Can Crying Trigger an Asthma Attack?

 People are sometimes surprised to find out that strong emotions can trigger an asthma attack

Those include:

• Fear 
• Anger 
• Crying 
• Excitement 
• Laughter
• Yelling 
• Stress
  

 Crying triggering an asthma attack?

 

Have you been unlucky enough to get a phone call that a family member has passed away?

 

Before you say, "That's not how it works!" Listen up.

 

Most people picture a uniformed police officer slowly walking to the door of a house and taking a deep breathe before he knocks on the door to deliver the new

 

 That’s not always how it works

Over the years, I have had two random phone calls letting me know that one of my family members has passed away.

The first time, it was from a neighbor in the town I grew up in. He saw the police cars and wanted to tell me himself, rather than have the officer  

The second time, it was the state Medical Examiner’s office asking for help identifying my family member’s body.  She thought the police had already told me.

They did not.

How do you react to getting the news that a loved one has died?

You may experience many of the strong emotions – shock, fear, or crying.

When I received a call a few weeks ago from the Medical Examiner’s office, it was shock - followed by a LOT of crying.

As in the Ugly Cry.

Where you are gasping for air and going through boxes of tissues.

And….it triggered an asthma attack. 

 I have a mindfulness app on my phone, so I tapped that and started some controlled breathing exercises. 

 

That helped me slow my breathing down and prevent my asthma attack from getting worse.

 

Slowly, I was able to stabilize my breathing so I could use my inhaler. If I am crying or coughing, it can be hard for me to inhale the right way to use my inhaler. 

Has anyone else had an asthma attack from crying? 

How did you handle it?