Why do I hyperventilate?
I got to a psychologist for some stress issues and I also hyperventilate from time to time. Are the two related? What makes a person hyperventilate in the first place? Is it physical or mental?
It sounds to me like your hyperventilation is probably closely related to your stress issues. There are physical reasons for hyperventilation, but these occur only in people who are very sick with lung infections, asthma, and similar problems. For most of the rest of us, hyperventiliation is driven by psychological factors. For example, if you have a panic attack or anxiety attacks, there can be several physical manifestations, including hyperventilation. Other physical symptoms might include sweating, racing heart beat, blurry vision, shortness of breat, and dizziness. It sounds like your stress and anxiety issues may not be under good control. I would suggest that you continue to see your psychologist and explain to them a bit about the symptoms you are experiencing. They will be able to give you strategies for dealing with these symptoms. You should also set up an appointment to see a psychiatrist. This is because many cases of anxiety or panic attacks do require medications to get them under control. There are short acting medications that are used to control immediate anxiety symptoms and there are also longer acting medications that are used to help decrease the severity and frequency of the attacks.
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