Anxiety and shortness of breath: why does it happen?

Anxiety and shortness of breath almost always go hand in hand. Pressure in the chest, the feeling that there is not enough air reaching the lungs, dizziness, tachycardia… Many people experience this reality frequently, especially if they have been in a state of high stress and anxiety for quite some time. For what is this? What explains it?

The truth is that psychology and psychiatry have been analyzing for years how cognitive and affective processing mediates these types of psychological conditions. However, the way in which these disorders impact on a physiological level sometimes escapes us. In fact, The symptoms associated with anxiety are so broad and diverse that they never cease to surprise us.

However, Regarding dyspnea (shortness or difficulty breathing), it is a well-understood phenomenon that is worth delving into.. It is important that people who suffer from this type of clinical entities know the mechanics of this symptomatology to understand what is happening to them.

Knowing what is normal and that they are not suffering, for example, a heart attack is always helpful.

Anxiety and shortness of breath: symptoms, causes and therapeutic measures

Breathe. Nothing is so simple for us, to the point that we barely stop at this process. However, few physiological mechanisms are so complex and require so many organs, systems and multiple corners of the body. For a start, Breathing is a very intense muscular process, one where a direct connection with the autonomic nervous system is also needed.

Likewise, another aspect that sometimes escapes us is the intimate relationship that all these systems have with the emotional state. What’s more, studies such as the one carried out at Uppsala University, for example, have found a direct relationship between emotional states. such as depression and anxiety in the development of dyspnea or breathing problems. It is important to consider how psychological problems impact respiratory processes.

Let’s delve into more aspects.

What are the symptoms of anxiety and difficulty breathing?

People who suffer from this psychological condition usually agree on one fact. Many describe feeling slight pressure in the chest throughout the day.. It’s not painful, but it is annoying. It is like a kind of burning that sometimes prevents them from breathing normally.

Now, there are moments in which when the level of emotional and physiological activation is higher, it is common to experience tachycardia. The feeling of suffocation becomes more intense and the person has the sensation of not being able to breathe. We feel more heat in the chest.These symptoms become more intense during panic attacks.That discomfort in the chest or the feeling of not being able to finish breathing causes continued fatigue. Breathing problems can intensify at night, leading to insomnia.There is also a feeling of a lump in the throat.Weakness and dizziness are common.Stomach upset may occur.Symptoms are added to breathing difficulties or dyspnea.

What causes these breathing problems when you suffer from anxiety?

The reason why we usually experience such high symptoms with anxiety has an explanation. And it doesn’t stop being interesting. Research works such as those carried out at the University of San Diego by Dr. Martin Paulus explain it to us:

Anxiety is an emotional state associated with a cognitive component. That is, the person experiences worry, fear or anguish in the face of a real or imagined threat, when faced with something that it interprets as dangerous. When this happens, the autonomic nervous system reacts, causing changes in the respiratory process.The brain interprets that you have to flee or react to that danger. Then, the body prepares for it. The first thing it will do is send more oxygen to the muscles. To do this, it restricts what reaches the lungs. Given that event, the heart responds by beating faster to pump more blood to those muscles which, ultimately, must help us react and escape. Soon we feel heat in our chest, tension in our extremities, and trouble breathing.

On the other hand, A phenomenon associated with anxiety and difficulty breathing is hyperventilation.. This is a common reality among people who suffer from panic disorders, phobias or generalized anxiety. The origin of this physiological event is excessive breathing.

Hyperventilating or breathing too quickly alters the balance between O2 and CO2, the first rising and the second reducing. Faced with this reaction, the brain interprets that to solve it, it is best to stop breathing for a few seconds, hence the feeling of suffocation.

What strategies should we put into practice?

We know that there is a link between anxiety and difficulty breathing. What coping mechanism should we use to reduce this effect and feel better? In these situations, you only have to be clear about one aspect: Dyspnea, tachycardia, muscle or stomach pain are only psychosomatic symptoms of a problem.

The key in all cases is to confront one’s own anxiety and the disorder that orchestrates it. To do this, these types of treatments and resources will be helpful to us:

Cognitive-behavioral therapy, with which to transform irrational thoughts into rational ideas, manage emotions and establish more appropriate behaviors.Acceptance and commitment therapy techniques. They are suitable for accepting what we cannot control, working on our values ​​and prioritizing needs.Drug therapy. In some cases, it will be necessary to resort to anxiolytics.Diaphragmatic breathing is the most beneficial to learn to regulate our breathing.The technique Jacobson’s progressive muscle relaxation or Schultz’s autogenic training are also very positive.

To conclude, it is only worth pointing out one aspect. Anxiety is an enemy that threatens to increase its incidence in the coming months and years. We know what its mechanisms are and how it alters the quality of life. There are multiple strategies to learn to live with it without suffering: let’s put them into practice.

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