Self-Help for Hyperventilation Syndrome

Hyperventilation, or moving more air through the lungs than the body can handle, is a common reaction to sudden danger or excitement. However, for some people over-breathing becomes a habit. Symptoms of hyperventilation can mimic those of serious diseases, causing sufferers to think that they are having a heart attack or even that they are dying. Chronic hyperventilation affects an estimated 10 percent of all people targeting primarily asthmatics, premenstrual or menopausal women, over-achievers and workaholics, and abuse victims. Its symptoms can include breathlessness at rest, chest pains, palpitations, broken sleep, stomach or bowel problems, dizziness, and anxiety. Though widely underdiagnosed, hyperventilation syndrome is now recognized as a significant cause of ill health. Hyperventilation syndrome can exacerbate a preexisting health problem and prevent recovery from any emotional and physical trauma. This book presents a well-tested program that the author has developed for readers to use in order to break the hyperventilation cycle.