Breathing obsession. I've forgotten to how just let it be. Any tips.

Thank you. It's so disturbing and gives me anxiety. Wish it was gone already

Thank you. Im trying. Its been 4 months .im so scared

Thank you

One last question. Did you find that you where out of breath talking. When I talk to customers that happens and it makes no sense.

@Rose Yes, I did feel that. I still do sometimes but I no longer think about it as “weird” or focus on it and it just goes away.

@Blanesma Hello . Sorry to bother you. Today I'm having a hard time breathing. My chest feels heavy. And breathing heavy. This sound familiar.

@Rose Hi Rose! You don’t bother me at all. I just don’t want to give you reassurance because that’s just going to make your obsession worse not better. I understand it’s scary and that it’s all you can think about and you say, “ If I didn’t have this I’d be fine, I’d be happy.” So you hyperfocus on fixing “the problem” by doing compulsions. The reality is that there is no problem to fix and compulsions reinforce the cognitive distortion you are experiencing (assuming you’ve actually been to the doctor already and they’ve ruled out any real medical condition affecting your breathing). You need to understand that despite your ocd. With ocd, even if you overcome this episode, it won’t stop there. You’ll find some other thing to obsess about and then that will take up all your time and consume your life just like this is doing. The point here is to manage ocd regardless of your obsession and the only way to do that is stopping compulsions despite the strong urge to do them. Reassurance is a common one and it’s very difficult to stop but you can do it so easily and it seems totally harmless. Start teaching your brain that breathing is not a concern by not attending to the urge to reaserch, seek reassurance, checking over and over again, etc. You can do it! I don’t want you to think you bother me, I just won’t give you anymore reassurance because I want you to get better. I really hope you believe in yourself as much as I believe in you. You got this!

@Blanesma Thank you!!!

@Blanesma Thank you. I know you are right.

@Rose You’re welcome! Also, I have a correction, I mean to say that- Reassurance is a common one and it’s very difficult to stop BECAUSE you can do it so easily and it seems totally harmless.- I know it’s not easy to stoop seeking reassurance because we want to feel that instant relief so bad! But remember that it is not helping and it’s short lived before we seek it again. Wish you the very best in your recovery journey.

@Blanesma Thanks again. I know you are right and others have been helpful too. I need to manage my emotions and expect better. This entire situation is giving me extreme anxiety. I don't even recognize myself and I miss me. Thanks again for your support

@Bhappy Hi. How are you. I got on 2 roller coasters today with my breathing ocd. Exposure. Lol

@Rose Yay!!!! I’m so happy to hear that 😃. Keep moving forward Rose, you got this!

@Bhappy Hi. I hope you are well and don't mind this question I see I'm improving and not getting caught of in the in and out of my breathing. However it's on my mind all day like I'm edgy. And now when I do notice my breath I am startled a bit and my heart skips. Even during meditation. This is new. Any advice appreciated. Thanks so much

@Rose Hi Rose, my only advise is— don’t overthink it, don’t analyze it, don’t try to figure out why or anything. DO NOT ENGAGE at all. Just keep moving forward. Remember that the story you tell your brain every day is the one it will believe. Try telling it something different, something positive. Even if you feel silly and don’t believe it, it will work. You are strong, you are worthy of happiness, you are exactly who you are meant to be and you are enough. There is nowhere else better for you than where you are right now and there is nobody else you’d rather be. Don’t let intrusive thoughts rule your life. Just let them float around you like beach balls in a pool. Remember not to push them down because they will just pop right up. Take care Rose!

It’s gone when you no longer notice it anymore. Like before. I was always scared that if it went away and I “remembered” it would come back. But it doesn’t. Once your mind moves on from this theme it will be gone. But with OCD you’ll have another obsession. To me that is the key to this whole thing, not the theme. How do we manage OCD overall regardless of the theme?

@Blanesma At night in particular when I go to bed. Ugh. Thanks

@Rose I know, exactly! that’s what would happen to me. It’s because everything is so quiet so you focus on that. Honestly, I have learned that there are a few things you can do to make it better faster, like ERP. Other than that, it will just have to run its course. Just remember that like everything else, it will pass. My last theme took me a whole year to overcome but now I’m struggling with something else. I’ve had a few years where I’ve been symptom free and I’m hoping to get back to that again but it’s a struggle. Just know you are not alone, you are not the only one that’s had this, it will pass… just hang in there (:

@Blanesma Do you take meds

@Rose No, I do not. I also do not plan to. One thing that does help me, and it might be placebo but I don’t care, is CBD oil. I actually started taking it when I had the breathing thing. I feel like it truly helps me recover faster and cope with symptoms better. I only take it when I get really bad.

@Blanesma Thanks also in the mornings Tough to wake up trembling and aware of the ocd. Ty

@Rose The mornings for me are the absolute worst. Especially when I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep. I hate it! This disorder is so cruel and it takes so much from us. But I just refuse to let it do that to me. We need to be strong and get through it! We deserve to live a healthy life and to be happy.

@Blanesma Hello. Why did you decide on no meds? Just curious cause I'm learning that way.

@Rose First, I am very sensitive to most medications. I have reasearched and many times it’s trial and error to find the one that works for you. Some make symptoms work and have unpleasant side effects. I honestly don’t want to go through that because the first challenge would be to find a doctor that knows about OCD and what they are doing and it’s been impossible even to find a good therapist. I refuse to just put stuff in my body to try it and see how it works. I also truly believe that OCD can be treated without meds. I have done it before. I was symptom free for like 8 years so I’m just being patient and staying strong. I hope this helped and not just confused you more. Also, it is just how I feel about my journey. I don’t judge people who take meds or anything. It’s a very personal decision.

@Blanesma Thank you for answering me. I have been struggling with meds. Im very sensitive too. If you are willing to share would love to hear how you managed it. Thanks

@Rose How I managed my breathing obsession or my ocd? Also, happy late birthday!

@Blanesma Thank you. How you manage your ocd without meds. But ill take any breathing tips too. Lol

@Rose Just with therapy, trying to keep my life balanced, doing ERP and keeping myself focused on goals, projects, etc… with the breathing you should try doing meditations special for that, I think I found one in YouTube that I used to do at work when I got really bad. Another thing that helped me was acceptance and just saying “whatever, I don’t care any more, it is what it is” when my ocd started reminding me of my breathing. And I just moved in with my day or whatever I was doing.

@Blanesma I'm gonna try this Its so hard not to judge yourself for something thar is so easy for everyone else. And I work from home.

@Rose Working for home is the worst for me. That’s what made me relapse so bad last year due to COVID. I didn’t start getting better until I got back to work. I hate working from home it’s not good for me at all.

@Blanesma When you had the breathing ocd. Did you find yourself out of breath when you spike to people.

@Blanesma Hi. With the breathing ocd were you able to get over noticing in the morning?

@Rose Hi Rose! The mornings were pretty bad. When it goes away it will go away overall. Just remember to not do compulsions, like checking and seeking reassurance. Instead I would say something like, “I feel like I’m not breathing right, so what I don’t care anymore!” And I’d just go about my day.

@Blanesma Thank you. I really appreciate you. I've been having really bad stomach aches. Going to gastrointestinal doc soon

@Rose You’re welcome, glad to help (:

@Blanesma Did you deal with intrusive thoughts also,

@Rose I have dealt with that. But remember ocd has different masks but it’s the same thing. Don’t focus on the content or theme, focus on not doing any physical or mental compulsions (btw- ruminating is a mental compulsion that many of us don’t even consider a compulsion and that’s why we can get better).

@Blanesma Thank you Feeling defeated today. When will my healing come

@Rose Hang in there, don’t give up! I know how terrible it feels. When I’m feeling really bad it also helps me to listen to The OCD Stories podcast. There you can learn a lot and listen to other people stories and what helped them. You also learn from professionals many tips on how to get better.

@Blanesma Thank you. I started using the bubble blowing. Going outside more. What other erp helped you. Many thanks.

@Blanesma You went to work with the breathing ocd? I write from home

@Rose Yes, I did go to work everyday. Try not to give it the attention it’s getting right now. Even writing on here is a compulsion. Whenever the fear comes into your awareness just give it a generic response like I’ve mentioned before and do real things like do your work, wash dishes, go out for a walk, play with your kids, go out on a date, go grocery shopping, clean your house, organize finances, garden, talk to a friend, go out for lunch…. The list goes on and on. Live your life despite the ocd in the background. Sooner than later you will start feeling better.

@Blanesma Thank you so much. Last question. Do you workout and if so. It no longer freaks you out? A million thank yous

@Rose I do work out. I never stopped working out during my breathing issues with ocd. Running actually helped me get better. Don’t let ocd keep you hostage and not let you live your life. You are stronger than you think and it will pass… trust in that.

@Blanesma Thank you so much. I hope you are recovering fast from your recent theme. Be blessed and please know you have talked me off the ledge several times 🙏

@Rose Hey, thanks! No problem at all. Wish you the absolute best in your recovery journey. Take care.

@Blanesma God help me. I don't know how you did it. You are a strong soul

@Rose It didn’t happen overnight. I cried A LOT, I was scared everyday. It took me at least eight months to recover but I had no clue what it was or why it was happening and I did not have access to therapy. I did not have any tools to help me or anyone that understood what I was going through. You have knowledge, use it.

@Blanesma I do better sometimes and I fear getting stuck controlling it. Which happened in the beginning . Yes I will keep going

@Blanesma I am sorry this happened to you. You must have been so happy when it went away

@Blanesma You are so strong. Today I forgot for a few in the morning but when I realized I did, it came back so I wonder i am feeding it. You are so brave to have dealt with that on your own.

@Rose This happens too, you forget and then remember. It’s like your brain says, “wait, not so fast, you can’t be happy. remember this?” And it feels terrible. It’s part of it though. Your only job is not to do compulsions and use your tools. Check out this YouTube video: https://youtu.be/i4K6cw1cjmU This guy is great and his videos really help!

@Blanesma Ok Ty. The tools I have is to intentionally notice my breathing. Breath strange on purpose. Workout.

@Blanesma Looking back what would you say was the key to your recovery.

@Bhappy Hi. One question because this one is more for my husband. I feel my condition is hurting his mental health. We been together 24 years and we knew of his mental condition, dis not know about mine. So I was usually the rock. Did you have to behave as if everything is ok for your family? I can try.

@Rose Hey Rose! No you don’t have to behave like everything is ok. It ok to share what you feel. Are you seeing a therapist?

@Bhappy I do. But its nice ro talk to someone that has had it

@Rose I know what you mean. I’m surprised that I’m still married 😄. My mental health issues really affect my hubby but he has done his absolute best to support me. And I am doing best to get better and support him.

@Bhappy I admire you. Thank you very much for always answering. Im doing better at not seeking reassurance from you. But you motivate me to keep going when im so tired.

@Bhappy Hi. How are you. I want you to know I'm better. My brain has let go but I keep checking or remembering. Working on that and I often come back to read your encouraging words. Thank you and I hope you are well.

@Rose Hi Rose!!!! I am so happy to hear that and to know that I’m helping you some in some way. I have been thinking of you and wondering how you’re doing. I’m beyond excited about your progress. You got this all the way!!!

@Bhappy Thank you. The main issue now is trusting and not checking but also I get severe stomach aches and shivers due to the anxiety around all this. Im not in the clear but some improvement

@Bhappy Hello I'm so sorry to bother you. I had a setback because I'm separated from my husband and had to move to a new state. I wanted to ask if in the mornings you had a stomach ache and high anxiety? I always think about you and how quickly you overcame it so I look to you often. Last as you recover did you think about it and if you did , did your attention go there and how did you stop it. Anyway. I will stay off the internet after this.

Would be nice to pick your theme. Before my crash I was obsessive with my job

@Rose sorry what does pick your theme mean? i havent heard that term before

@lilith I'm kidding . In other words instead of your brain moving on to a theme. You assign it one with little impact on your life. Lol

@lilith Sorry I was responding to another comment. Why you couldn't follow. I put in wrong spot.

@Rose oh no worries! that makes way more sense haha

Wait me too

@lilith Also I hear luvox helps with your kind of ocd. I tried it but it gives me stomach aches Really bad ones

Breathing obsession

@Rose Does that change the way you breathe?

@Mayte Its too much vigilance and disrupts my day. If I am hyperfocused. I myself may change it unintentionally.

@Mayte Are you having the same problem?

@Rose Well I've noticed that when I focus on my breathing it changes. Sometimes I'll have a sortness of breathe and it gets worst when I start panicking but I also focus on my breathing because I'm worried I'll end up forgetting how to breathe or Im worried I'll stop breathing.

@Mayte I'm so sorry. I'm going to tag you in another thread with great advice from another member. Just know that you will not stop breathing. Its on auto pilot. And you won't forget how cause you're body won't let that happen. Try holding your breath and you'll see what happens. What brought this on for you? How did it start

Thank you. Im not sure how to stop checking