Can anxiety cause wheezing?

When you’re anxious, it can feel like your chest is tight and your breathing is strained. Some people notice a wheezy or whistling sound and wonder whether anxiety is the cause.

The short answer: anxiety commonly causes breathlessness, but true wheezing usually has another cause, and it’s worth getting checked.

Call 911 straight away if you’re struggling to breathe, can’t speak in full sentences, your lips or skin turn blue or grey, or an inhaler isn’t helping during an asthma attack.

What’s the difference between breathlessness and wheezing?

Breathlessness is a feeling: that you can’t get enough air, can’t take a full breath, or have to work to breathe. Anxiety causes this often.

Wheezing is a sound: a high-pitched whistle, usually as you breathe out, caused by air squeezing through narrowed airways. Someone else can usually hear it too.

Can anxiety cause wheezing?

Not directly, in most cases. Anxiety makes you breathe fast and shallow, and can make your chest feel tight, but it doesn’t usually narrow the small airways in your lungs. If you have a real, audible wheeze, it’s more likely to be:

• asthma
• a chest infection, like bronchitis
• an allergic reaction
• another lung condition, like COPD

That said, anxiety and wheezing are often connected.

Stress can trigger asthma

If you have asthma, stress and strong emotions are common triggers for flare-ups. And asthma symptoms can, understandably, make you anxious, which can make breathing feel even harder.

Some throat conditions mimic asthma

A condition called inducible laryngeal obstruction, also known as vocal cord dysfunction, causes the throat to narrow briefly, making a harsh, noisy sound, usually when breathing in. It can be mistaken for asthma, and it can be triggered by things like exercise, strong smells and, for some people, stress. A specialist can diagnose it.

Anxious breathing can sound different

Fast breathing, sighing, gasping or a tight throat can make your breathing sound noisier than usual, without true wheezing.

How to tell what’s going on

You can’t safely tell the difference at home. It’s worth seeing a doctor if you notice wheezing, especially if it’s new, keeps coming back, or comes with coughing, a tight chest or breathlessness. They can listen to your chest and may suggest breathing tests to check for asthma or other conditions.

If you already have asthma, follow your asthma action plan, and use your reliever inhaler as prescribed.

When anxiety is the cause

If a doctor has checked you and your breathlessness is from anxiety, these help:

• Slow your out-breath: in for 4, out for 6.
• Breathe low, into your belly, rather than high in your chest.
• Don’t gulp air. Gentle breaths are better than big ones.
• Relax your shoulders and throat.

Our post on how to tell if shortness of breath is from anxiety goes through the signs in more detail.

How Breatheasy can help

Once a doctor has ruled out other causes, Breatheasy can help with anxious breathlessness. Its guided breathing exercises pulse your phone as you breathe in, helping you slow down and breathe low and gently. If breathlessness tips into panic, tap “I’m feeling anxious” and Luma walks you through it. Breatheasy is a self-help tool, and it doesn’t replace your inhaler or asthma care. It’s coming soon to iPhone and Android.

When to get help

See a doctor about any new or recurring wheezing. Call 911 if you’re struggling to breathe, can’t speak, your lips or skin turn blue or grey, or your reliever inhaler isn’t helping.

Sources

• Asthma, NHS
• Shortness of breath, NHS
• Halvorsen et al. (2017). Inducible laryngeal obstruction: an official joint European Respiratory Society and European Laryngological Society statement. European Respiratory Journal.