Hello,

This is actually my first post ever on reddit so here goes...

On 3/26/21 I started experiencing this strange sensation that I can only describe as “air hunger”. Im not sure what changed, but every time that I breathe in, despite my lungs fully expanding. I feel this indescribable sensation like there isn’t enough air going in. I have always been a healthy person and am only 18, so initially I was pretty confused. I started freaking out and fearing the absolute worst because obviously, breathing is kind of important. I got a pulse oximeter and my O2 levels have been perfectly fine, HR maybe a little high. But this has been accompanied by no other symptoms, perhaps a little chest tightness at times. So I was puzzled in my quest for answers. It has become this vicious cycle where I hyper-fixate on my shortness of breath- thinking each breath isn’t “good enough”. Which probably contributes to my shortness of breath. This has been going on for about a month now and its honestly extremely debilitating. I hate waking up every day and immediately thinking about my breath and worrying that i’m going to die. I hate constantly having to yawn because its the only thing that feels like it results in a satisfying breath. And I hate worrying about others thinking i’m sighing loudly or breathing heavily in class. Anyways, Im starting to think that it is anxiety catching up to me after some more extensive research- which brings me here. I wouldn’t consider myself an anxious person, but I always tend to minimize things with regard to my mental health (unhealthy I know). However, it makes sense that I would be stressed and anxious given my current circumstances and apparently this is a common symptom of anxiety. I guess i’m just tired and desperate and am wondering if anyone else has experienced this/could provide any insight as to how to resolve this. 

Thank you very much in advance &lt;3