Struggling to breathe properly

[Joe_17]

Hey guys

I suffer from anxiety, I think anyway.

I have heart palpatations and struggle to breathe naturally, I THINK about how I'm breathing A LOT.

I try everything. Relaxing my muscle, not trying to breathe which ends up with me loosing my breath, listening to it etc

Basically, each day goes from one technique to another.

The problem I find even with watching my stomach layed down inhale and exhale is that

1.When I try let go I'm thinking about breathing so I don't know if I'm forcing it a little bit or what
2.I read to let it go at its own pace but sometimes I'm not sure if I'm resisting too long and actually holding on before exhaling.

Is there someway I can make sure I'm not forcing it or a way to see if I know I am.

Sometimes I have a mental image of breath inhaling and exhaling which doesn't help.

Thanks

[Boris Badenov]

I too sometimes have anxiety/panic attacks and I do know what it feels like to not be able to take a deep breath. I've found (by accident) what helps me if I'm in that space where I can't breathe deep and relax is this: I lie down with a heating pad set to medium heat on my abdomen. I put a towel under the heating pad to buffer it a bit. I find that that so completely relaxes me that a lot of times I fall asleep like that so it may be important for you to have a heating pad with a timer if you try it. I think it works because we have a lot of nerves running through our abdomen and stomach area and the gentle heat just seems to allow me to melt away. And like I said in another thread I find that Lifeflow 7,6,5 and 4 seem to be the most anxiety relieving for me.
Another avenue is Paul Wilson's book "The Quiet" which has many simple relaxation techniques that are effective. I bought it as an audiobook and listen to it when I need to unwind. It's very helpful.
Hope this helps