the physical effects of intense anxiety

[assj]

Hi there,

I'm currently feeling quite awful. I've had shortness of breath since yesterday. 😞 I'm wondering if shortness of breath or maybe low blood pressure is a sign of experiencing an intensely anxious period?

My grandpa passed away last week. I had to fly to my hometown and back, and I'm a nervous flyer. I had panic attacks on both flights. I had my period while I was in my hometown and it was a particularly bad one. I was in a lot of pain. On top of that I am grieving. I feel very fatigued.

When I got home yesterday I smoked a small bit of marijuana, i thought it would help me calm down. Since then I've had shortness of breath while holding conversations. It feels like I need to take a deeper breath and I can't laugh too hard without feeling lightheaded. As of yesterday I officially quit smoking it because I don't think it helps me 😕 I only have it once or twice a year anyway.

I can't tell if this breathing thing is an anxiety issue after such an emotional week or from smoking 😞 I'm healthy other than having anxiety and OCD. Any thoughts? I've never reached out on a forum before O:

[DarkSunshine]

Hi assj,

Welcome to the forums. I'm sorry that you've been caught in such a place lately, wishing you well and hoping things get easier from now onward.

Have you tried seeing or contacting your local GP - if that's not possible then maybe try taking the online tests for anxiety and etc.

I'm not very good at giving advice but i'm just here before someone else comes along to give you some proper advice and support just to welcome you to the forums and to let you know; you can lay your burdens on us if you need.

Congratulations on quitting smoking, it's a very hard thing to do and we are all very proud (and hopefully you are too) that you have managed to take that extra step to making yourself healthier.

Best wishes, DarkSunshine

[assj]

Thank you! It's been a while since I've spoken to any mental health professionals because of work and... well most of the time I'm ok 🙂

I hope to feel better soon. I don't know how long it takes to heal from grief.

[_bethy94]

Hi assj,

My condolences over losing your grandfather, losing a grandparent is tough (I've been there). The thing with grief is we all process it in different ways, there's no right or wrong approach.

Whenever I have felt anxious, I've felt my breath get shorter, so from personal experience I would say it's likely due to anxiety? I'm not a doctor and I think you should see your GP if this persists, however if I can offer some personal anecdotes I will try my best to.

I've also casually smoked in social situations and that's never left me short of breath thereafter - hence why I believe it could be anxiety driven.

See your doctor if it persists, that way you'll be treating the anxiety and breathing shortness together. Two birds, one stone 🙂

Best wishes.

[44Max44]

Hi Assj, first off my deepest condolences for your loss, my grandpa passed away when I was very young and I didn't really know him at all, but I can imagine how you must be feeling.

I too suffer from anxiety, and shortness of breath is a super common symptom I get when I'm feeling anxious, especially if I smoke marijuana. I find myself hyperfocused on my breathing, and I think 'am I getting enough air? I don't think I'm getting enough air...' and it feels kind of hard to breathe, so I start taking really deep breaths to calm myself down, but in reality, you are getting enough air and are completely safe.

One thing that stuck with me in one of The Anxiety Guy's videos on YouTube (highly recommend) is that your body won't allow you to not get enough air, breathing is automatic and the only reason you're feeling like you aren't getting enough air is because you've kicked your breathing into 'manual' mode. Even in the very very low chance that you actually passed out from your anxiety symptoms (due to hyperventilation or something), you'd continue to breathe on just fine. You need to be confident with your body and know that it's sole purpose is to keep you ticking.

Replace all these irrational thoughts that make you think you're having shortness of breath with knowledge and facts, as in knowing that what you are feeling is just a symptom of anxiety and is not actually dangerous.
I'd also try to stay away from marijuana whenever you're feeling particularly anxious because more times than not it will just potentiate the symptoms (in my experience). Also, try to keep yourself occupied, because when you're thinking about doing something and not focusing your mind on your symptoms, you'll find that those symptoms disappear almost as if it's magic, but the problem is the second you 'check' those symptoms again and get your mind back on them, they'll magically re-appear, further proving to yourself that they are placebo.

I hope this helps you out because I've been in your position before where I thought I was going to stop breathing or something, but it never happened, and most likely never will in my or your lifetimes.