Stress Center Peer Support

Hello everyone. You all have been such a great source of help and information to me both here on the forums and in the chatroom so I want to start this thread with a huge thank you to everyone that has helped me.

My question is do any of you that have problems with the shortness of breath and panic attacks notice that if your house is opened up you don't notice the problem near as much as opposed to when the house is closed up and no fans are going. I am really having troubles being uncomfortable when the windows and doors are all shut and the fans are not going. Right now its to cool to have them opened or having the fans on but with no air movement I notice the stillness and stuffiness feeling so much more. I was just wondering if anyone else notices this also. When I have the a/c on during the warmer days I also have fans going so I am generally pretty comfortable but the past few days it has been way to cool to have the a/c on as well as having the windows and doors opened. With the fans off it just seems so still and stuffy and when I start dwelling on it it can really put me in a tailspin with the panic. Once I turn a fan on I am far more comfortable. If any of you prefer fans on for air movement as opposed to no fans and no air movement please let me know your story. I would appreciate it so much.

God bless,
Susan

Hi Susan, I feel the same way about the air temp. as you do. I'm glad you brought this up. At home I can deal with it alot more easily, but at work I constantly have a fan on me. My co-workers must think I'm nuts. If the temp seems ok and I shut the fan off, before I know it I'm in a "situation" and need it on again.
I just feel like there is not enough air to breathe. Of course there is not a lack of oxegen where I work, I know its all me but all the same I need MORE AIR!!! The worst is when there is a meeting in a conference room. They can be stuffy sometimes not to mention the thought of a meeting causes panic anyway. I can't wait for them to get over with!!
Yeah, so don't worry, your feelings are normal.
We'll get through this and laugh at ourselves, someday!! Stay positive and think happy thoughts!! God is always with you!!

Hi you two! I just now read your posts about having difficulty breathing inrooms that seem too warm and stuffy. I think that chances are very good that you are "overheating" due to your anxiety. Have you been doing your breathing exercises-2 seconds inhaling through the nose 4seconds exhaling with calming, positive talk to yourselves? Try to switch your focus from worrying about the room being too warm to slowing your breathing with Lucinda's breathing exercise. I can't believe how much it's helped lower my blood pressure-it's actually in a normal range! If you continue to have breathing problems I would suggest for your peace-of-mind, discuss it with your doctor,but I think once youlearn to deliberately slow your breathing,you won't believe how much better you'll feel. Good luck to both of you and God bless!

Interesting. I too find some meeting challenging? Why do you think that is the case for us. Any tricks you use that help the situation?

Great point about the breating excercise, I have definitely observed how it has lowered my BP. I went for a follow up Dr. appt last week and while waiting for the Dr., I did the breathing excercise for about a minute or so and my bp was the lowest it had ever been in the office. Even my Dr. remarked about.

Hi Y-Town! I'm not quite sure I understand your question about meetings- I'm assuming you mean being in social situations outside your own home;whether it be work,out shopping ,church,what have you. If this is indeed what you are referring to(and if I've misunderstood please forgive me),I will tell you I used to be an absolute wreck when I had to go Anywhere and just couldn't wait to get back home. Some years ago I had to go for a 4 hour glucose tolerance test. Since I didn't drive I had to stay at the lab the entire 4 hours to have my blood drawn every half hour-and I wasn't wild about that either! But I knew I had to do this so I made up my mind to make myself comfortable and basically pretend I was at home. I guess I faced my fears as Lucinda tells us we need to do and not run from them. I ended up chatting with the lab technician and the 4 hours went by very quickly. Despite the fact that I was being stuck with a needle 8 times I was relaxed and I felt at home away from home. From that day on, I have not let unfamiliar places make me uncomfortable-I just tell myself that I will feel "at home" and comfortable wherever I am.I hope this is of some help to you.

Dear Sadchatterbox
Why can't you leave the fans on even in the colder weather. I keep mine on all year round to circulate the air.

We do keep the ceiling fans on low to keep the heat closer to the floor but I was talking about regular floor fans. I like the feel of the air moving over me compared to not having any air movement at all. If I keep the heat up to 68 to 70 I can handle the fans going but we can't afford to run the heat so high and try to keep it down to around 65 or there abouts which is way to cold to have the floor fans going. Even if it's cooler in the house and not warm at all I hate not being able to feel some air movement. I don't know if its because I have had the fans going so much that I have become very used to them or what. I don't like the silence in my bedroom when I go to sleep because I have slept with the fan for years and do have to have it at night for both the air movement and the noise which is soothing to me. The older I get the worse I get when it comes to change and routines changing I don't like it at all. I don't know what the heck is my problem, this is the first year that this has bothered me so much.

Susan

Hi Susan,
It couldn't be that maybe you are approaching menopause'could it? Even if you are in your early forties you could be in perimenopause which could definitely account for you not tolerating warm temps well and needing to have the air moving. I remember about 7 years ago in the dead of winter as I was bustling around the kitchen, I got so hot and uncomfortable I opened the freezer part of the fridge and stuck my head in just to cool off.And even now I still get overheated quickly and have to turn on a fan and/or open a window pronto. I wouldn't worry about needing to run fans in order to be comfortable and to sleep. I know at least 3 people who sleep with a fan on every night and I don't think it's a big deal.And you know when you think about it, if you feel too warm, you are more likely to have a change in your breathing-I know I do when I walk out into the heat and humidity on a hot summer day.So running a fan to cool off makes perfect sense.As far as not liking change as you get older, this too is perfectly natural. Lucinda's Dr. Phillip Fisher says on the tapes ,as human beings, we are creatures of habit so when our routine(our comfort zone) gets shaken up, it can cause us some distress. I can't help but think of Lucinda's story about her son Sammy saying "no big deal Mommy,no big deal." Maybe we need to practice telling ourselves that same thing. Hope you're having a good day and take care!

Thank you for your replies everyone. Gale you know I never put two and two together but you may be right about the menopause being more of the problem than the anxiety. I started getting early signs of menopause in 1999 or 2000 with the hot flashes, changes in my monthly cycle, and mood swings. The hotflashes have gotten much worse as well as the mood swings but my monthly has basically same thing as ceased. I have watched various shows and read things that menopause can cause a whole lot of the same symptoms I have been having that I have been blaming on the anxiety/panic attacks. I am now wondering if this vicious cycle actually started with the menopausal symptoms and has been the majority of my problems. I will have to do some googling to see what I can find out. Thank you for opening my eyes to the similarities between the menopause and anxiety attacks.

God bless,
Susan