Shortness of breath terrified all the time!!

Mike,

Did you have this constant shortness of breath problem as well? Did yours completely heal by not doing any breathing exercises and ignoring it?

Breathhelp. Yes in my case it did clear up completely by accepting it, although I have had it occasionally recur. By the way in my original reply to Luke I was assuming that anxiety was the cause. I still think it is worth getting checked out by a doctor first because I presume there can be other causes. It is hard to believe this can be caused by anxiety but in my case I am sure it was.

Mike, can you describe more what your symptoms were like with shortness of breath? Did it feel like you were overbreathing ever second, like you do when you walk up a hill and you are waiting for your breath to get back to normal. Or is it that you breath in and cant get a full breath?

Mine is the first feeling, like Im overbreathing and always out of breath from it.

Also, how long did you have this breathing issue before it cleared up?

So you just ignored it and didnt take antidepressants? Did you notice doing anything else that may have helped it- like exercise, diet, travel to relax?

One more thing... you mentioned I should first get checked by a doctor. Ive gone to every doctor and much more that one can think of and nothing organically wrong. I'm told anxiety has caused chronic hyperventilation syndrome .

On top of doing nothing and it completely went away, did you do any regular breathing exercise? mines been going on 15 months so im so scared since its so long

Hi,

I have had several problems associated with anxiety in the past. Feeling that I can't breath is one of the symptoms I have experienced. Mainly it was feeling I can't get a full breath but other things as well.

If you have been physically checked then anxiety will be the cause of your problem. Anxiety can cause a great range of symptoms, as you see on this site, but in the end they all come down to the same thing which is a fear/adrenaline/fear vicious circle. Once you get stuck in this quicksand all the things you naturally try to do to stop it actually make it worse.

Mike

Mike,

My fear is that everyone on this forum seems to feel like they can't get a deep breath, as if their chest is tight from muscle tension. Meanwhile, I feel like out always out of breath from overbreathing. Like as if the hyperventilating I did after a few panic attacks 15 months ago let me with a new breath rate and now Im out of breath just sitting and even worse from moving around.

Have you heard of anyone who had these symptoms? I feel like its just me. Do you think just ignoring it even though Im out of breath will "reset" it even though it doesn't sound exactly what you had?

Mike and THANK YOU for coming back to this site even after you have recovered to give us advice.

Thanks Mike, just ordered the book. And I completely get and agree what you are saying because I can feel the symptoms of being frightened... burning/tingling all over, my face overhearing and getting really red when I get extra panicked about this overbreathing. I know for sure after spending thousands of dollars on tests and doctors that nothing organic happened to me. Its crazy that I was a totally normally functioning person. I have the best career. Im an elementary teacher. But covid and having to teach kids virtually how to read only added to my level of stress. Thank you for advising me not to get hung up that my symptoms aren't the same as others. I look forward to reading the book! I am so happy you are cured of this breathing problem and you are sharing your victory with those suffering so we too can conquer it.

Hi Mike! I hope to still find you here in this discussion group. Thank you for sharing this book. I have to say that I started to feel a little better two weeks ago after reading it and after hearing that you've gone through constant shortness of breath and completely recovered. I was catching myself more relaxed and having long periods of time involved with everyday living, and briefly forgetting about how I was breathing. When I'd notice it, I would acknowledge it, and then move on to what I was doing. Unfortunately, this week my breathing seems to have gotten worse instead of gotten better, which is frustrating.

On top of my shortness of breath issue due to what I think is over breathing, I tend to get these other strange symptoms that come (stay for a while) and then fade, but then return again. I get symptoms such as : my upper throat where it's just past my tongue that feels like its closing on me, I get the left side of my throat and chest feeling heavy, I get a burning sensation in my arms, face and legs, my cheeks will get warm and I'll have warm and red cheeks with small bumps. With my shortness of breath being the worst symptom, the second worse is this feeling of inner doom because Ive been living like this for so long. I think that's what clouds up being able to recognize the little progress I have slowly been making. And the smallest amount of stress makes all the symptoms reappear.

Mike, I have a few questions I hope you can give me your input:

Would you experience any of these strange symptoms? It's sometimes hard to believe it can all come from anxiety. Sometimes I worry that it's some neurological issue but my doctor tells me there isn't anything organically causing these symptoms.

Did you find yourself having times where your breathing got better but then the next time it felt like two steps backwards?

May I ask, after following the advice from the book (Facing, Accepting, Floating, Letting Time Pass), how long before you really felt "cured"?

I look forward to hearing from you! Thanks Mike!

Hi,

I'm glad you got the book.

The fourth thing in the book is "letting time pass". That means don't keep thinking "how long is it going to be before I get rid of it". As soon as you start worrying about how long it is taking, you are adding anxiety again. The message in that book, although simple, is actually VERY subtle. I spent a lot of time re- reading it and thinking about it before I fully got the message. Accepting the symptoms means that you stop caring whether they are there or not. It doesn't mean as soon as you accept them they will disappear. If you are waiting for them to disappear you haven't really accepted them. The amazing thing is, if you do accept them being there and are not waiting for them to go they will actually disappear. Even when they have disappeared they will come back again but, when they do, you need to think "oh its only that again, I don't care". When you really get this properly, the problem will fade. I had loads of worrying symptoms; not just breathing problems. I still get them sometimes. You really have to realize that it IS caused by anxiety. Anxiety is worry. It is fear. It's all the same thing. Don't think it will just disappear and never come back. Get to the point where you don't care whether it comes back or not. Realise that your mind is playing tricks on you and you have to keep reinforcing your understanding. You shouldn't be TRYING to stop it or resist it. It is the absence of trying. ie "I couldn't care less" that you need. Remember this thing hasn't killed you and it never will. It wont do you any harm either. You are doing this to yourself albeit unintentionally. Keep working on getting yourself to really accept the situation and not fear it. Don't fear it coming back and don't worry if it changes to something else. When you fully accept that it is all a trick of your mind you will be on the road to overcoming it. To answer your last question "how long before you are really cured". The answer is when you don't care whether the problem is there or not, you are really cured.

Mike

Hi Mike!

Ive been seeing a functional medicine doctor throughout this bc not only have I been dealing with all the symptoms I told you about, but I also have my iron levels drop really low (for which he's monitoring my medication to balance it). Ive been hypothyroid all my life and my thyroid became out of wack as well. My doctor feels this is all due to my sympathetic nervous system (flight and fight) dominating my parasympathetic (rest and digest). So, he's been having me do breathing exercises twice a day for 20 minutes called biofeedback, where I follow a flower on a screen that opens and closes and I breath along with that image. Im also on a very low dosage of an antidepressant bc the symptoms made me shake and feel so much fear and depression. The antidepressant definitely calmed me down (though I hate the idea of being on medication). I plan to be on it for just a couple months longer and then slowly get off of it.

Do you think that I should stop doing the biofeedback breathing exercise? Perhaps by doing it twice a day and looking at my rating goes against what the book says about not focusing my attention on the breathing so much?

Also, as you were focusing on what the book says by moving on and accepting all the symptoms, did you do anything else? Like visit with a therapist or follow up with a doctor? Breathing exercises or meditation? Or did you do absolutely nothing related to your symptoms and just move on?

In your opinion, do you think my upper throat closing and the burning sensation all over my arms and legs are all due to anxiety, just like my breathing? Its so crazy anxiety would do that.

Mike, I will reread the book again bc I agree that I haven't yet let go of the fear. Its always the fear of "Oh my gosh, Ive been out of breath all the time for 15 months now and its never stopped for even a little while!" Then I talked to my neighbor who had it for 10 years and never recovered, which totally freaked me out. I think I know what's hindering me the most. I had a back operation 10 years ago that left me with neuropathy in my left foot and leg bc the doctor damaged my nerve. Having to live with the symptoms in my foot knowing the nerve damage cant be repaired, made me so fearful now that my breathing may never recover just like my foot didn't. But I know deep down inside nothing is organically wrong with my breathing since it all came on all of a sudden after major stress and anxiety due to a medical misdiagnosis and then the pandemic started...and my doctors cant find anything organically wrong.

Thank you again for following up with me! Your support and reminders that Ill pull though through this once I accept and am ok with the symptoms makes me feel like Ive found what I really need to do. What you wrote to me makes complete sense. Its just like when years ago I got tinnitus and it got louder and louder when I focused on it. After a few months I accepted it and it slowly faded away. It will come back, but nowhere near how bad as it did the first time it happened. I'll acknowledge it's there and then it will just go away again.

I feel like I still have some accepting to do before it goes away.

Hi,

The tinnitus issue is a good example of this. I have also got tinnitus by the way. It really freaked me out when it started. I thought it was the end. Eventually, like you, I had to accept it and it doesn't bother me now except if I get tired or run down.

I can understand that the botched operation may have started this.

I can't see anything against breathing exercises or anything that helps relaxation. I'm sure meditation helps in that respect for some people but if you feel it is not working for you then drop it. The thing you have got to get away from is thinking "is this working? is it getting better? is it getting worse? That just adds to the anxiety.

You should definitely consult a doctor if you think there is something physically wrong, but if they tell you there isn't, you have to believe them . Regarding the throat closing and burning etc I think it is very likely to be caused by anxiety but I would definitely ask a doctor first, although I think you have done that.

The reason people get stuck in the anxiety spiral for years is that they never fully understand what is causing it. If you keep trying to fight it or ignore it or distract yourself, it doesn't stop if you still actually fear it.

Remember that you are not trying to kid yourself or fool your own mind. You can't do that in any case. The fact that these symptoms don't need to be feared is the truth. When your mind accepts that, you are on the road to getting better.

It is very important to remember that you don't have to like the symptoms of anxiety. Feelings of heart racing, stomach churning, breathlessness, throat closing, and all the rest are not pleasant. However because you don't like them doesn't mean you have to fear them. That is the crucial point. Don't pretend you like the symptoms but realize that they are just caused by adrenaline. When you finally realize that you can survive them, your fear will get less and less and the problem itself will fade. You will stop worrying that it might come back because you know that, having survived it before, it doesn't matter if it does.

Mike

Hi Mike! By chance, did you have throat symptoms as one of your anxiety symptoms. Meaning tightness in you throat, a feeling when you inhale it sometimes feels like you are breathing through a straw?

Hi Luke, I don't know why my reply has been deleted. See what I have said to Breathhelp on this thread. I think the same thing would help you.

Mike