Fear is actually your friend.  Without fear, we would not as a species been able to survive natural disasters, ferocious animals and other people.  The fear of pain or death makes us move our butts into safety.  However, this normal response can come about at times when nothing is trying to kill you.  You get a panic attack and breathing problems and think you are going crazy or going to die, or both.

Take A Breath

When you are angry, upset or afraid, you often breathe a lot faster and shallowly.  It can be hard for your body to get the oxygen it needs.  When it needs oxygen, it can make you disoriented or dizzy in order to stop and take a deep breath.  In the grips of a panic attack and breathing problems, this can be hard to remember.  If you have trusted people about you who know you are panic attack prone, tell them to remind you to sit down and breathe deeply when an attack starts clutching your throat.

Victims of abuse can be gripped by a panic attack and breathing problems because of images, sounds of smells that most people completely ignore.  For a person abused by an alcoholic, just the scent of beer may trigger a powerful panic attack and breathing problems.  So although a panic attack may be brought on by physical causes, it can also be controlled by physical methods.

Triggers

The best thing you can do to deal with a panic attack and breathing problems is to prevent or desensitize yourself to what triggers the attacks.  If you are not sure what is triggering your attacks, please go see a doctor.  There are medical conditions such as hypoglycemia, diabetes and menopause that may trigger panic attacks and breathing problems simultaneously.  They need to be treated differently.

But for now, let’s go back to the survivor of an alcoholic former partner.  After a panic attack and breathing disorders, she could think calmly as to what happened right before the attack.  In this person’s case, it was the smell of beer.  She could avoid beer for the rest of her life, but this is not always possible.  But her head has made the association of beer smell first, fists second.  She can reprogram her head by saying or repeating when she smells beer, “Nothing’s happening to me now” and take a deep breath.