I feel like I can’t breathe

Hello all,

I have suffered from severe anxiety almost my entire life- and I still have yet to find anything to help me cope (aside from very deep breathing). I used to get extreme panic attacks when I was in grade school almost everyday. I had them under control for a few years, but they returned and are even more severe than before.

I wake up every morning with my chest feeling SO tight and I feel like I can barely breathe.

I am currently not taking any medications for this. I have had more psychiatrists in my life and tried pretty much every medication under the sun and the moon. Nothing has helped my anxiety except short term fixes like Xanax, Clonazepam, Valium etc. I do not have access to any of these due to me not wanting to become dependent.

I am in search of some coping techniques I can learn that will help me on a day to day basis.

please help- this has controlled my life for far too long.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

my sincerest thanks go out to you.