So I have had on and off physical symptoms of anxiety for a few years now. 2 years ago I started having hand weakness/fatigue and it had been constant from then till now. Over the last 3 months I have noticed randomly that I am unconsciously holding my breath, and I do it very often especially when exerting energy and even when relaxing sometimes. And now for two months I have had issues with my muscles everywhere. My throat, legs, hands, stomach they all all feel weak and odd all the time. Like they don’t work much and my legs are so tight as well as my throat and stomach. It’s making it very hard to do normal things and was wondering if it’s possible anxiety could really be the reason for all this. Anyone ever have anything like this?
Anxiety causing hold breath? And muscle symptoms?
- Thread starter Ldubbs
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I'm not sure if you have been seen by a doctor but that might be a way to calm your fears. Sounds a lot lot anxiety to me. Trust me, I've had so many bouts of feeling weakness in various parts of my body and strange sensations everywhere that I would focus on and then they just get worse. I have gone through times of feeling like I can't swallow, weakness/shaking in legs and arms. People have reassured me on this forum about the difference between perceived weakness and clinical weakness, which would make walking up and down stairs impossible. It seems like as soon as I feel reassured about one symptom it seems to leave but something else replaces it! Sometimes being seen by a doctor helps calm my fear, sometimes not, but probably a good place to start. Almost certainly he will tell you its anxiety and then maybe you won't be so focused on it.
northern
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It's always good to get a checkup (if you haven't been to the doctor in a long time), but I've almost fainted plenty of times from accidentally holding my breath. I really don't have a clue why it's part of my symptoms, but what you're describing definitely sounds like anxiety/panic.
I've been to the doctor and gotten and EMG as well as chest x ray and they were normal. I haven't gotten more tests, but it's just so debilitating. Standing up, walking, breathing, eating, everything has become difficult. My whole body feels tight, frozen, weak, and out of sorts like all day and I can't tell if it's from me holding my breath so often mixed with anxiety, or something else. It's just hard to imagine it lasting this long. I've had the hand pain for almost 2 years and the rest of these symptoms for 2 months+
northern
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This may sound backwards... but have you done any moderately challenging exercise - like running or cycling? I've found that if I force myself to do it, my breathing becomes more normal, and my muscles relax from being tired. Being exhausted beats being worried (at least for me). There's some chemicals released by your body that are helpful, too.
I guess the best thing you can do, is control breathing and do breathing exercises.
I too do this holding my breath thing. I do it without even knowing it at times and almost get dizzy. After having my son two and a half years ago I developed tics. I was beyond myself in stress. Working a full time job at home and caring for a newborn for my first time. I still work at home, but he is now a toddler. Very hard. The tics became bad! I went down this spiral of feeling like I was losing it. I thought I had PANDAS/PANS, or Tourettes. The more I focused on them or the more people stared at me the WORST it got. I never was one to do this all throughout my childhood or early adulthood. I had also developed Graves Disease 6 months after having him and this ALL fueled everything to my breaking point. HA got BAD for me. I am now almost a full year in without tics and holding my breath. I somtimes catch myself holding my breath but it stops when I tell myself "STOP IT NOW". It can get better as long as you let it and want it. Stop focusing on it. Depending on where you are from.. what helped me with the holding my breath, I would put Vick's vapor rub on my chest. Something about tricking my mind with the menthol helped me breathe clearer and focus on that versus holding it. It is weird, but it worked!
Anxiousmama124
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It’s called hyperventilation syndrome. Super interesting. Do you ever get numb/tingling sensations in your abdomen also?
Scared1234
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Did you have only one tic or several? I am currently concerned my child might be developing Tourettes. He says he has “habits.”
Yes, I noticed I held my breath. It’s likely a result of being hyper tense. You wouldn’t believe what anxiety can do to the body. It took me about two years of daily meditation to relax my muscles enough so my lungs could expand. After I started acceptance method, things are looking much better. I go along with everybody here, if you haven’t had a checkup recently, it would be a good idea to get one. However, I think it’s also possible everything you describe could be from the anxiety. Nothing can replace a physical exam, that is number 1.