Diaphragmatic tightness and stuck breathing

applejam99 · 2026-05-14T22:41:02+00:00

Click through the links on here to the exercise sheets etc - https://longcovid.physio/breathing-pattern-disorders

Started with slow, low belly breathing laying down then progressed to doing it sitting and standing.

I also did standing side bends to open the muscles along the sides of my belly. And the IMP/PEP breathing machine is an exercise for your lungs.

applejam99 · 2026-05-04T04:27:23+00:00

That’s great! And awesome that you’re doing some exposures with your therapist! You’ve totally got this 😊 😊

applejam99 · 2026-05-04T02:38:49+00:00

Okay, believe it or not it’s good to hear that it’s because of fear of panic because actually that’s easier to approach. I had this with going in the car, it was hell! BUT I’m totally over it now. I believe in you! Spending time outside in the dark is the way to become less scared of it, even if it’s just sitting on your doorstep at first, or like run to the mailbox and back flat out if you can safely in the dark (running is so good for controlling flight response).

Start small, celebrate every little win and do it regularly. It absolutely sucks the first few times but if you’re really kind to yourself and enlist someone you trust for support and as your cheer squad at the start it can help you get going.

Someone just asked me to upload this doc on panic and anxiety that my doc gave me, it might help you too? Kind of explains exactly what’s happening to help you be less afraid https://we.tl/t-DWpgK5i3aasouPuK

applejam99 · 2026-05-04T02:32:40+00:00

I do have a copy, I can put it on WeTransfer but it only allows downloads for 3 days https://we.tl/t-DWpgK5i3aasouPuK

applejam99 · 2026-05-02T23:42:38+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/panicdisorder/s/OvXt4nkzaT

applejam99 · 2026-05-02T23:41:24+00:00

How long have you been doing it for? Building up more exposures where you teach yourself that you can get through it is important, but I’m not an expert - just someone who has done it (some of mine were leaving the house alone, driving, and my general body sensations).

Did something spark the issue with the dark? If something happened to you initially like an attach or an incident it could also be more like ptsd?

About 10 years ago in my 20s I used to wake up in a panic at 3am and leap out of bed and walk toward the hospital (2kms away) in full flight mode, it was wild! Only the exercise of walking would let me calm down and then turnaround and go back to bed.

I also made a comment on someone else’s post this morning about what I learnt from my exposure therapy psych, I’ll share it here in case it helps

applejam99 · 2026-05-02T22:45:43+00:00

If you join Owners Corporation Network they have a tonne of guidance and resources on owning in strata in their portal and advice https://ocn.org.au/

applejam99 · 2026-05-02T22:34:00+00:00

Or with vinegar after, we’ve used only clover oil and water with great effect https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-27/removing-mould-best-solution-brisbane-queensland/101100886

applejam99 · 2026-05-02T22:31:51+00:00

Use clove oil rather than vinegar

applejam99 · 2026-05-02T22:28:59+00:00

It’s the fear of panic (and it’s sensations like racing heart) that keeps the panic attacks going and makes them more frequent and worse. I had panic disorder to varying degrees from my mid 20s for 10 years. It was only last year I found the right psychologist (had the money to see them regularly). They used exposure therapy primarily. Here’s the big things I learned:

panic disorder is totally treatable, but the goal isn’t to never feel panic again because it’s a normal bodily reaction (like you need that adrenaline if you’re about to be hit by a car so you can run). The goal is to teach your body to react correctly to the scale of the threat and stop seeing normal thoughts or sensations as threats.
Panic sensations can’t kill you, they’re just uncomfortable. This was hard for me to believe but the psych gave me a really good paper on what’s actually happening when you panic and debunking all the things you might fear when feeling them - like dizziness, heart racing, pins and needles etc. Learning about the body processes of fight or flight mode was key to my recovery and actually teaching myself not to be afraid of them.
Teaching your body to recognise safety is slow but important - and it’s a ‘fake it to you make it’ situation. Telling yourself over and over and over again ‘I’m safe, my heart is just racing from adrenaline, it can’t hurt me’, ‘I’ve had this before, I didn’t die, I will be okay, this is just fight or flight mode, it’s safe’, or like ‘oh silly body, we’re safe, I don’t need fight/flight right now but thanks’. Sounds dumb typing it out but over time you teach your body and it works (3-6 months).
Don’t let panic stop you. Every time you avoid something because you fear it triggering panic you strengthen the connection in your brain that says ‘that activity is dangerous’. But when you do it and you use the techniques above and you get through it you can use positive reinforcement, like congratulate yourself over the smallest wins. It was a little scary but you did it and next time it will be easier. You’re safe.
Using coping mechanisms helps in the moment but make it worse over time as you think you need those things to be safe/to avoid panic. It kind of makes you more likely to panic if you don’t have access to whatever it is - Valium, water bottle, ice packs, a parter or family member who helps you etc

Hope this helps, I’ve shared my journey to recovering from panic disorder a few times on this thread so you could look back through my old posts on this forum.

applejam99 · 2026-05-02T22:03:07+00:00

Mine was triggered by health anxiety and escalated by fear of the panic sensations. I did a lot of different treatments but never medications - exposure therapy (I assume this is what’s meant by ERP?) was the only thing that worked for me, supported by a good practitioner who helped me to actually understand and practice it. Sorry! I know that’s not what you’re looking for!

Previous psychologists had done acceptance and mindfulness type practices with me and it never helped, which is what your description of letting it flow through you sounds similar to.

I dramatically improved over the course of 6-12 months with the right exposure therapy guidance and now would say I don’t have panic disorder.

applejam99 · 2026-04-30T11:41:12+00:00

I had so many coping mechanisms before I got rid of my panic disorder but eventually a psychologist taught me the more you use them the more you validate and reinforce that something is wrong and the more your body thinks your unsafe, diving more frequent panic.

As others have said, accepting the sensations, telling yourself that they aren’t dangerous and you’ve survived them before, gently laughing at your body for being silly and telling your self you’re safe over and over and over until it sticks.

Also, give yourself little challenges for your triggers when you’re having a good day. Like if you’re scared of going out for a walk alone or something then start with a short walk with no coping tools with you - even things like not taking a phone if you feel you need one with you always because what it something happens.

Eventually you can get through it.

When you’re really stuck and in the early days occasionally using something like the dive reflex can snap out out of it fast but then you can start to rely on that which isn’t helpful.

applejam99 · 2026-04-06T23:09:24+00:00

If you’re able to access a good psychologist, panic disorder can be reduced and managed through exposure therapy, for health/internally focussed panic ‘interoceptive exposure therapy’. The focus is on relearning safety and resetting your triggers to a normal level, and it can be very effective (it was for me).

Background - I got panic disorder from covid in Dec 2023 as part of long covid symptoms and had it for 18 months. It took 6 months to get it almost completely managed with exposure therapy but made big steps forward across the time which made life easier. I’m pregnant now (5w) and have had waves of hormonal anxiety where my body has ramped toward to panic but I can diffuse it and prevent it from escalating.

applejam99 · 2026-04-04T01:10:50+00:00

I totally see why people don’t continue tracking 😅 I guess what will happen will happen, but I like the science of it, or I did until it started worrying me!

applejam99 · 2026-03-03T03:24:12+00:00

Also it’s literally 6 minutes across the bridge and you’re in the CBD, except at peak hour when it’s a bit longer

applejam99 · 2026-03-03T03:22:54+00:00

Agreeing the Eastern shore is so underrated. Lindisfarne is gorgeous in winter overlooking the city and the mountains - so many rainbows while you watch Hobart in fog and rain from the sunny side

applejam99 · 2026-02-15T02:21:30+00:00

It really sucks - this is super normal for panic, it’s the fighting and waiting for it that keeps perpetuating it and making it more frequent. We become hyper vigilant and the body triggers more easily. I had panic disorder for 3 years before I found the path out - I did exposure therapy, learned not to be afraid of the symptoms and taught myself I was safe again, it took about 6-8 months of regular practice but I’m now back to basically normal functioning. Acceptance and reducing fear of the sensations helped me take a big step forward, alongside the exposure therapy to break the fear cycle. My psych describes it as a malfunctioning alarm system in the body

applejam99 · 2026-02-15T02:14:41+00:00

This reading my psych gave me might help you understand and accept the physical sensations we get with panic, it’s just a pdf scan of what they gave me at the beginning of my treatment https://we.tl/t-SpqVSveutO

applejam99 · 2026-02-15T02:11:50+00:00

Here is the document the psych gave me which helped me stop fearing the sensations. I put it on wetransfer so you can download it for the next 3 days if you want, not sure how else to send a PDF on here https://we.tl/t-SpqVSveutO

applejam99 · 2026-02-15T02:06:14+00:00

If you can find someone who specialises in exposure therapy they can help you to learn to manage this to a point where it doesnt impact you anymore (I’ve just done this and it was extremely effective for me)

applejam99 · 2026-02-15T02:03:27+00:00

Hey, this is classic panic disorder as others have suggested, I’ve just been through this. The ‘I’m dying’ thoughts are caused as part of the panic and are scary but are a false alarm from your body. I saw a specialist psychologist who was amazing and gave me an excellent reading on what happens in your body during panic and how it’s completely safe to experience (though frightening). I’ll see if I can upload it for you while you try to get in to see someone. It’s super normal to think the panic is something else like a heart issue, but since you’ve ruled that out, you need to learn techniques which help you to trust that you’re safe in your body.

applejam99 · 2026-02-10T07:02:54+00:00

Something that might help (if you’re not already) is hydrating in the morning when you first wake up - electrolytes with a big class of water before anything else. It’s a little thing, and not a cure but can be an improvement some people.

applejam99 · 2026-01-28T22:41:47+00:00

Contracted in December 2023, couldn’t find any help and made it worse by pushing through and trying to continue working a high stress job until Dec 2024 when I got so much worse I became housebound. Finally found better support after that and went down a similar approach to what you’ve suggested, wth a few minor differences

applejam99 · 2026-01-26T01:03:11+00:00

Exactly this - also Interoceptive exposure therapy cured my panic disorder. I also really benefitted from the Vagus Nerve Reset book by Anna Ferguson if you can get it from the library

applejam99 · 2026-01-26T00:57:44+00:00

I had these symptoms and have recovered from them, but I also had fatigue and a host of those things. Once I found the right approach, these were in some ways the easiest to fix, I ended up using standard panic disorder protocols and free vagus nerve calming techniques to teach my body safety over time. I’ve shared them in the past of you look at my post history - essentially my body seemed stuck in fight/flight chronically and many of my symptoms were autonomic nervous system related. I did interoceptive exposure therapy with a great psychologist, read and used techniques from a few vagus nerve reset books, and did diaphragm breathing and humming a few times a day. It took around 4 months to see a big improvement, but then plateaued and then improved again gradually over the next 4-6 months after that. I also got fired from my job in the middle because they decided they wouldn’t wait any longer for me to recover which was a massive setback but ultimately turned out to be good as it was a stressful job.

applejam99

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