Breathing Issues - Mental or Physical?

Mental health
1

Hello,

Since the turn of the year, I have been experiencing various problems with my breathing.

Shortly after New Year, I first became aware of these issues. The best way I can describe it is that I feel that I constantly need to take a deep “satisfying” breath otherwise my breathing will become very shallow - almost as if i am not fully filling my lungs as I inhale. Basically every morning since the new year, I’ve woken up in a coughing fit that just drags on until I shower and blow my nose. After that I will just have this awareness/feeling that I need to take a deep breath constantly throughout the day and feel heart palpitations regularly throughout. I regularly wake up in the middle of the night feeling exactly like this - this worries me as I fear that it is not anxiety causing it but something else as I haven’t had the chance to think about it.

I initially panicked as these feelings was totally alien to me when it first occurred so I went to hospital and they tested for COVID19, took a chest x-ray and an ECG and all came back clear. I have visited my GP twice since then and he thinks it is due to anxiety, having taken the pulse oximeter test and another ECG. I originally thought it was some form of delayed side affect from damaging my back in November (which was debilitating but have since gained majority of movement, although pain still lingers - I was not able to get diagnosed for this injury as it was a phone consultation but was prescribed cocodamol and diazepam (which i didnt use).

On recommendation from my doctor, over the last few months I have been reading CBT books, practicing mindfulness, various techniques for breathing, yoga, running/cardio and had previously been prescribed propanolol but nothing seems to be having an effect.

I feel like i need to speak to a doctor again/be checked for other reasons this may be happening but fear I may be wasting their time.

I am male, 27 years old, 6’4, average weight and a generally shy/anxious person

I suppose my main questions are should I be worried about something more physical than purely anxiety, should I return to the doctor to see if there is anything else they can do to help and is there anyone else that has experienced this before.

2

since you have been thoroughly checked out by the doctors, all signs point to anxiety. anxiety can make it seem as though things are worse than they actually are. I have had this my entire life with every symptom you can think of.
if you return to the doctor and they feel that you are OK other than your anxiety, they are not going to be able to do much. Other than prescribe medication. or visit a counselor.unfortunately doctors don’t know that much about anxiety.
My suggestion to you would be to find a counselor to get some help managing your anxiety. It really helps to talk to somebody else who knows how to help. You could do it in person or virtually. I do that once a week and it’s very helpful and I look forward to it. this is very difficult to try and do alone. Because one of the reasons is our minds tend to wander and go to the negative when we are alone.
you need some support with this.
you could spend lots of money going from doctor to doctor and still ending up with the same conclusion.
anxiety May not go away 100% for some people but they can learn how to manage it much better so that they feel a lot better.
take One day at a time, don’t overthink things because that makes everything worse, stay focused and positive. You are doing the right things by getting exercise and practicing meditations.
You are going to be OK just see if you can get that help with a counselor. Whenever you can practice calming down your mind and talking to yourself in a positive way! I do hope you feel better soon

3

Thanks Jan - this is something that the doctor mentioned as a potential solution should the problem persist. I think I have progressed slightly with self help CBT etc but I would definitely feel more comfortable having some support from a therapist.

Thank you again for your response.