Chronic hyperventilation and anxiety. Two different things, which are very strongly connected. Hyperventilation and anxiety are often mentioned in the same sentence, but why is that? No one wants to live in fear, it feels terrible, it’s stressful and it causes hyperventilation. Fortunately, there are solutions to this problem.
(Chronic) hyperventilation versus anxiety
If you look for information about hyperventilation, you will often see the word fear in the same sentence. Hyperventilation is the result of anxiety and stress, with one complaint often leading to another. Fear therefore leads to hyperventilation, and the resulting complaints understandably lead to more fears. Before you know it, you end up in the cycle of hyperventilation versus anxiety. And getting out of there again is a major daily struggle for most patients.
Fear
Everyone is afraid sometimes. When danger threatens in any way, being afraid is a completely normal reaction of the human body. This is what you call a realistic reaction. Every person experiences different fears. You have people who are not easily anxious, and who only react when there is immediate danger. Other people have separation anxiety, fear of heights or are afraid of spiders. Fear has a function: to warn! It’s a different story if the fears you have are not real or threatening. Then a certain fear is out of proportion to the actual danger. At this point panic often develops. If you are often so anxious that you panic, this is commonly referred to as a panic disorder. An anxiety or panic attack can be so frightening that some people simply do not dare to go out on the street after such an attack. Or they avoid situations in which they have had an attack. As a result, another phobia develops, for example, fear of the street. You feel terrible and the way out seems far away. When you realize that your fears are not realistic, the first step has already been taken. Then seek help as soon as possible. The sooner you do something about it, the sooner you will feel better and the shorter the road to recovery.
Symptoms
Anxiety can literally be terrifying. And of course that creates even more anxiety. Your breathing will speed up. There are many symptoms you can get from this. For example, people have fear of breathing, fear of swallowing, fear of walking, palpitations, hot flashes, nausea and constantly accelerated breathing.
Chronic hyperventilation versus anxiety
People who are often anxious always (chronically) breathe too fast. They are now also victims of chronic hyperventilation. This puts your body completely out of balance. Your accelerated breathing signals to your brain that there is danger. Your body is immediately put on high alert. This causes your body to produce adrenaline. However, there is no danger at all. If you breathe too fast for a long time, this will affect your organs and nervous system. Anxiety is controlled by your nervous system.
The nervous system has a parasympathetic and sympathetic part. The parasympathetic part ensures calmness and relaxation, it ensures that you are at ease. Your heart rate is calm and your organs and muscles feel fine due to sufficient blood supply. The sympathetic part causes fear and tension. Your heart rate increases and you start to overbreathe. If you do this for a long time, complaints will arise.
Hyperventilating once in a while can do no harm, but as soon as it becomes chronic the sympathetic nervous system will increasingly take on the leading role. Your body is increasingly using the sympathetic nervous system. The result is that you will become anxious more quickly and easily, and you will constantly feel very restless. This takes a lot of energy, which often makes people with chronic hyperventilation versus anxiety feel weak and tired. which often results in chronic fatigue. The complaints pile up, you become exhausted both physically and mentally.
Staff
You have lived with fears long enough, every day is one too many. First try to check with a doctor, he can determine whether you are chronically hyperventilating. He can often do this by measuring your carbon dioxide content in a simple way. Try not to immediately settle for ‘it’s all in your head’, or tranquilizers. These remedies work against fears and depressed feelings, but they do not remove the core of your problem. You can take them temporarily as prescribed by a doctor to help you get back to your life, but don’t forget to seek further help. When you stop taking these medications, your body will be on edge again within a few days. If you have not addressed the cause, you will end up back at square one. It’s okay to ask for help, take good care of yourself, you deserve it!
