I thought hyperventilation warranted a page of its own as many people do suffer with this from time to time. One can be normally breathing in an abdominal / diaphragmatic manner and still suffer with hyperventilation - upper chest breathing at a very fast rate; trying to get more oxygen into the body. Hyperventilation is a health problem in its own right!
To explain and expand, when stressed, frightened, shocked, our breathing rate and style will automatically change. It will become faster, which tends to mean shallower breaths, there is often a sudden intake of air as well. If the situation that caused the stress leads to some physical activity as in walking away from a situation, maybe one started to hyperventilate because of being called in to see the boss, and once you have got out and walked back to your own desk your hyperventilating may well have reduced. Physical activity has released a number of hormones, which help when one hyperventilates. It may still take some time for the breathing rate to return to normal but it can. However, if we cannot do anything about the cause of our stress, the stressed breathing will continue and increase, the breathing rate will increase. This causes more anxiety and increases hyperventilation; in a way, it can become a cycle and a habit if the stressful situation continues.
When breathing quickly we tend to breathe out more carbon dioxide which is required for many vital bodily functions. A constant lowering carbon dioxide level is not good. It can constrict blood flow, which can lead to problems such as dizziness, and light-headedness. If a blood vessel near the brain is constricted an individual can loose consciousness. It can also cause chest pain, which can be the same feeling as angina. People often become irritable, and experience tingling, pins and needles, muscle spasms, and in the worst cases convulsions.
As you can see hyperventilating can cause many side effects some of which are very serious. This is why it should be taken seriously. One can analyse a breathing pattern by 'eye' observation and or by using a medical instrument - 'capnometer' (American name), which looks at the carbon dioxide levels in each exhaled breath. Breathing retraining can control hyperventilation to some degree. For many years, it has been known that hyperventilation is both a cause and a symptom of stress, other illnesses, and emotional concerns. Some have gone as far as to suggest that it is the most misunderstood and overlooked illness.
