What Can Oxygen Therapy Do For Your Mental Health?
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease not only has physical symptoms, but can also impact your mental wellbeing. If you’re feeling anxious or having panic attacks, it is essential that you speak to your doctor and find a treatment option that works for you.
Oxygen therapy is an effective natural way to relieve anxiety and stress, improving your overall physical wellbeing. Additionally, it may reduce symptoms associated with COPD such as breathlessness and chest tightness.
It’s a safe, non-invasive therapy that delivers oxygen directly to your brain and tissues, stimulating the body’s healing response system while relieving stress. When combined with individual therapy sessions, it can help address mental health concerns on a more holistic level.
HBOT can be beneficial to patients suffering from various health conditions, such as depression, PTSD and concussion. Furthermore, it improves blood flow and encourages healing of damaged brain tissue.
Treatment for hyperoxia occurs in a pressurised chamber that allows your body to absorb more oxygen than usual. Your red blood cells transport this extra oxygen throughout your system, dissolving it in plasma, lymph and central nervous system fluids – helping accelerate healing from injuries, wounds or illnesses.
Additionally, taking vitamin B6 can strengthen your immune system and decrease levels of cortisol – a stress hormone that may contribute to anxiety.
At an oxygen treatment session, you breathe in 100% oxygen for up to 30 minutes as your blood is saturated with extra oxygen. As this extra supply of oxygen reaches key areas such as your brain, muscles and niggles, it helps promote better oxygen transport throughout your body.
This can help reduce stress and anxiety, as it allows you to relax while letting go of what caused the issues in the first place. It may even improve sleep quality and leave you feeling more rested.
Another advantage of oxygen therapy is that it encourages you to breathe deeply and improve lung function. Breathing shallowly and rapidly can actually cause the body to retain carbon dioxide, making you more vulnerable to breathing issues such as asthma or bronchitis.
Practice breathing exercises such as deep breathing, diaphragmatic breathing and pursed lip breathing to maximize oxygen in each exhale. These techniques may also improve your breathing and protect you against developing hyperventilation – a potentially hazardous complication of COPD.
Anxiety can be a frequent side effect of COPD, and it’s difficult to manage. But the good news is that you don’t have to live with this fear forever – there are ways you can conquer anxiety and lead a happier, healthier life.
There are various methods for managing anxiety, and it’s essential that you discuss them with your doctor so they can devise a treatment plan tailored specifically for you. The sooner you start managing COPD-induced anxiety, the quicker you’ll see improvements in both your condition and quality of life.