If you suddenly can’t breathe, identifying shortness of breath causes, is really not your top priority!
You are GONNA call 911 … aren’t you?!
If that’s your problem I’m hoping you are NOT surfing the internet looking for your solution!
Be safe!
However, if your situation is occasional and does not feel emergent but is significant enough to send you searching for answers, let’s see if we can get you some.
Maybe you experience shortness of breath with public speaking and/or when you climb stairs.
Learning how to project your voice won’t help if you don’t remove the cause of your breathlessness.
Generally, you probably think mild shortness of breath is caused by anxiety or being out of shape. BUT, don’t assume shortness of breath causes are not serious just because they don’t feel serious!
Shortness of breath can go from an annoyance to a desperate struggle for life in a moment!
Even if it isn’t life threatening, it can certainly take the power out of an otherwise inspiring speech! Shortness of breath is never a good thing!
So, how do you identify shortness of breath causes and what do you do to remedy shortness of breath?!
What causes you to be short of breath?
Let’s take a look at the Mayo Clinic’s definition of “Shortness of Breath”:
Most cases of shortness of breath are due to heart or lung conditions. Your heart and lungs are involved in transporting oxygen to your tissues and removing carbon dioxide, and problems with either of these processes affect your breathing. A number of other health conditions, certain environmental factors — even being overweight — also can make it hard to get enough air.
Lung problems
- Asthma
- Bronchitis
- COPD (often caused by smoking)
- Croup (especially in young children)
- Emphysema
- Histoplasmosis
- Hyperventilation
- Interstitial lung disease
- Lung cancer
- Pleural effusion
- Pleurisy
- Pneumonia
- Pneumothorax
- Pulmonary edema
- Pulmonary embolism
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Sarcoidosis
Heart problems
- Cardiomyopathy
- Heart arrhythmias
- Heart attack
- Heart failure
- Pericarditis
Other problems
- Acute kidney failure
- Anaphylaxis
- Anemia
- Broken ribs
- Epiglottitis
- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Guillain-Barre syndrome
- Lack of exercise (deconditioning) or unusually strenuous exercise
- Obesity
- Myasthenia gravis
- Neuromuscular disorders
- Panic attacks and panic disorder
- Pregnancy
Original Article Source: MayoClinic.com
Wow! That’s a serious list there, wouldn’t you say?!
Anxiety isn’t even on that list!
Shortness of breath causes are something you will search out solutions for with great earnest when you can FEEL the urgency of your need for breathing!
However, up until that urgent feeling you might ignore it!
I use to have a private coaching client with COPD, I’ll call him Phil.
Phil was always winded when I’d stopped by his house for our usual visit. Just answering the door would have him gasping for breath.
I’d often ask him, “how often do you feel short of breath, Phil?”
And Phil would say, “I never feel short of breath.”
So, I’d say, “You never feel winded?”
Phil would always respond with, “Nope.”
Even pointing out the fact that Phil was gasping for air and wheezing didn’t cause an acknowledgment of his condition or change the answer the next time I asked the question.
Phil was just not about to admit defeat.
Apparently he felt that denying it would help him live with it, OR maybe Phil just didn’t notice it.
In Phil’s case he was ignoring a condition that was slowly killing him!
You might not feel like your condition is anything to worry about.
Maybe you’ve just found that stairs wind you and your voice isn’t nearly as powerful when you give a speech or presentation as it use to be. No biggie, right?
“It’s just part of the aging process.”
OR IS IT?
You should know that shortness of breath causes, what ever issue they stem from, ARE part of YOUR disease process. You will not get well until you attend to your breathing!
Your doctor is waiting to drug your symptoms when they get worse, but that is NOT what you want to do! When you get to that brick wall, no pill will heal you!
The slice and dice approach to health isn’t the option you want to choose either!
Set your goal now to improve your breathing before your shortness of breath takes
- your voice
- your strength
- you out of the game of life a couple decades earlier than you planned
What does your portfolio look like if you subtract twenty years worth of income.
(Losing that type of projected income is going to effect your family’s life on every level!)
Sacred Breathing will address absolutely every single one of the shortness of breath causes on the list.
Healing may require emergency intervention if you have waited too long,
BUT attending to your breathing is foundational to your healing!
If you’d like to get really serious about unlearning your bad breathing habits and finally discovering the real secret to lasting health, then you will want to invest in The Life Breath Coach’s book, “Your Sacred Breathing Hand Book“.
Find out how your breathing is making you sick and what you can do about it.
Click on the link and discover why this is the most important book you will ever read!
Address Shortness of Breath NOW
Many blessings,
Carrie Tucker, RCP
The Life Breath Coach
Heart Failure Solutions
PS– Remember everyday:
-
Relax and Release tension
-
Exhale Slowly
-
Be active in a way that adds Joy to your life
Plus pure water ~whole foods~sunshine~and laughter
Thank you for this post, i wanted to add a related point that if you find yourself regularly short of breath you might have anemia as shortness of breath is one of the more common anemia symptoms. As you can see on my blog which is dedicated to outlining the common Symptoms of Anemia which i started after finding out my wife has anemia.
Hi Anthony,
That is a GREAT point!
IF you are anemic your oximeter may read normally but that means nothing. If you don’t have enough blood cells to carry oxygen you will feel terrible even if the oximeter says you are 100% oxygen saturated. Using supplemental oxygen can’t help if you have anemia! Thanks for contributing!
Many blessings,
Carrie