Everyone gets anxious at some point in life. However, some people experience intense fidgety feelings that even affect their daily functioning. Such a symptom is typical for an anxiety disorder.
Although anxiety symptoms vary from person to person, many people with this medical disorder experience shortness of breath. Patients often attribute breathing problems to physical causes rather than mental issues like anxiety.
So, does anxiety cause shortness of breath? Is it dangerous? And what can be done to manage it? In this post, let’s understand how you tell if shortness of breath is from anxiety and what techniques you can use to relieve such feelings.
Note: Regardless of the cause, if your shortness of breath gets worse or becomes severe, seek emergent medical care.
Can Breathlessness Be Caused by Anxiety?
Long-term stress has a variety of negative effects on both physical and mental health, and vice versa. For instance, long-term stress may cause anxiety, which can interfere with breathing. However, respiratory issues like dyspnea may also make one feel anxious.
Breathlessness may not be harmful if it is brought on by worry rather than a medical condition. However, as soon as the symptoms appear, a visit to the doctor is important.
What’s the Relationship Between Breathing and Anxiety?
The body goes into fight-or-flight mode to protect itself when an individual is in danger or faces other frightening circumstances. Usually, the response causes emotional and physical shifts that make you want to fight or flee. Until it becomes excessive in relation to the perceived threat, the body’s natural reaction to danger is healthy.
Heart palpitations and altered breathing patterns are a few of the bodily reactions that occur during the fight-or-flight response. When the body is ready to run or battle, the heart rate often rises to ensure that more blood reaches the muscles. In a similar vein, breathing deepens and quickens to enhance oxygen delivery to the tissues. Breathlessness is a common side effect of these changes, and you may have feelings of suffocation, hunger for oxygen, or difficulty breathing. Even chest stiffness might happen sometimes.
The Particulars of Breathlessness Caused by Anxiety
Breathlessness and other symptoms are unrelated to the danger, even if they happen to protect you during the fight-or-flight reaction. For example, you could go to the grocery store and all of a sudden feel worked up and nauseous. When you’re not in danger, your body reacts as if you are.
What then is the sensation of dyspnea due to anxiety? In addition to feeling out of breath, you may also experience the following:
In the event of a danger, these reactions are crucial to your survival. On the other hand, breathing difficulties and other anxiety-related symptoms happen while doing regular everyday tasks like giving speeches in public or presenting at work.
How to Handle Breathlessness
Pay attention to your breathing to eliminate dyspnea brought on by worry. To regulate the quantity of oxygen that reaches the lungs, pay attention to the breathing rhythm.
One relaxing method that might assist you in controlling your breathing is diaphragmatic breathing. With this method, you control the amount of air you inhale and exhale by using your diaphragm rather than your chest or mouth, as is often the case.
You should: in order to learn diaphragmatic breathing
Whenever you have dyspnea due to anxiousness, repeat the cycle for five to ten minutes. Diaphragmatic breathing is something you can master with everyday practice. It may appear challenging at first, but with regular practice, it becomes more easy and natural.
Whenever you have dyspnea due to anxiousness, repeat the cycle for five to ten minutes. Diaphragmatic breathing is something you can master with everyday practice. It may appear challenging at first, but with regular practice, it becomes more easy and natural.
This kind of relaxation reduces anxiety-related dyspnea by:
Note: Nasal breathing is a more effective way to relieve anxiety-related dyspnea or hyperventilation than mouth breathing.
Additional methods for reducing anxiety and the resulting dyspnea include:
In addition to these treatments for anxiety-related dyspnea, think about seeing a mental health specialist for long-term coping techniques.
In conclusion
As was already said, worry and lack of breath can happen to each other. In turn, anxiety can make it hard to breathe. If you are short of breath and have other mental signs like anger and a fear of losing control, it is likely that you are suffering from anxiety. You can change these reactions by learning how to breathe through your belly and using other calming methods.