There are a range of different respiratory conditions including Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Vocal Cord Dysfunction but lots of us don’t know how these health conditions can impact our emotional wellbeing.

This World Asthma Day, we’re going to talk about Asthma, COPD and Vocal Cord Dysfunction as they all impact our emotional wellbeing in a similar way.

Asthma:

Asthma is a common lung condition that usually begins in childhood and is common in both children and adults. Asthma causes occasional breathing difficulties and is usually triggered by something such as: allergies (hayfever!), smoke, colds/flu or infections.

Those with Asthma will usually experience:

• Wheezing (a whistling sound when they breathe in and out)
• Feeling breathless
• Experiencing a cough
• Tight chest (like a band that’s tightening – but not often experiencing pain with this)

Vocal Cord Dysfunction:

Vocal Cord Dysfunction is often seen in those who are experiencing severe asthma and COPD. This is when the vocal cords aren’t closing properly when you breathe in and out.

Those with Vocal Cord Dysfunction will usually experience:

• A chronic cough
• A noise (not like a whistle) when breathing in and out
• Difficulties swallowing
• Change in voice (may be deeper or higher than usual)

COPD:

COPD is the name for a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties and usually affects middle-older aged adults and often it can be mixed with both Asthma and Vocal Cord Dysfunction.

Those with COPD will usually experience:

• Increased breathlessness
• Persistent chesty cough which we may bring up mucus
• Frequent chest infections
• Persistent wheezing

Often their symptoms may flare up if they also have asthma, are around smoke or polluted areas or out in cold weather.

Why do I feel anxious and depressed and what can help?

Very often when we experience a health condition which affects our lungs we can notice that we feel anxious (this could be worrying about becoming unwell, fears of having our blood taken, worrying about medical appointments or even experiencing panic attacks if we feel breathless) and depressed (you might not be doing things you enjoy anymore, might avoid being intimate with your partner due to breathlessness, feel that your world is getting smaller). This can happen because we want to remain as healthy as possible but we’re unsure how and these feelings of anxiety and depression are extremely common! It’s usually to experience this especially if we have just been diagnosed, a loved one has been diagnosed or our health is worsening.

You don’t have to face this alone.

Therapy has been shown to be very helpful in managing not only anxiety and depression but also our physical health. Although, we cannot take away Asthma, COPD or Vocal Cord Dysfunction, we can however, feel more in control. For example, therapy can help by:

• Helping you to manage your worries about becoming breathless or having an asthma attack
• Helping you to reduce your fears around blood/needles or medical appointments
• Helping you to practice relaxation and mindfulness to allow your body to rest
• Reducing negative thoughts (we can often be our worst critics!)
• Boosting your mood and motivation
• Helping you to feel in control by focusing on what you value in your life, helping you to live life in a meaningful way just for you.

How do I contact Lifted Therapy to start therapy?

You can contact us by telephone (01256 975 045) or by email (sian.melville@liftedtherapy.co.uk) but the easiest way is to fill out our   which will allow you to book a free telephone appointment with one of our friendly therapists who will talk to you about you’re experiencing and explain what type of therapy is going to be most helpful for you and what the next steps are.