Ok, Ive developed this really annoying problem ever since I had an anxiety attack back on Christmas EVE. It seems that I am always constantly aware of my breathing, and when you are aware of your breathing you tend to breath for yourself, rather than letting your bodt breathe naturally. I dont know how to overcome this! It kills me most of the time. SOme times i would be breathing for about an hour, and all of a sudden i feel like I am not getting enough air, and i start to panic. It has been driving me crazy, i went to get my mind off it, but i dont know how. If i dont think of my breathing, then my body will breathe, but somehow I am constantly reminded. Help

Chew Gum. It will distract you from the breathing.

You're not alone with this one... I was recently admitted to ER twice in one day due to breathing difficulties. I feel like to breathe is a real effort and I am always concerntrating on breathing that it sends me into an almost hyperventilation state. I feel very short of breath when I think about it - when I am distracted it tends to settle down...... Unfortunately I can't help you - I too need a solution. I just wanted you to know that you're not alone!! It was suggested to me to start Yoga or hypnotherapy for relaxation.

Take care

Josie

i find myself doing the same thing, just try not to think about it

I get this type of thing quite abit...I am also on medication for anxiety, so I can relate to you all as well with the breathing. It has gotten better...if I am at work, I am fine, usually it bothers me when I am trying to go to sleep. What has helped me is listening to music as I go to bed, and leave the stereo on low...That way I relax. I have also been using "breath right" nose strips to help, as I do snore quite a bit. Since then, Ive felt much better.

Just my own experience, I thought I would share,

God Bless,

Adam

I just started having the same thing!!! I feel like I'm having to force my breathing. Started after a very stressful 16 hour day programming computers on the road. I went to bed and felt like I couldn't take a deep breath. Now it's all I think about. Feel like I'm around someone smoking too. It's gotten in my head. I think I'll try the gum thing.

I get this once in awhile to. I'll try the gum chewing, I do have anxiety attacks and I find that when I take a Klonopin it relaxes me enough I don't notice it. I've just started this about a year ago being overly concerned with how I'm breathing, I'll go for months with no problem and then it hits me, very tiring to the body if ya ask me. Sometimes I've done the three cleansing breaths that ya do with starting a excersise program and it to helps.

this is very similar to the problem i have ! sometimes it feels like i have to do the breathing for my body. this feels very uncomfortable. there are situations,when i feel like i don't get enough air and then i breath real deep and hyperventilate. but i really think that what you have is psychic. you also said that it appeared after your anxiety attack ! i have also had these attacks ! i suggest you seing a doctor, who can describe you a tranquilizer ! they really work. you feel relaxed and the anxiety disappears. it works. god bless all of you.

Boy can I relate to everyone here. I have had this problem for years.. Been on tranxene and Prozac now for the longest time..In a recent chest x ray which I was told was normal. Was also mentioned that I had scar tissue and am being referred to another doctor for the breathing test.. Anyone done this or had scar tissue.. Seeking answers..Scared to go for that...

I have these same issues. I thought I was strange or something and had some mental issues. One problem I have is that just above my stomach, I feel a little bloated and then tend to crouch over. I then feel like I am getting tingley starting in my face and then in my chest. It usually happens when I am sitting up and when I lay down, it tends to go away. Is anyone else feeling this?

I recently had a panic attack in a shopping centre, which has since made me constantly aware of my breathing. I feel like I 'have' to breath and my body does not do it naturally. It really brings me down so much, as it almost feels like I cant live normally. When I feel I have to breath it almost feels uncomfortable to do so, silly really but I feel like I want to stop breathing - which I know is not possible. This in itself sends me into a panic attack.

I am trying hypnotherapy at the moment, but had no real results from this as yet.

I'm open to any suggestions as this is beginning to ruin my life.

All the best to everyone, and thanks.

i have similar problems with my breathing. i found it hard to take deep breaths and the more i thought about it, the harder it was to breathe. i couldn't run for more than 6 minutes before having to stop completely. i went through about 4 months of therapy first before approaching the idea of medicine. try therapy if you haven't, it might help. my theory is that a lot of my problems were caused from anxiety, which therapy helped to reduce. at least give it a fair try (going once doesn't count as a "fair try") and if it doesn't work, try something else. everyone's different...gotta find something that'll take your mind off your breathing. i have been on paxil cr 37.5 for almost 4 months now. i would say that i suffer from constant anxiety and mild depression. the paxil has helped dramatically for my depression, pretty well for my anxiety and with all of that, i don't "have" to think about my breathing as much. try walking, or some kind of low intensity activity too. don't push it too hard and stop as soon as it gets harder to breathe. i have found cruising on my "old-granny" bike is great! good luck to everyone suffering from breathing trouble. i know what it's like and know that it seems like nothing will ever get better, but it will. but you can't just sit there and wait for it...

e.

Hello Everybody...I was just reading all these postings and I feel like I'm reading about myself!! I have had panic and anxiety attacks for the past year and they just stopped in January and all of a sudden I'm very in tune with my breathing also!! I yawn and sigh alot and sometimes I just feel breathless!! I'm a nurse(RN) so I have been to the Dr and had an echo of my heart and a chest x-ray and they were all normal!! I was addicted to xanax last year for my panic attacks and I think that trying to come off xanax was worse than the anxiety, it actually intensified it!! I've tried Lexipro, Paxil and Cymbalta but I'm trying to get pregnant so I stopped the meds!! I've been exercising and that seems to help and like you said if you don't think about it, it goes away!! So I'm glad I found this posting, I'm going to try the gum chewing and just reassuring yourself that everything is going to be OK helps too...No negative thoughts, they make it worse!! So take care everyone and remember "Life isn't about how many breaths you take...It's the moments that take your breath away..." JENNY

Hi!

I have end-stage emphysema and am quite familiar with shortness of breath (SOB). I don't have to tell you guys that what you are suffering are panic attacks. My SOB is cause by panic as often as physical reasons. Hopefully I can give you some info and how to relieve the SOB problem.

First of all, you should learn pursed-lip breathing. Breathe in through your nose, now exhale through pursed lips like you were cooling the warm food on a baby's spoon. Breathe out for as long as you can (4 secs?) and repeat until you calm down. Always breathe out at least twice as long as you breathe in.

Secondly is diaphram breathing. A lot of us, myself included, never learned to breathe properly, using only our lungs and not our diaphrams. A good yardstick, although not infallable is whether or not your neck and shoulder muscles are sore after an attack. If they are really sore you are probably not diaphram breathing which eliminates these muscles from the equations.

If you search 'Pursed lip breathing" and "diaphram breathing" you will find more info on how to do it properly.

Hope this helps some of you,

Phil