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Mysterious shortness of breath: What has helped you?
Lung Health | Last Active: Oct 23 10:20am | Replies (3405)Comment receiving replies
Ok so I’ve been having the same exact symptoms as you. I read someone say it can be caused my anxiety, I was on anxiety medication that helped get rid of my anxiety BUT the SOB was ALWAYS there. For the past 2 years now, 24/7 a day I struggle with this. My relatives they had the problems to but I dont recall any of the taking deep breaths frequently or yawning to take a satisfying breath. They told me they had it sometimes. That was no help since mine is a part of my life now. The only time I dont feel the erge to take a deep breath is when I am super busy and am not aware of my breathing. As soon as I sit down, it starts. I’ve seen every doctor every specialist. Ive seen a natural doctor, ive even went to see a omish doctor. I feel like giving up! I live with pain everyday due to me trying to stop myself from taking a breath over and over just to get stuck. When I stop myself i feel so much pressure in my chest and throat. I used to drink vinegar in the morning for my GERD and it helped me with the lump and the pressure in my throat, i stopped when they went away, but the SOB never went away. I stopped my anxiety medication and am having withdrawals which sucks because I hate being on medication. There’s literally only ONE more hope for me and that’s going to see a therapist who ONLY specializes in a technique called “The Alexander Technique” this technique helps with the posture of your body, it helps you get rid of bad habits we have gotten used to and now our mind THINK we need to take a deep breath, when in reality we DONT! The more i take the deep breaths my body tells me to, the more exhausted and out of breath I am. The one I will be traveling to is in North Carolina and she knows exactly what I am going through because she has helped MANY with this issue. Her own husband had this issue before they knew eachother and he went to her for this issue and we personally spoke and he had the same story as me over 10 years ago. Everyone who is physically healthy and has this issue, let me reassure you, its ALL in our heads. Its a bad habit we have taught our bodies to want and NOT need! Mine started after a panic attack and my body got used to my panic attacks and hyperventilation to the point where this is apparently the new “norm” for my breathing. But it isnt! We DONT need to take these breaths, Our bodies, don’t need it.
Replies to "Ok so I’ve been having the same exact symptoms as you. I read someone say it..."
@rigenadaku - This is very interesting that you say this. From your start to end I’m starting to feel you are 100% right. I don’t think doctors (plural) would ALL just dismiss everyone with anxiety if they had some doubt this might be stemming from something more serious or easily treatable. Their reputations are on the line and also this is what they do. I feel like you are sooooo right when you say this may be in our heads. I found that mine started after a recent bout with a little anxiety. I don’t get panic attacks or big anxiety attacks either. However, I was under a pretty decent amount of work stress and I am also a borderline hypochondriac. I found myself for about a week having to take deep breaths every 5-10 minutes or so and they felt amazing! But, shortly after this anxiety started to simmer down I found the need to continuously try to take these deep breaths and falling short almost like I “broke” them. The more I focused that I wasn’t getting that breath, the more I tried and hence SOB feeling kicks in, anxiety starts to spike but that great feeling doesn’t return because now it seems that’s what we are focused on. It’s an evil and cruel cycle and I believe this is definitely a mind game for most of us in here. I feel like when I’m occupied with things, talking on the phone or whatever I breathe like a normal person should....involuntarily!!! Focusing on your breathing is actually an OCD disorder as well. Just relax your mind and try to not think about the breathing and everything seems fine. You’ll also find that when you really do need a deep breath and your body shoots for one that it’s actually there. But and the keyword here is BUT....let your body do it naturally. How did your appointment turn out in North Carolina?
Hey, I also have this 24/7 feeling that I need to take a deep chest breath, but for me it’s been going on close to 8 years. And just like you, I contacted Simon, the man who wrote the article on the Alexander technique, and I am considering going to North Carolina to see his wife! This is horrible what we have to go through. I’m not ruling out physical causes yet, but I have this deep feeling that my body just forgot how to breathe properly because of really bad anxiety, and it’s just stuck like this - a never ending cycle impossible to get out of. I hope you see this message and let me know if you ever saw someone about the Alexander technique and if it helped you. It just seems so impossible to keep myself from taking that unnatural deep breath, it’s so deeply ingrained in me. Please get back to me thank you
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@rigenadaku- Good morning and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I am so sorry that you feel like things are pretty hopeless for you. I don't believe that's true. You are alive and trying very hard to cope with a pain in the butt symptom. Coping is an "alive" verb! You can't be dead and cope. Nope, you have to be alive.
I'd like to ask you how you came about taking vinegar for GERD? Have you been checked for ulcers?
I'm not a doctor so I can't tell you that what you plan as a treatment will work. If you read back on the posts you'll see that there have been all sorts of different causes. Please don't give up hope.
Please let me know, if you will, how the exercise training goes! I'm sure that a lot of us on here would benefit from learning more.