The "suffocation alarm"

Our brains are designed to protect us and keep us alive. Deep in our brain is a region that constantly samples our blood to be sure that we are getting enough oxygen and breathing clean, healthful air. If it detects anything wrong, it sends out an alarm that feels to us like a sudden rush of anxiety or panic. This feeling prods us into getting up and away from whatever is interfering with our breathing.

Choose another disease or condition... Allergic Rhinitis Allergies, Food Allergy & Asthma Center Alzheimer's Disease Anxiety Aortic Aneurysms Arrhythmia Arthritis, Osteo- (OA) Arthritis, Rheumatoid (RA) Asthma Atopic Dermatitis Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Back Pain Brain Tumor Bones, Joints & Muscles Center Breast Cancer Brain & Behavior Center Brain Tumor Cancer Center    Brain Tumor    Breast Cancer    Cancer Prevention    Clinical Trials    Colorectal Cancer    Endometrial Cancer    Living With and Beyond Cancer    Lung Cancer    Prostate Cancer    Skin Cancer Cardiomyopathy Cataracts Cholesterol Control Clinical Trials Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Colorectal Cancer Congenital Heart Disease Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) Crohn's Disease Depression Diabetes Center Diabetes, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Digestive Disorders Center Eczema Endometrial Cancer Erectile Dysfunction (ED) Eye & Vision Center Fibromyalgia Food Allergies Gallstone Disease Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) GERD Glaucoma Hay Fever Headache Heart Center Hepatitis A Hepatitis B Hepatitis C High Blood Pressure Hypertension Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) Impotence Insomnia Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Living With and Beyond Cancer Losing Weight Lung Cancer Macular Degeneration Memory Loss Osteoarthritis (OA) Osteoporosis Parkinson's Disease Peptic Ulcer Prediabetes Prostate Cancer Respiratory Disorders Center Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Sexual & Reproductive Health Center Sinusitis Skin Cancer Sleep Apnea Sleep Center Stroke Type 1 Diabetes Type 2 Diabetes Ulcerative Colitis (UC) Weight Control Best Hospitals for Respiratory Disorders Learn more about asthma in our online guide COPD-Related Clinical Trials Information Email this page Print this section

With COPD, you regularly have trouble breathing, and your suffocation alarm can become hyperactive. As a result, you may feel edgy or anxious a lot of the time or feel panicky at being hurried or when you smell strong odors.

It is important to understand that this is common in people with COPD and that you aren't falling apart emotionally or mentally. With help from your doctor, there are a number of things you can do to "reset" your suffocation alarm. These include:

• Breathing training
• Counseling and relaxation training
• Anti-anxiety medications