Anxiety and Breathing Problems

You are at the grocery store, and suddenly you start to sweat or shake and have problems breathing, because you just saw someone who brought back bad memories. Or, you may be in class and begin to hyperventilate as it gets closer to your turn to give a speech. Or, you are driving and start shaking and breathing heavily as you go over a bridge. These are all signs of anxiety and panic, which bring about physiological changes in the body, including breathing problems.

Natural Response

• When you get such a reaction, the body is only doing what the human body has been doing for thousands and thousands of years. It's called the "fight or flight syndrome." This protects humans and helps them survive in dangerous situations. You want to know when something may harm you in order to make the necessary response. If you are walking down the street at night, hear someone nearby and begin to worry and breathe more heavily, it's your body preparing to respond to the threat.

Anxiety Attacks

• However, not all such physical responses are healthy. Sometimes we react when there is not a problem, only the worry that there may be one. For example, some people worry that the plane is going to crash even weeks before going on a trip. They may get panic attacks that are so bad it is impossible to travel. Or, sometimes people get anxiety attacks and do not even know what is bothering them.

Immediate Response

• If you get an anxiety attack over a phobia, such as a spider, or a major worry about an unrealized fear and begin to hyperventilate or breathe very fast, you want to take immediate action. There is always the chance that you may become very dizzy and faint or black out. Sit down and start thinking about anything else but the reason for the attack. Ideally, these will be thoughts about something good in your life, like walking on the beach, or a good joke you recently heard. If not, think about colors or start adding and subtracting, anything to get your mind off the original thoughts. You can even count the breaths as they begin to subside. If your breathing does not slow down, get a paper bag and slowly breathe in and out of the bag.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

• One of the main ways to reduce anxiety or panic attacks that cause hyperventilating is called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This approach helps you gain control of your negative thoughts that are causing the anxiety or panic and to change your behavior or actions so that you begin to think more positive thoughts. CBT has been proven to be very successful in dealing with stress, anxiety and panic.

Journaling

• At first, you want to learn how to stop the unhealthy breathing. Eventually, with CBT or another form of therapy, you can learn what is causing the anxiety or panic attacks and reduce or eliminate them all together. One way is to keep a journal and jot down every time they occur. What was happening prior to the attack? Perhaps you remember a negative or fearful thought that entered your mind. Maybe you have been worrying for a day or two about something specific, and it finally came to the forefront. The more you are conscious of your thoughts, the more you can control them.