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...
My primary care physician says that my shortness of breath all the time is just hidden anxiety. I have schizoaffective disorder with panic disorder with agoraphobia. I know when I feel anxious and I didn't think i was anxious until Friday when she said this. Now every time I get out of breath I think ok where am I? what am I thinking? who is with me? And see a stressed out/nervous pattern. I didn't even know it. GO FIGURE! haha. I bought a DBT workbook for anxiety that I am working through. And have been doing deep breathing exercises. Has this happened to anyone else?
I am a breath holder. I hold my breath for everything. Even if my computer screen is loading slowly...I hold my breath. This was something I learned to do when I was being sexually abused as a child. The automatic reaction to dealing with pain or anticipation of pain is to hold our breath. I carried that into every part of my life. Many years before I even remembered the abuse I worked with a therapist who taught me deep belly breathing and how to catch myself when I was holding my breath and do my breathing exercise. This worked to a point for me but it was remembering the abuse that actually put an end to this 'habit' I had.
So glad you are becoming more aware of when this is happening to you. You are well on your way to resolving it for good!