great relaxing meditations for anxiety on there as well. They really help calm everything down and you could do these a couple times a day and you’ll feel much better.

Think if anything in your life is causing you anxiety. Talk to somebody about it. Family, friends, a counselor. It’s great to get that extra support.

you are going to be OK! What you are going through is very very common with anxiety. It’s just a matter of changing the way we think from negative to positive and from fear to purposeful breathing exercises and anything else that relaxes your mind. Take care!❤

Hi kilee11777,

I'm new here so not sure how this all works but I spotted your discussion and wondered if this might help. I was getting that tight feeling in my chest and finding I was almost gasping/struggling for breath. My anxiety appears in many different ways, but i found this to be really helpful!

There are lots of relaxation/breathing exercises on the NHSinform page. I google "struggling with stress" and about half way down there are some breathing exercises on soundcloud. I found that focusing on your breathing and just taking that time to learn to relax works wonders when you're feeling tense as well as hopefully helping with the pressure you've been feeling.

Hope this helps even a little bit, and hope you feel better soon!

C x

I have something similar for past 10 months. Breathing is a big struggle for me. I feel like I'm not getting enough air, and consciously aware of most breaths from the time I wake to when I sleep. I also feel like taking a deep satisfying breath takes so much effort, and I can't always get that deep breath. My chest feels tight and heavy, and like it can't expand enough to get air. Does any of this sound familiar?

I also have always had anxiety, but normal anxiety about certain situations. This seems like it's happening all day, even when I'm totally relaxed watching TV. Does this happen for you when you are stressed or randomly?

I have done blood tests, chest xrays, echo and lung function test. All was normal, except lung function test showed possible mild asthma (which I have always had). I spoke to a psychiatrist, who thinks it might be worth trying some anxiety meds. I'm so sick of living like this, that I think I'm going to give it a try.

Sorry, I wish I had more helpful advice. But hopefully this makes you feel less alone.