I endured this condition for a while (early 2023), it was something that consumed me quite a bit. I cried several times, desperate, thinking I had some pulmonary problem. I went to the doctor, they did tests (a spirometry), and everything came out perfect, I didn't have anything wrong, but I still felt like I was suffocating. I realized it was anxiety because when I slept, I didn't wake up, or because if I was very distracted, it didn't affect me. If it were really a respiratory problem, I wouldn't be able to climb stairs or do any of the things mentioned earlier. I searched and searched for videos, looked for blogs every day, I was obsessed, and although there were videos that temporarily made me feel better, I also saw comments that brought me down. I won't say how long I endured that feeling of suffocation because it's not important, but what's important is that I overcame it as soon as I understood that we won't stop breathing whether we think about it or not. When you think you're breathing manually, you're actually doing it automatically, it's all in the anxiety. That feeling of breathing manually is anxiety, you're not hyperventilating or anything. Another thing: don't try to find comfort in the comments. Here, there are only people going through the same situation as you. Here, you'll find people who endure feeling like this for x amount of time, and you'll find that in any type of video that deals with another symptom of anxiety. But it doesn't matter, because those sensations only last as long as it takes us to lose fear of them. Remember that the people who have already overcome this little fear won't come back to this video because, as I said, they've already overcome it. So, chill, it's perfectly fine. Just absorb what I said, and before you know it, everything will return to normal. The funny thing is that you won't even notice when that happens. and btw sorry for my english I know is not that good.
@@eliomirabal361Did anything distract you? Because for the last week ive only been thinking about manually breathing, I feel like sometimes for a few seconds im doing automatically but my mind starts thinking about and it becomes a loop. School hasnt started for me I dont have much to do and all i can seem to think about is my breathing, todays even my birthday but i cant feel exited becuase my mind is so fixated on my breathing.
@@Lyxxl123 I know what you're going through because I've felt everything you're feeling, and many other people have too. So, I'll tell you the only things you need to know to forget about this: • Your body won't stop breathing, whether you want it to or not. It's an automatic process that won't stop even if you're thinking about it. • When you think you're breathing manually, that's just anxiety. That sensation of suffocating isn't really suffocation; it's anxiety (this is the most important thing you need to know). • You know it's anxiety because when you sleep, you don't feel like you're suffocating, only when you're awake. If it were a real problem, you wouldn't even be able to comment on this video. • You don't need anything to distract you; don't wait for school to start. Just accept what I've told you. • Time heals everything, so be patient. One day you'll understand what I'm saying, and I hope that day you'll also help others going through this Remember this: you are okay, and no matter what you feel or think, you will continue to be okay! So keep living your life as usual, doing the things you enjoy.
I've had it myself several times in my life, it started after a hyperventilation attack, that I suddenly became aware of my breathing, which was accompanied by a lot of fear. don't worry too much how hard it is, just accept it, eventually it will disapear into the background just live your life. and eventually the focus disappears by itself, believe me , it's your thoughts that keep it going, afraid you'll have it for the rest of your life , but it really isn't, accept it and think it will go away again, eventually disappears it, don't be afraid you're all right, good luck live your life, sorry englisch is not my first language i translate it
Hey everyone im here to tell you that this thing will go away because i had this for almost 3 months but when i became veru busy my focus changes and it helps me recover complete abd now im back to my normal life, time heals everything and always,be busy
@@careersteering Im telling you guys it will not going to last forever even stars will end someday, nothing last forever, so be busy and enjoy life while we have opportunity :).
I've had this for 3 years, but it's getting a lot better, and why is it a lot better now because I avoided everything in the beginning, I have 2 young children, I go out with them a lot, amusement parks, holidays, cinema, I just go, you you shouldn't give your OCD a stage, whether you're at home or on holiday, you still have to breathe, so think about yourself, why shouldn't I go on holiday, sitting at home won't make it go away anyway, so what I want to say is GIVE IT'S NOT A STAGE BUT LIVE YOUR LIFE, THAT'S THE ROAD TO RECOVERY!!!! I HAVE OVERCOME IT ONCE
Does anyone ever got fear like "you won't stop breathing if you don't keep focusing on it", "if you have notice your breath, you have to keep breath, if not, you will lose you breath, cause breath is not automatic anymore if you start notice it" , "you can't breath automatic if you start notice your breath", "your body won't do it for you, if you start manually breath" the thought not only comes when i get to sleep but all the time, I don't know what to do, even reassuring words like "breathing is always automatic, breathing is natural" not helped me My thought get worse every when i waking up
It is great that people post videos about these conditions but unfortunately the range of viewers is limited. I first started having issues with my breathing in 2003 after sinus surgery. I see Dr's who prescribe pills for symptomatic relief of the physical conditions but none have ever touched on the mental issue of me perhaps suffering from a mental condition brought on by the after effect of the operation. It was only yesterday, 20 years later that I came across Sensorimotor OCD. Just discovering the condition exists made me feel better. Finding videos like this one even more so. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
I'm happy that there's a name for what I've experienced in my 20s...breathing OCD, was awful...non stop thinking about my breathing pattern for about 3-4 years. Now I'm in my mid-30s and these sensations/thoughts come and go whenever I have a stressful event...I don't fight it anymore...I let it come to my mind and then it goes away after a period....I'm happy that somebody is talking about it. I was so afraid to tell everybody about these "stupid" thoughts that ate a big part of my life years.
The trick is to constantly notice your breath and accept uncertainty. Trust me, it's not easy, but it's not impossible. You can retrain your brain to accept that this is the new way of living for you. I have this habit of constantly noticing my breath whenever I eat, brush, bathe, talk, etc. Once I finally accepted uncertainty, I recovered from it. Now, I don't care if I notice my breath or not.
I woke up yesterday 01:00 in the morning only because I was thirsty (happens to me very often). But somehow for the first time in lots of years, a thought saying "you need to remember to breathe" came to my mind and couldn't sleep for the next hour noticing my breathing until I finally fell asleep without further incident. I immediately knew it was something related to my mind instead of having shortness of breath, resulting from a physical state.
I have been dealing with this for 7 years and since i discovered nick ive improved so much im so thankful its all about working on not reacting to the sensations we became so sensitive to from th3 anxiety switch that turned on in our head.
I had this 2yrs ago I thought I will never recover but I tell myself it's just a thought Nd their is nothing wrong noticing ur breathe .. Booom:) all fear goes away
Nick - let me ask you a simple question: When sensorimotor strikes, do you think it's important just not to react to it in a BIG emotional way? And just tell yourself: "This is no big thing." And just move on. I feel we - as OCD-ers - attach big emotions to our fears and it's best to dwindle the fears with less emotion. Can we teach ourselves to be less emotional? Thank you for all you do - you are a gift to us!!
I had my 3rd son 7 months ago and pretty sure i developed post partum depression , about 4 months ago i had a bad anxiety attack and have noticed my breathing every day ever since ! It sucks and i feel like it takes up so much of my time and life when i could be like my old self that never thought twice about this kind of thing . i have a lung test next week because I've been so worried about it ! I really hope people like us can grow out if this kind of thing and just be happy and anxiety free! 😥
I really get how you’re feeling. I used to have health anxiety but this breathing ocd has taken over where I’m anxious i won’t get my mind off it. I have a 5 year old son and feel like it’s impacting everything. I’m always on edge with this and been like it since march, I hate it
Sensorimotor obsessions can be treated quite successfully by decoupling any sensory awareness with reactive anxiety. In other words, sufferers must ultimately experience their sensory hyperawareness without any resulting anxiety. Anxiety, as is the case in other forms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, serves as the glue that binds particular thoughts to conscious awareness. Once a thought is linked with anxiety, the conscious mind keeps it ever present. This occurs because anxiety is part of the brain’s alarm system for danger. The mind clearly does not want us to forget about any danger that may be lurking around. If a particular idea scares us, we tend to think about it over and over. In sensorimotor obsessions, sufferers repeatedly attempt to shift their attention for fear that their sensory focus will become “stuck” and they will not be able to concentrate fully on the task at hand. Here, the thought that “I’m never going to stop thinking about this” leads to immediate fears of impaired functioning. As a result of the pairing between this thought and a feared outcome, the mind holds on tightly to the very awareness that the sufferer is attempting to rid. In many ways this is much like “white bear syndrome,” where attempts by individuals to think about anything other than a white bear lead to many more thoughts of white bears (Wegner, 1989). In order to disengage from sensorimotor obsessions, sufferers must learn “the art of self-awareness.” Sufferers must learn how to invite in the sensory awareness with a relaxed and accepting posture, very much like the focus on diaphragmatic breathing during mediation. iocdf.org/expert-opinions/when-automatic-bodily-processes-become-conscious-how-to-disengage-from-sensorimotor-obsessions/
Just trust me and write everything on paper every day..... Write down 1-all the reasons for your stress about breathing. 2- why it makes you stressed, 3-ask yourself is this thought useful or not 4-this is done automatically and there is no need to think and......... (all on paper). My friends we should know that writing can reduce the power of ocd and It will removes it, doing exercise can be a good help for writing.✌️😊
May Yah keep you brother🙏🏾!! I just start developing this Condition. I'm going to keep a positive outlook. Never will I allow myself to stay down on a new obstacle all humans have to endure in some capacity. The human brain is a bitch😂 May all my fellow sufferers overcome your OCD!
I'm very fixated on my breathing. It occurs about few months ago. It stems from my fear of my breathe suddenly stopping/me forgetting to breathe. And now I notice my breathing more than I like, and I feel like have to semi-manually breathe in and out accordingly. I can handle it but it does feel uncomfortable from time to time, especially when it relapse.
I want to comment here about my situation im 28 years old i have always been a hyper aware kid i remember i had thoughts about how we blink and breath and do all this unconscious things when we just live and talk and get things done but as a kid i got distracted and forgot about it my journey about ocd strongly started at 2016 since then i lived through hell i started with sleep ocd which im so shocked how we sleep and how brains shut off and then my brain started to remind me that im about to fall asleep and wakes me back to reality with tons of anxiety over and over and then i started after a two years thinking about swallowing how we swallow saliva without thinking about it ans that got stuck i became aware of it and started swallowing consciously all the time and while trying to sleep and i was trying millions of ways to sleep like grabbing my jaw together with my hands or putting something around my face to hold my mouth together i was so conscious of my tangue and every detail i lived like that and after that i added blinking and after that is breathing and now i have them all but let me tell you breathing is the worst out of them no way of escaping this doesn’t allow me a second to be away from it we need to breath all the time otherwise we die my brain now is the one in control about my lunges and now for 3 nights i got zero sleep my brain keeps waiting for the moment im about to shift into sleep and being unconscious he tells me omg breath and i do it with tons of anxiety over and over and over i can’t handle it im going insane my life is ruined i dont function like normal people its such a silly thing but its more complicated and scary than anything in this world its just not a sickens like virus u treat with medications or pain that goes with time or a broken bone will heal this something you know and the moment you know you never go back i wash we can delete things like a computer but we cant im stuck the only thing left now is taking strong pills that will nock me off while being manually breathing like something to force my brain to shut that’s all left If i survive and not have a heart attack i will get medications. That’s how it is this my life i need to survive or die.
I really enjoyed this video. I have been suffering with breathing OCD for over a year and feel like I will never be normal again. I’ve done just about every medical tests there is possible and the doctors keep telling me that it’s my anxiety but a part of me feels like there’s something wrong with my lungs I know it’s anxiety and OCD and I’m so desperate to get better
@@OCDRecovery I feel like there is no hope sometimes . It’s one panic attack after another. I just want my life back . I think about my breathing the second I wake up and the minute I go to bed it’s an obsession
Debra, i feel your pain ! I had my 3rd son 7 months ago and pretty sure i developed post partum depression , about 4 months ago i had a bad anxiety attack and have noticed my breathing every day ever since ! It sucks and i feel like it takes up so much of my time and life when i could be like my old self that never thought twice about this kind of thing . i have a lung test next week because I've been so worried about it ! I really hope people like us can grow out if this kind of thing and just be happy and anxiety free!
It’s really just overthinking all of it breath works automatically even if you think about it or not all you gotta do is shift your attention away and think positive and good thoughts
Nick 1 year back i watched your vedio , i applied those new philosophy suggested by you its changed my life , i have been noticing my breath all the time but it don't have any control over my life , i am stronger than that, i can do anything in this World, i love how i am , i am accepted my condition, so much gratitude towards you, even if it is there forever who cares, it made me a strong women, , sending lots of love to whoever going through this ,can get over it soon ❤
I had this when I was younger, but it went away after I became busy with school and what not. I accepted it into my life and it slowly went away. I would notice it here and there, but it never stuck with my like it used too. Just recently I came back, but I think it was due to some trauma introduced into my life a year prior. I'm hoping to beat this once again.
@@kevinthegoat848 if you mean to ask does breathing stop if you stop paying attention , no it won't and you won't die breathing will happen on its own after some relaxation
My son's sensory motor OCD presents as he feels he is suffocating and experiencing air hunger. He cannot get a satisfactory breath. He's been having this since March. It's horrible
I had to see a psychiatrist because of the sensory OCD. It improved with prescription antidepressants. Your son got obsessed with his breathing and that triggers the feeling of air hunger.
Does it include actually feeling short of breath? I can't figure out what's going on with me. I do have asthma but after an episode of shortness of Breath I couldn't stop thinking about it.. it's been over 2 months and it's ruining my life. As soon as I have the thought I start to feel s.ob.. I will feel this ALL day. I then get frustrated and end up crying... sometimes end up in a panic... cycle continues... everyday. The thought comes and I can't stop it.. is this the same? I'm a single mom and feel suicidal already.
That's exactly what happens to me. I feel short of breath when I get fixated on my breathing. But as soon as I get distracted with something else, I feel fine. Lol
good info. I do still think that some care needs to be taken with saying that exposing yourself 'even more' to your breathing isnt needed. People with ocd would tend to misconstrue that I think. for example, just being able to sit on a chair with no typical distractions (phone, screens, music etc) alone with your awareness and thoughts and getting through that very lonely and stressful experience is a very valid and useful exposure tactic. (in my experience).. but I guarantee that everyone with breathing ocd will see it as extra or 'even more' exposure. Cause really thats what it is... at least for me at the time that was a vastly abnormal thing to do lol Session type exposures do need proper guidelines. get through it/dont run is standard but additionally; for 1) its not 'a session' See it as a moment that you just work a bit harder on the OCD. Your mindset (confront instead of compulsive distraction) needs to be same around the clock. Thats a problem with ERP 'sessions'... people do them and then walk right back into their compulsive existence cause session is done right? for 2) the objective needs to be clear.. you are right its not to not notice or to forget. I do hear that a lot also but no ocd specialist who developed erp type strategies ever said that. People just dont understand recovery and have a distorted view of what it is. The real objectives of these exposure sessions is to (perhaps more rapidly) build indifference... learn low compulsive state of being.. trivialise and wear down triggers... identify untruths that the disorder is telling you. really the good stuff of OCD recovery
Hey Dco. I see where you're coming from, but we can agree to disagree. You're going to breathe for the remainder of your lives and most, if not all, people doing that tactic are doing it from one perspective - "If I just notice my breathe enough it will go away". So I stand by my comment that direct exposures to your sensations is usually counter-productive because of the perspective going into it.
@@aguywhohikes1271 Hi, yeah I can see where you are coming from as well :-) im not in disagreement really.. imo its a bit like approaching the problem from two different ends and meeting up 'somewhere' in between. When not exposing to sensations directly do you feel that there is wiggle room there for compulsions? that is my concern..
@@dco1019 hey brother can u plz tell what the brother in video want to said? I somehow get confused that should we do exposure or not I can't understand what he said,...can u plz tell me in some simple words?
@@haram1986 Hey brother 🙏 He says dont do 'Extra' exposure meaning we are breathing anyway and that is exposure enough. no need to do weird things in other words. I can agree with that. normally I would say that its also important to keep compulsions (bad distraction tactics) low so you get used to breathing without making you stressed out but this seems to be a different method with less focus on that.
I get this badly when i lay down to sleep. Literally takes 5 hours to fall asleep. I think im breathing correctly but sometimes it just feels like I'm not getting enough oxygen
Ayo, how have you been? I try to fall asleep but i feel my heartbeats in my neck and i feel pain. I dont know what to do, ive never had suicidal thoughts man. But this is out of hand
@@dr.dre.1171 yo but, how did u stop controlling it, like he says that its unconditional life acceptances and those things but bro… its exhausting to breath manually and its a constant thought… i dont know if im doing something wrong lol.
Thank you for this video. I would still have something to be clarified please (I have breathing OCD) : does it mean that we just have to resist compulsion to get through, after some time?
Nick I'm having breathing OCD from past 7 years I'm just 22 ,i notice my breathing every single minute,still can i able to work, because yesterday i got my offer letter from reputed company but i have an doubt that can i able to perform well being aware of my breathing all the time please give me some suggestions?
It’s takes time to work, you can’t expect for your problem to be gone within a few days. It’s about the long term recovery. It’s tough I know, but the more you want it gone straight away the more it will stay, you need to learn to accept the uncomfortable feelings and that will take time.
Everything takes time, specially things like this related to your though process. Your attitude won’t help you, maybe start there . This person in the video went through this and is explaining how to overcome.
I can indure anything and handle anything and i have all forms of ocd blinking breathing swallowing and many other but breathing is the devil the only thing i cant defeat is sleeping while breathing manually my brain doesn’t let go of my lungs he breaths manually i can fall into sleep the moment im About to i get reminded to breath and i wake up screaming anxious…. Im stuck and sleep is important its stolen by this ocd and its going to take my life by a heart attack……
Hello! How is it going now? I've been experienced this disorder on/off for many years, i know your condition but I can tell you than there is a solution..yes, there are medications that can help you (I've tried fluvoxamine, with extreme effectiveness and tavor to sleep before fluvixamine worked), but medicines offers you only a palliative solution. You have to accept the sensation and live it like a sensation, decoupling any anxiety releted to them..nothing lasts forever, you will forget about your breathing and if you are concentrate on it is only because your brain thinks it's a danger..i say IT IS NOT, because thinking like it is is only part of the OCD..OCD lies, you work well as any human, but you have only learned to associate breathing with danger (fear of not sleeping, feat of life ruined, etc.). The fuel of this disorder is fear..so, accept uncertainity, don't try to distract, let the sensation go itself without trying to stop it..trust me, you will sleep and the sensation will disappear, because you have only to turn off the fear and anxiety..good luck my friend, if you want you can talk to me..There is a way to escape!
@@enricosierchio7994 i appreciate that as im typing now im breathing manually im So focused on my lungs they start to tense and hurt . What about clonazepam have you tried them ?
I'm not surprised that covid caused a "flare". I've witnessed different illnesses and even mold exposures cause relapses in OCD. My son has struggled with this since a traumatic sledding accident. We've seen periods where he's been great, and then bam, it comes back again. A stop for an infected belly button at an ER, on our way home from Disney, has caused his latest dive back into this. That was months ago. The last few days have been absolutely brutal! Hoping for a full recovery for you!!
@@francinemitchell3809 breathing excersizes has really helped me alot.. Taking 10 - 15 minutes out every morning and breathing in and out the nose 4-4-4-4 or even 4-4-6-2.... The panic attacks have disappeared and my breathing is better than before
@@onthe9s857 I've tried so many times to help my son with this very thing! When he was little it would nerve him up more, and now it seems like he has no idea how to take a smooth, regular breath...unless he's distracted or asleep. He was only 9 when this started and is almost 13. I wish I could figure out how to help him with that. He did have a Heartmath device, which helped for a bit, but somehow he figured out how to cheat it. Anyways, I'm glad things are getting better for you! Thank you for sharing with me.
@@francinemitchell3809 yes distractions and mindfulness are great... I feel for you, this condition is awful, but it can be better, first time I didn't know a thing about this issue and it ruined my life for a good couple of months.. But when I understood it I became better.. Breathing excersizes and attitude towards this Condition like at the point of panic saying "whatever to it" and "no not today" helped me... Kinda how I understood it this time, it was how I eased it up in 3 weeks... This condition runs of fear and that fear could probably be like saying to yourself "I'm never gonna get better"... Which in turn brings on panic and anxiety... But when you learn to live with anxiety, then it subsides... I feel for you I really do, prayers to you
The main reason sensorimotor sufferers, as I was, stay stuck is because of the fear surrounding being stuck forever. Sensorimotor patient's, unfortunately, spend a lot of time thinking and using exposures to their sensation as a way out - I don't recommend this.
I hate it when I get fixated on my breathing when I am trying to fall asleep and then end up with insomnia. I have had this somatic OCD for a few years.
