Anxiety Forum

[tinkerbell_11]

help how can i stop over breathing its hurting my chest now and my stomach muscles..its worse when i eat x

[Marston1]

Hi...

Ten years ago I suffered for four years with symptoms that the doctors could not identify. Most of them told me I was suffering with depression..I knew that wasn't the case. I had feelings of pressure in my head..and continued to say to my partner "I just want to open my ears and let the pressure out". I went from one consultant to another...endlessly...

Eventually I found a consultant in my local hospital who was able to identify that I was hyperventilating and had been doing so all that time. Four years..a heck of a time. This all started due to an unpleasant experience on the motorway.

I initially saw a chap who was connected to our heart hospital over here and he showed me some breathing exercises - I then attended several sessions of physio to maintain this method of learning to breath again.

The best thing to do is to lie on your bed. Place one hand on your chest - high up and one hand on your diaphragm ( just above your tummy button). The hand high on your chest should only move very slightly...barely moving at all...the hand on your diaphragm is the one to concentrate on. Breathe in to a count of 3 and out to a count of 4. The 4th count is a moment of pause. Breathe in and out of your nose as this slows the breathing. As you breathe in your stomach swells gently and as you breathe out your stomach sinks down again.

You can delay before you breathe in for one breathing cycle, up to 7 seconds as this allows the body to replace some of the carbon dioxide you have breathed out.

You should practice this for at least 15 minutes at a time - in a quiet place where you can be relaxed. A breathing pattern is established in this time.

If you are prone to panic attacks (you don't mention if you do)...always keep your shoulders down as you cannot maintain a rapid breathing pattern without raised shoulders assisting the action.

If you would like the paperwork that my physio gave me - I can always send to you....we would just need to work out how I get your address. I assume you are in the USA?

Hope this helps...