Help with air hunger - I have anxiety and feel like I can't breathe!

Summary

In this video, Howard Cooper shares his personal experience with 'air hunger,' a common symptom among those with anxiety, where individuals feel they can't breathe properly. He explains the connection between over-breathing, low carbon dioxide levels, and heightened sensitivity to air hunger. Offering practical advice, he introduces exercises to help reset the body's breathing patterns and increase tolerance to carbon dioxide. Cooper emphasizes the importance of shallow breathing, nasal breathing, and gradually training the body to manage mild air hunger. This approach not only addresses breathing issues but also reduces overall anxiety.

Takeaways

• 😀 Air hunger is a common symptom of anxiety, where people feel like they can't take a deep breath or get enough air.
• 😀 The feeling of air hunger can be frustrating and persistent, even after checking for physical issues like lung function or oxygen levels.
• 😀 Anxiety can lead to dysfunctional breathing patterns, such as over-breathing or mouth breathing, which worsen air hunger.
• 😀 Over-breathing lowers carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the blood, which makes the body more sensitive to small increases in CO2, triggering the urge to breathe.
• 😀 Just like alcohol tolerance, you can build your CO2 tolerance over time by gradually exposing your body to higher CO2 levels, without overdoing it.
• 😀 People struggling with air hunger should focus on shallow breathing rather than deep breathing exercises, which can exacerbate the problem.
• 😀 Learning to breathe through the nose (instead of the mouth) can help regulate air intake and reduce anxiety and air hunger.
• 😀 A 'control pause' test can help track your tolerance to carbon dioxide by measuring the amount of time you can hold your breath without discomfort.
• 😀 Start with manageable breath holds based on your control pause test, and gradually increase the duration over time to help your body adjust.
• 😀 Over time, improving your control pause can reduce air hunger and anxiety, creating a more stable and comfortable breathing pattern.

Q & A

What is air hunger, and how is it related to anxiety?

Air hunger refers to the feeling of not being able to take a deep breath, where a person feels they are constantly hungry for air. It's commonly experienced by individuals with anxiety, who may feel short of breath and have difficulty breathing properly due to dysfunctional breathing patterns, often worsened by over-breathing.

How can dysfunctional breathing patterns contribute to air hunger?

Dysfunctional breathing patterns, such as over-breathing or mouth-breathing, lower carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the bloodstream. This makes the body overly sensitive to any increase in CO2, leading to the feeling of air hunger. Over time, this sensitivity escalates, causing discomfort and difficulty breathing normally.

What was the author's personal experience with air hunger?

The author personally struggled with air hunger for years, feeling like they couldn't breathe no matter how deeply they tried to inhale. Despite having normal lung function and blood oxygen levels, the sensation of shortness of breath persisted, and common advice like doing breathing exercises only worsened their focus on breathing.

Why did breathing exercises not work for the author?

Breathing exercises caused the author to become overly focused on their breathing, which further intensified their awareness of the issue. This constant attention to their breath exacerbated the feeling of air hunger, making it difficult to regain a natural breathing rhythm.

What is the role of carbon dioxide in breathing?

Carbon dioxide (CO2) plays a crucial role in regulating the urge to breathe. When CO2 levels build up in the body due to physical activity or breathing, the body instinctively signals the need to breathe in order to expel excess CO2. This is a natural and essential process for maintaining healthy breathing.

How does over-breathing affect CO2 levels and the urge to breathe?

Over-breathing, especially when people focus on taking deep breaths during anxiety, causes excessive expulsion of CO2 from the bloodstream. This lowers CO2 levels, making the body more sensitive to even small increases in CO2, which then triggers a strong urge to breathe.

What metaphor does the author use to explain the sensitivity to CO2 after over-breathing?

The author compares the body's sensitivity to CO2 after over-breathing to the way some people react to alcohol. Just as individuals with low alcohol tolerance can become intoxicated with a small amount of alcohol, the body of someone with dysfunctional breathing becomes highly sensitive to CO2, causing an exaggerated response to even small increases in CO2 levels.

How can you gradually increase your tolerance to CO2?

To increase CO2 tolerance, you need to gradually expose your body to slightly higher levels of CO2. This can be achieved through controlled exercises like breath-holding techniques, where you progressively increase the duration of breath holds, allowing your body to adjust and become less sensitive to CO2 over time.

What is the control pause test, and how does it help measure CO2 tolerance?

The control pause test is a simple breathing exercise where you take a normal breath in and out through the nose, pinch your nose, and then measure the time until you feel a definite urge to breathe. This test measures how much CO2 your body can tolerate before triggering the need to breathe. A longer control pause indicates a higher CO2 tolerance.

What are some practical steps to address air hunger and improve CO2 tolerance?

To address air hunger, practice shallow, nasal breathing rather than deep, mouth breathing. You can also do regular breath-holding exercises, such as holding your breath for half the duration of your control pause and repeating this for a couple of minutes multiple times a day. Over time, this will gradually increase your CO2 tolerance, reducing air hunger.