Original picture posted on facebook
Shortness of breath can be a serious health concern.
If you have ever felt like you couldn’t catch your breath you understand exactly how scarey that can feel!
You could describe it as sheer panic.
Calling 911 is a no brainer! You are painfully aware of the urgency of the situation.
But, what about when you get unexpected horrible news or you find yourself in the middle of a natural disaster?
Trauma takes your breath just as quickly as it appears.
With the speed of light, your easy breath is gone. Crushing news makes it impossible to breathe.
Not that you will notice. Devastating news feels like it hangs in time. It just hangs there. It keeps you present in a very painful way.
Moving forward from earth shattering events requires that you take a new breath.
You won’t panic about your shortness of breath, but if you give it your attention you’ll see how small your breathing has become.
Sometimes this constricted feeling can cause you to panic and hyperventilate in an effort to satisfy the feeling of suffocation.
It is very typical to swallow this suffocating feeling instead. Time heals, so when you can’t allow your emotions … you wait … and swallow.
You may not even notice the increasing pace of your breathing. Have you ever felt the trance like state that grief can take you to? You don’t notice much.
Trauma and grief seem to mute sound and color.
It’s like your muted breathing is all you can manage.
Praying for time to pass is a breathless place to be. It is a whole lot easier to get MAD!
If you get mad you can rant and rave and DO something! Anything! Throw something if nothing else!
But deep sorrow and grief are just bottomless. It feels like coming up for air with an anchor tied to your ankle.
Breathing just isn’t easy until you can shift to a place of Purpose or Time has a chance to do some healing.
If you want to breathe sooner than later, the idea is to reach out to others who are hurting and do something … anything, to lessen their pain.
Anger or bizarre defense of the second amendment will not keep you safe from the fear that the recent shooting in Connecticut has caused in all our hearts.
Even if you consider yourself pretty cold and callous, it is hard not to feel the pain and fear of a 1st grader in that horrific situation.
If you ever had any doubt that you are connected to every other person on the planet, I hope that times of unimaginable sorrow are a clear message that we all feel the same pain and we all love with the heart that beats in our chest.
We are One
AND
We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.
Our world is in a terrible mess these days. Until we find the heart to care about each other we will continue to destroy each other.
A week ago yesterday was the birthday of a great man who really understood the importance of Peace. In April we will observe the anniversary of the day his Peaceful mission was brought to a violent end. Martin Luther King, Jr. understood what it would take to bring Peace to our neighborhoods.
He knew what needed to change.
“Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism.”
“Let us be those creative dissenters who will call our nation to a higher destiny, to a new plateau of compassion, to a more noble expression of humaneness.”
– Marin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929- April 4, 1968)
Children touched by violence have a clear vision of Peace.
They get it. The children understand what Dr. King was trying to tell us.
The kids have got the right idea. Choose love, love everyone, and START NOW!
It would be a very different world if we would only listen to the children.
Did you come to Heart Failure Solutions looking for help for a health crisis? Understanding how important your community is to your health and wellness will go a long way to facilitate your healing.
Nobody heals in isolation. Give your attention and focus to doing what you can in your neighborhood and your new found Purpose will spill over into every aspect of your life.
The Love in your community has the power to heal. Will you commit to spreading Good Will where you live?
Many blessings,
Carrie Tucker, RCP
The Life Breath Coach
Heart Failure Solutions.com
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
My husband has a combination of emphysema and pulmonary fibrosis. His biggest problem has been recurring pneumonia, though this past year has been good. He is on 3L of O2. Lately I notice he is so much more winded with even the slightest exertion. His last pulmonary function test (6 months ago) showed no change from previous. He saw his pulmonologist last week and was told to lose a little weight and get walking. He’s not obese at 6′ 3″ and 220 lbs. SO, we’ve been going for short walks every morning, maybe a mile, I check his sats before we go and they’re usually 92-94 on 3L. We don’t go far before they drop to 88. It makes me question if he should be walking at all. With any real exertion his sats drop below 80. His next appointment isn’t for 3 months so I wonder how much I should push him with this walking.
Hello Susaj,
If possible, have your husband lift hand weights from a seated position. With your doctor’s approval, I’d increase oxygen liter flow while he is active. Lifting hand weights without standing up will be much easier to tolerate.
The goal is to get him up walking (with increased oxygen liter flow to meet his needs) without causing desaturation of blood oxygen. If you start minimal and work your way up slowly watching for intolerance, you will make much quicker progress without causing harm.
Activity is very important. Heart failure IS progressive weakening of the heart muscle.
It is important to protect and nurture the strength of his heart. Don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done. The Life Breath Club watches strength return to Members all the time.
As questions come up, get answers and suggestions from the Life Breath Coach. It can really help to calm your nerves as a caregiver. Every caregiver is a hero. You do what you can.
Let me know if I can help.
Many blessings,
Carrie