I’m sure you’ve heard expressions like “I couldn’t catch my breath,” “It took my breath away,” or “There’s a heaviness on my chest.” These idioms have been used for centuries to describe situations we experience.
When we reflect on when we use such expressions, it’s often during times of shock, stress, anxiety, or even depression.
When we’re under stress, outside our comfort zone, our breathing changes immediately. The body prepares for a “fight or flight” situation. Typically, we start breathing through our mouth, rapidly, and into the chest. All of this stimulates the sympathetic branch of the nervous system, which is responsible for preparing us for unexpected situations.
Nowadays, we’re almost constantly under stress, and we’ve developed poor breathing patterns—mouth breathing, chest breathing, quick shallow breaths. This continuous pattern stimulates the sympathetic nervous system repeatedly.
When we begin to hyperventilate, our blood pressure increases immediately to pump blood throughout the body. However, the problem is that the more we breathe, paradoxically, the less oxygen reaches our body. Just 30 seconds of heavy and rapid breathing can reduce oxygen supply to the brain by up to 50% . Not only does our blood pressure rise, but we also stop processing situations logically, as the brain isn’t adequately supplied with oxygen and switches to emergency mode.
You’ve probably experienced situations where you’re so stressed that you can’t focus on anything other than the pressing issue at hand. Now, try to recall how you were breathing during that moment.
At that moment, the situation overwhelmed us to the point of suffocation. And what in life can suffocate us? Unhealthy relationships, arguments, a job that doesn’t fulfill us, a boss who oppresses us.
So, what suffocates you, making it hard for you to breathe?