Sometimes I feel as though I’m going to suffocate when I’m panicky and anxious, like I can’t get enough air. What do I do?

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People who suffer from panic and anxiety attacks sometimes feel as though they “can’t get enough air” during these attacks. It is always a good idea to be checked medically for questions of this nature. If medical tests fail to show any physical basis for the problem, often the problem is due to a subtle level of hyperventilation which occurs outside of awareness. By subtle, I mean that the number of breaths per minute might increase from an average of 15 to as little as 18 or 19.

Over a period of several hours, this may cause a bit too much carbon dioxide, the gas that helps keep our blood vessels inflated, to lose a bit of this inflation, hence the feeling of a lack of oxygen. This is a false alarm. There is plenty of air even if it feels otherwise. You aren’t going to suffocate or pass out as a result of mild levels of hyperventilation. The problem isn’t a lack of oxygen but a lack of carbon dioxide.

The fix? Close your mouth. Breathe through your nose. Not fast, not slow, not deep, not shallow, just normal and relaxed. Breathe through your nose in a normal way and at a relaxed, normal rate – even if you have to force yourself to do so – and wait for the feeling of oxygen deprivation to leave. This may take a few minutes or longer; and while you are waiting, tell yourself there is plenty of air and that nothing bad is happening to you whatsoever. Run this experiment several times and see for yourself that you are safe.

Tags: panic attack, anxiety

I am recommending several books and workbooks just below, almost all of which originate from the cognitive-behavior therapy literature because behavioral and cognitive therapists have done prolific research, spanning 5 decades, on this disorder and have pioneered a number of effective therapies described in the books just below.

Dr. Barlow is considered by many to be the top researcher on this topic in the world, and Dr. Burns is similarly admired and respected. I went to the same internship as did Dr. Pollard and can therefore recommend his book very, very highly…and I’m also including on the “A” list a book by Dr. Claire Weekes, who was an original pioneer in the area.

Also, please take a look at some of the selections below, which offer similar perspectives but in unique, helpful ways:

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 18th, 2007 at 9:19 pm and is filed under Panic Attacks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.