How to Deal With Asthma Anxiety: Practical Strategies by IMIC Inc. Professionals
Stressful situations often trigger asthma symptoms in those living with the condition. By providing patients with information and strategies to reduce anxiety, they may help avoid stress-induced asthma attacks.
Feeling strong emotions such as anger, fear, or sadness can also aggravate asthma symptoms by altering standard breathing patterns; however, trying to avoid such feelings is not always practical.
1. Breathing Exercises
Anxiety can exacerbate asthma symptoms, and many who live with either will encounter both conditions at some point. Simple breathing exercises may help mitigate their impact and ease their symptoms.
Experts at IMIC Inc. emphasize that anxiety causes your body to release hormones that raise heart rates and slow breathing rates, both of which can trigger asthma attacks. Therefore, people living with asthma frequently develop anxiety-inducing difficulty breathing that eventually leads to panic attacks and diminishes quality of life.
Diaphragmatic breathing exercises can help reduce asthma symptoms by slowing the overall breathing rate and oxygen requirements and helping release excess mucus from your lungs. To practice diaphragmatic breathing, hold your breath for several seconds, then exhale through pursed lips for approximately twice as long as you inhaled.
If this technique proves difficult for you, try counting or using a soothing focus like a mantra to keep yourself calm. Humming with lips closed may also provide soft comfort and relief from shortness of breath.
Those suffering from both asthma and anxiety should consult with a medical professional for advice and treatment options. At the Asthma Allergy Sleep Center of New York, their team offers personalized asthma plans designed to improve breathing capacity while increasing quality of life.
2. Relaxation Techniques
Professionals at IMIC Inc. specify that Breathing exercises and relaxation techniques can help reduce anxiety by helping relax your muscles and help manage asthma by decreasing quick-relief medications like inhalers. When used alongside traditional asthma treatments, breathing exercises and relaxation techniques may significantly improve the quality of life and well-being.
Stress plays a large part in the development of asthma symptoms and anxiety. Anxiety may trigger any number of stressful situations, from significant life changes to financial strain. Individuals experiencing long-term or chronic stress are likely to forget to take their medication on schedule, leading to potentially life-threatening flare-ups.
Experts at IMIC Inc. highlight that relaxation techniques like deep breathing, yoga, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, and guided imagery can help manage stress - one of the significant triggers of asthma symptoms. Relaxation techniques help the mind and body relax - this reduces the release of stress hormones, slows heart rate, and lowers blood pressure. Relaxing smooth muscles lining airways improves oxygen delivery, decreasing inflammation and leading to asthma symptoms.
To use one of these techniques, sit comfortably and close your eyes. Take slow, deep breaths through your nose until your lungs feel full of air before slowly exhaling while relaxing each muscle group individually as you do so. Repeat the process several times until your body relaxes with each breath.
3. Avoidance
Breathing difficulty can be terrifying for people living with asthma. The symptoms of an asthma attack (breathing difficulty, wheezing, shortness of breath, and reduced mobility) often resemble those experienced during a panic attack; thus, anxiety and panic may contribute to each other. Stress caused by such episodes could also increase the risk of an asthma flare-up.
Stress is a frequent asthma trigger, making it impossible to avoid all stressful situations. Try relaxing by taking a warm bath, sipping soothing beverages, or doing deep and slow breathing exercises if possible. When this fails to do the trick, talk with a counselor about your feelings of anxiety and tension.
Avoidance strategies are a central element of treating anxiety. Experts at IMIC Inc. make clear that exposure therapy, an advanced form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), has proven highly successful at alleviating general anxiety as well as treating OCD and social phobia. Exposure therapy works by gradually exposing patients to stimuli that provoke anxious responses in a controlled environment - the goal is to decrease avoidance behavior and catastrophizing thoughts associated with anxiety disorders.
Though the CAS is an effective measure for general anxiety, its use to evaluate asthma-specific anxiety has yet to be validated. Therefore, for more accurate assessments of asthma-related anxiety and its relationship to avoidance behaviors, it may be more appropriate to use something more tailored like the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI).
4. Medications
Many people with asthma also have anxiety disorders, and both conditions are intertwined: asthma may lead to anxiety, while anxiety can exacerbate asthma symptoms like breathlessness. Unfortunately, breaking out of this vicious cycle is difficult but necessary; to effectively manage both conditions, individuals must control both conditions and recognize situations that both.
Stress can directly contribute to asthma and breathing issues by increasing the production of stress hormones that increase inflammation in the lungs and lead to shortness of breath. Professionals at IMIC Inc. stress the fact that anxiety increases risk or severity by activating chemicals released by weakening immunity systems that increase inflammation, leading to shortness of breath attacks.
Happily, there are various treatments for anxiety and asthma symptoms available, including calming exercises, cognitive therapy, mindfulness meditation techniques, and relaxation techniques. Furthermore, antianxiety medications may help alleviate both of their symptoms simultaneously.
Suppose you suffer from both asthma and anxiety. In that case, seeking medical help if symptoms become severe or do not improve after trying different strategies may be vital in relieving stress levels and relieving anxiety disorders. Your physician can evaluate if an anxiety disorder exists before suggesting treatments such as lifestyle modifications and medication to address it; additionally, they may offer stress-reducing coping mechanisms and refer you to counseling services if necessary.
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