Asthma and Psychosomaticism

I decided that the asthma attacks I had on Sunday were happening because I was LETTING them happen. Cold air or not, this kind of thing has never plagued me before, and I was not about to let it start being a problem now.

So I went out in cold air, and thought very healthy, positive things about my lungs.

It worked. I tightened up a little bit at one point, but it was nothing like Sunday.

It might not be ALL in my head, but I’d like to think that at least a portion of the cure is.

13 thoughts on “Asthma and Psychosomaticism”

  1. I have found similar results with sea sickness. I scuba dive and for years took various drugs to not get sick, but when it got to the point where I wasn’t enjoying my hobby due to lethargy and ‘mehness’, I decided I didn’t need the drugs and that I *wouldn’t* get sea sick. And I haven’t and I have been on trips where 9 out of 12 people are feeding the fish over the side of the boat and felt fine.

    I am sure that there is more to it that mere mind over matter, but it seems to be enough, which is fine by me.

  2. I can see where that might be. A lot of my worst attacks were exacerbated by anxiety–I remember my parents telling me to relax, to breathe slowly, to let myself breathe. It’s definitely a part of it.

  3. I didn’t realize that Mormonism and Scientology were compatible. ::snicker::

    Glad you were able to breathe, though..

    A thought, however.. It just recently got very cold.. and your body hadn’t had a chance to adapt to the sudden change.. Perhaps it might have something to do with acclimatization?

  4. Good to hear.

    As one of those medical types though, let me warn you. Asthma really isn’t a joke. As long as you can keep it under control, good for you, but make sure you’ve got a backup plan in case you lose it.

    The inability to breathe causes an incredibly primal panic, and it’s very hard to keep focused with that. Just make sure you have some medicinal backup plan. I perpetually need to know what happens next on the strip, and I need you alive for that!

    Plus, you know, for your sake and everything…

  5. I know hiccups are. I still recall the day back in 1994 when a friend suggested I could stop hiccuping by sheer willpower, and it worked. AND I DIDN’T HAVE HICCUPS AGAIN FOR 6 YEARS.

    And, thank you Howard, the hiccups I got 6 years later occurred as we sat discussing my digestion problem outside of ComicCon 2000, and you said that a particular ailment always made you hiccup. Within 20 minutes I was hiccuping. You bastard!

    Fortunately I just turned them off again, but man, that was nutty.

    The difference here, though, is that hiccups are the movement of a voluntary muscle, and asthma is… well, I don’t know what asthma is. Lung Monkeys closing Air Doors? Something like that.

  6. Well, my can’t-breathe attacks (they keep telling me I don’t have asthma) are certainly made worse by anxiety, including the fear of having one! So making a conscious decision to relax can help a lot. Just, you know, keep an inhaler handy anyway. Just in case.

  7. Congratulations! You’ve discovered Biofeedback (level 1)!

    As McCavity said, a full blow asthma attack can be a very dangerous condition. Please be sure you’ve got a backup plan in place (like an inhaler). Just in case.

    –G

  8. I used to find that as a kid an asthma attack would be worst away from home. As I grew up I realised that the panic was causing more difficulty breathing than the asthma.

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