Anxiety Dyspnea: what is it and how to deal with it?

The anxiety It can manifest itself in the body in different ways, all very unpleasant: sweating hands, palpitations, feeling dizzy or tired, among others. One of the most common symptoms of anxiety is the feeling of having difficulty breathing properly. Feeling that there is a lack of air or that it enters the body incorrectly is a very uncomfortable experience for the person who suffers it.

What is anxiety dyspnea?

There is a clinical term that covers a wide spectrum of symptoms related to the subjective perception of having difficulty breathing: dyspnea. Although it is important to note that there are many medical causes that could underlie dyspnea and therefore it is always important to consult with a doctor—such as asthma, pneumonia, or physical deconditioning—there is a possibility that it is a consequent symptom of the anxiety. In this article we will see what it is based on anxiety dyspnea and a specific strategy that a person with breathing difficulties of this type can implement.

• Related article: "Respiratory system: characteristics, parts, functions and diseases"

The message of anxiety

At first glance, the impulse that a person feels when he perceives that he cannot breathe properly due to anxiety is to I want this taken away from me, right now, as if it were a flea clinging tightly to the chest and refusing to get away from there. It is common for patients or consultants to transfer this request to the psychologist even from the first session, which is completely logical and valid.

No one in this world wants to feel bad. But there is a problem: whether we want to or not, in certain specific situations —in difficult conversations, when faced with dilemmas in which that we do not know what to do, faced with losses... - we will end up anguished, angry, saddened, and of course, feeling anxious.

We can't escape the pain, but that sentence isn't too bad either. Painful emotions are also helpful. Anxiety is an emotion common to all human beings., is normal and adaptive, since it warns us of the existence of a real or hypothetical danger that could cause us harm. We can notice this emotion through certain bodily sensations, such as the sensation of suffocation or obstruction when breathing, which we could group within dyspnea if we wanted to use a medical vocabulary. All this package comes to tell us something: that we are human and that behind that pain there are things that affect us and very probably that we also care about. Anxiety informs us, it can be a great messenger, as it could signal to us that there are obstacles or threats standing between us and what we want.

• You may be interested in: "Types of Anxiety Disorders and their characteristics"

The problem is not anxiety or dyspnea, but what we do with them

Each and every one of us feels anxiety. The problem is that, many times, we react immediately to what we feel without pondering what is the best way to respond to a situation, or without considering what behavior would bring us closer to where we want to go. In fact, many people tend to act with the aim of fleeing from these unpleasant emotions.

Let's see it with an example. Juan and Martín, Luciano's two best friends, invite him to the movies that night. Luciano agrees, because how was he going to say no, if it is the premiere of the last film in the saga of which the three are fans. But Luciano knows that the room will be full, which makes him very anxious. Just imagining sitting for almost two hours in a place with so many people makes it hard for him to breathe. For that reason, at the last moment, Luciano decides to make an excuse not to go. That relieves him of the feeling in his chest that accompanied him throughout the afternoon. Now Luciano feels good. But after a while, when he sees the photos of his friends who did go to the movies, he thinks about how much he would have liked to see the movie and share that moment with them. In other words, Luciano avoided anxiety by deciding to stay home. In the short term he felt better, but in the long run he paid a price for it.

We repeat, Luciano's behavior is understandable. No one in this world wants to feel bad. Emotions, as well as our thoughts, can provide us with information about our life stories, who we are, our values, and the world in which we live. The key is that It is often our emotions and thoughts that command where we are going in our lives and not us.. Continuing with our situation, Luciano could have made the decision, even in the presence of that anxiety, going to the cinema since there was something valuable in that action (being a friend present, for example). Of course, this hypothetical situation has its limitations —very likely that exhibition for Luciano would have required a graduation— but it is enough to illustrate the following idea: Running away from the physical sensations that accompany our emotions can make them disappear, but only for a short period of time. time. And, as if that were not enough, in that task we end up moving away from what is truly valuable to us (in the case of Luciano, his friends).

A specific strategy for those who suffer from dyspnea due to anxiety

We have the possibility to decide how we want to act even in the presence of unpleasant emotions such as anxiety. When someone feels that they are having difficulty breathing properly, they are likely to have an overriding urge to eradicate that physical sensation from their body. However, this is where it could be useful to implement strategies of acceptance of the emotion and the sensations that accompany it. This implies noticing them, making room for them in our body, allowing them to appear without resisting or judging them. Mindfulness practices serve this purpose: it is not about eliminating or reducing them, but about being aware of what we feel at that precise moment to decide how to act in accordance with our values ​​and not in a way automatic. In other words, we don't want to eradicate breathlessness or alleviate anxiety, but rather accept them so that we can take valuable action even in the presence of them. Next, we leave a series of instructions that can be used to draw attention to anxiety instead of avoiding it:

Sit in an upright but comfortable position, on the seat bones. You can close your eyes if you want. Feel how the air enters and leaves your body. Choose the place where you feel the breath the most: the nostrils, the chest, the abdomen. It is an anchor to the present. You don't have to like the feeling, don't judge it, just let it happen as it is happening.

Is there a place in the body where you feel that difficult emotion? That emotion, does it have a form? Which? Weight? Do you have a temperature? Color? Try to bring your breath to that place. How does it feel? Has something changed or not? Is there something this emotion wants to tell me? Is it worth acting on that message, or not? What should I do?

Practicing this exercise can help train you to accept the physical sensations of anxiety.. Practicing regularly is key to keeping an open mind about emotions. In any case, if the practice of this and other exercises is very difficult or if the dyspnea is very disabling, consulting a therapist may be of great help to move forward.