Hard to Breathe?
One of the major signs of anxiety is a difficulty breathing. When you try to inhale, it’s as if you can’t quite catch a full breath, because your chest feels a little tight. As you become aware of this it gets even more difficult and adds to your anxiety.
If you find it hard to breath or to get a full, satisfying breath, this is a tell tale sign of anxiety and if you’re experiencing it, you should do something about it before your anxiety intensifies and you begin to experience panic attacks and possibly panic disorder.
Before you can be sure that your difficulty breathing is anxiety related you should definitely go to your doctor and get a clean bill of physical health, just in case it is related to a serious respiratory problem.
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Often you’ll only really notice your difficult breathing when you’re alone, or in quiet surroundings. Most people report that it is most noticeable when trying to go to sleep at night. The only real short term solution is to try breathing exercises, but even this has mixed results because anxiety is not something that can be dealt with quickly. In any case, when you’re finding it hard to breathe, try this relaxation and breathing exercise, and hopefully it will ease your difficulty breathing a little.
The main goal of the breathing exercise is to relax yourself completely in the hope that your anxiety will subside in the short term. Lie down on your bed completely flat out, without your arms or legs crossed and your head back as far as possible. Breath extremely slowly through your nose. It should take you a count of 5 to take your inhalation. When inhaling, you should make sure it is a really deep breath and be conscious of your stomach expanding. Hold this breath for 5 seconds, and then exhale through your mouth, also taking 5 seconds. Finally, when you have exhaled, wait another 5 seconds before breathing in again. While you are doing this, try not to focus on your breathing as it is very possible that you will still struggle to catch a full breath at the start of this exercise and could get frustrated with yourself, making your anxiety levels higher.
Think instead about being in your favorite place, with your favorite person. Try to really feel everything in your day dream, notice your surroundings, feel the sun on your skin and the breeze in your hair. Continue the exercise for at least 10 minutes. This may feel like a long time, especially if you are not used to mediation and relaxation, but you need to give your subconscious the time to digest the relaxed environment you are in, so it will reward you with calm.
If you are still finding it difficult or this technique doesn’t work for you, you should probably try one of the dedicated program’s we have reviewed on the site. You can find our listing of the best anxiety self help guides here.