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Does anyone else have issues breathing in public, or is it just irrational?

Really? For me it's mostly that I dislike the taste and smell of the air when there's lots of people around.

What is so bad about self-conscious?
 
I hold my breath when I pass by people sometimes because people smell strange. The only time I have trouble breathing is if I'm standing or on my feet for too long. It feels like there is a big weight crushing down on my chest and I have to sit down to breathe again sometimes if I don't start walking soon.

Why are you so conscious of your breathing? Were you teased a lot for heavy breathing or taking rhythmic breaths? (I'm sometimes guilty of that.) Do you have a really sensitive sense of smell? Or just want to try to make as little sound as possible so you can sneak past everybody?
 
Like Ashe I hold my breath around certain people. Smokers, heavy perfume or bad body odour will cause it, but so will sharing an elevator with other people.
 
I'm a bit of a germ-o-phobe, so I breathe out around people so I don't take in their "germs"...doesn't even have to be "real" germs. Maybe I just get a sense of "badness" from them, like arrogance or sexual addiction or jealousy or dishonesty or whatever, and I feel like I have to blow that away from me, too. It doesn't even have to be "badness" associated with a person...maybe it's just the thought of some, potential tragedy...and I have to breathe out as I push the thought away from me. Also happens in reverse...thinking of something good...I breathe that in like fresh air on a spring day.

Good grief...it sounds so insane with it typed out like that, lol. Hrmph. But it's been like that for me as long as I can remember.
 
I actually felt like that, not sure what caused it, but sometimes I felt as if my breathing was too loud or that my heart beat was too loud. Now I think it might have been caused by anxiety. I felt very noticeable in general, sometimes I thought everyone was looking at me while they didn't. It seemed as if I was paranoid, every time I experienced it I kept telling to myself that those thought are irrational and tried to replace my thoughts with more rational ones. I experienced it the most around the age of 15, it all ended by mid 20s. Maybe partially it was caused by anxiety, partially by hormonal changes... I'm not sure, I haven't looked into the possible causes that much...
 
Yes, it's a weird habit. Sometimes when I'm sitting next to someone, I hear their breathing, and I start to wonder if I'm breathing as loudly as that. So I'll start holding my breath, or breathing more quietly, but that only makes me focus more on the sounds around me.
 
Strange as it may sound, sometimes I forget to breath. There are certain kinds of stimulus that cause this, and I don't realize what's happening until I am out of breath. There are certain things I do during my normal routine that cause this to happen. When I'm doing these things I will remind myself to breath. Does anyone else do this? Or am I extra strange?
 
clg114 said:
Strange as it may sound, sometimes I forget to breath. There are certain kinds of stimulus that cause this, and I don't realize what's happening until I am out of breath. There are certain things I do during my normal routine that cause this to happen. When I'm doing these things I will remind myself to breath. Does anyone else do this? Or am I extra strange?
Click to expand...

Hah I do this too. All of a sudden my body's like "what are you doing woman?! breathe!"
 
clg114 said:
Strange as it may sound, sometimes I forget to breath. There are certain kinds of stimulus that cause this, and I don't realize what's happening until I am out of breath. There are certain things I do during my normal routine that cause this to happen. When I'm doing these things I will remind myself to breath. Does anyone else do this? Or am I extra strange?
Click to expand...

My daughter has the same thing. Not only does she seem to forget to breath, she also says she feels like she's forgotten how to do it. Her bothers and dad are on the spectrum and now she's getting older I have concerns over her also xxx I do think it may be anxiety caused by living in a house full of Aspie's but I have to say more and more each day I am seeing similarities in the behaviour. Is it possible she could be too, we are awaiting assessment for her but I'm panicking that because her brother has always been so obvious I have ignored or not recognised her needs, and just thought she was full of attitude and demands.
 
Mrsmac said:
My daughter has the same thing. Not only does she seem to forget to breath, she also says she feels like she's forgotten how to do it. Her bothers and dad are on the spectrum and now she's getting older I have concerns over her also xxx I do think it may be anxiety caused by living in a house full of Aspie's but I have to say more and more each day I am seeing similarities in the behaviour. Is it possible she could be too, we are awaiting assessment for her but I'm panicking that because her brother has always been so obvious I have ignored or not recognised her needs, and just thought she was full of attitude and demands.
Click to expand...
Don't feel too badly, they say girls are very likely to be missed because they're so subtle about their symptoms. If you're wanting to get her assessed already, I'd say that's pretty good progress!
 
DogwoodTree said:
I'm a bit of a germ-o-phobe, so I breathe out around people so I don't take in their "germs"...doesn't even have to be "real" germs. Maybe I just get a sense of "badness" from them, like arrogance or sexual addiction or jealousy or dishonesty or whatever, and I feel like I have to blow that away from me, too. It doesn't even have to be "badness" associated with a person...maybe it's just the thought of some, potential tragedy...and I have to breathe out as I push the thought away from me. Also happens in reverse...thinking of something good...I breathe that in like fresh air on a spring day.
Click to expand...

You're right DogwoodTree, it does sound insane, probably why I never told anyone I have this before - for years I could only breathe in while looking at something 'nice', like the sky, animals, myself. Looking at people, the ground, litter, I had to hold my breath or breathe out!
With effort I can now look at people and breathe in, as long as they look fairly clean, but I'm still hopeless with things like litter.
I think it's an element of OCD personally, though I have no diagnosis.. will have to look into it though.
 
Spiller said:
You're right DogwoodTree, it does sound insane, probably why I never told anyone I have this before - for years I could only breathe in while looking at something 'nice', like the sky, animals, myself. Looking at people, the ground, litter, I had to hold my breath or breathe out!
Click to expand...

I've never found anyone else who could relate to this! 'Course...never told anyone else myself, either, lol.
 
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