Lately since today morning, I have been feeling anxious about forgetting to breathe..I feel that if I don't keep breathing consciously I will forget to breathe and die.. it's been bothering me entire day...I know it sounds ridiculous...but is this also anxiety? Happened to anybody else?
Conscious breathing anxiety...
- Thread starter FaithAsh
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He Man
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Faith, I started getting conscious breathing about 5 or 6 years ago. It happens to me about 4 or 5 times a year, each episode lasting 2 or 3 days at a time. It is brutal.
I'm not afraid that I'll stop breathing, but it makes falling asleep difficult.
I manage it by staying busy, which often distracts my focus on breathing. And after a couple days, my mind relaxes & life returns to 'normal'. You may wanna examine potential triggers.. I eventually realized that bad arguments with my wife/kid usually trigger my conscious breathing.. so I've tried to de-escalate conflict to avert conscious breathing episodes.
It is a very strange, frustrating manifestation of stress & anxiety. And I think its technical description is sensorimotor obsession.
Cuchculan
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I think this goes hand in hand with the whole heart anxiety you were having the other day. Once we get that way with our breathing, it will continue to play up on us. But on the plus side, it is impossible not to breathe. No idea of the world record for holding the breath. But even that person finally did breathe. They had no choice. Try and find something else to focus on. Even if you carry a small object in your pocket. You feel your mind starting to stray, put your hand in your pocket and hold whatever small object you bring out with you. Is like using that object to bring you back to yourself. Another form of distraction really.
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Beautiful Disaster
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Our bodies breathe automatically. There is nothing we need to do consciously to make us breathe. Now we can consciously control our breathing especially to slow it down to help change the way we feel - from anxiousness to calm- but no matter how we change our breathing, our bodies are not going to let us stop breathing like that. The body needs to breathe and wants to breathe because it wants to keep you alive. Our focus on our breath, if not for good things like helping our nervous systems, is just another form of distraction (which was mentioned above) and yes is a common symptom of anxiety because when we feel anxious, we start looking for ways to distract ourselves. Hope this helps.
Jonathan123
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It's far from ridiculous, and can be frightening. You will never be able to stop breathing any more than you can consciously stop your heart. It's all automatic. Yes, I have had that and until I understood more I was very scared. It happens from time to time now, but I have learned to accept it as part of being a bit stressed. There is no way you can forget to breathe. Try stooping breathing and see what happens. You can only hold your breath for so long. Yes, it is anxiety.
Givethanks82
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OMG yes and it’s the worse! I remember when it first happened to me and I thought I was dying. Then it would happen when I would just think about my breathing! Once I realized it was my anxiety it stopped. Now if I feel it coming on it stops right when I tell myself it’s just my anxiety. Moral of the story… YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
Oh and you know what else helped! I would be fine sleeping so after I realized I could breathe in my sleep I knew it was anxiety!
earlaramos
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Whenever I get breathing issues I try to distract with something engaging like scrolling Instagram; sometimes it helps.
restlessduck
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Yeah. Last year it was so bad for me that the thought of not being able to breathe turned to me actually thinking I can't breathe and then to a panic attack for which I went to the ER. What I find helps my mind wander elsewhere is engaging, fast-paced FPS video games like Counter Strike: Global Offensive. Your mind starts to focus on the game and your character.