Anxiety Support Group

Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...

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Funny Breathing

cath04
cath04
My partner has bipolar and anxiety and recently has started doing what we call `Funny breathing'. It almost seems like she stops breathing for a few seconds and then takes great big heavy breaths for a few breaths before it settling back down again.

She saw her GP (PDoc) a few weeks ago about it and she said it probably is anxiety related as she is under a lot of stress at present. However when I got home from a night shift this morning, I noticed her even doing it in her sleep.

Has anyone else on here had the same problem? or experienced this at all. We are beginning to get concerned that it might not just be anxiety if she is doing it in her sleep.

She is soooo tired all the time, which again they have put down to the flare up in her arthritis at present, but could it be related?

Thanks
deleted_user
deleted_user
If she is doing it In her Sleep...that is Sleep Apnea, and Needs to be Addressed...while awake, sometimes when we get Anxious we Breath Shallow...ask her to sit down, Focus on "Belly Breathing" Good Oxygen ALL the way to the Lower Lungs...In thru her Nose...Out thru her Mouth...
deleted_user
deleted_user
Yes, I agree with DakotaRose, there are two seperate issues here. The shallow breathing while awake, and the necessity to take big breaths every now and agian is a classic sign of extreme anxiety. What she needs to do is very slow, but very deep breaths right down into her diaphram. She might also benefit from breathing based meditation tapes - they help a lot of people - she can do them anytime of the day. There are also other breathing techniques that a therapist could help her with.

Then there is the sleep apnea, which I also have myself, she needs to get a referral from her GP to a Sleep Clinic. If they agree Sleep Apnea is a posiibility, she wil stay in a sleep clinic overnight, with electrodes stuck to her head and they monitor her breathing all through the night. it sounds scarey but it isan;t at all - it's a very gentle process. In my case I was found to have sleep apnea and I must use a CPAP machine, which is basically a machine and mask which put oxygen into you nose, which a humidifier incorprated. Sleep Apnea is avery dangerous thing, as it can mean that the person (and this is me) stops breathing for significant amounts of time, until the body kicks in forces another breath. So you can imagine how that can affects heart health etc. She will defintely get a better quality of life and energy of she gets the sleep apnea addressed. It's very common, so tell her not to worry.