Symptoms and deficits that may be triggered, exacerbated, caused, or perpetuated by behaviorally mediated physiological changes and typically and mistakenly attributed to other causes, may include the following:

● shortness of breath, breathlessness

● bronchial constriction and spasm

● airway resistance

● reduced lung compliance

● asthma symptoms, e.g., wheeze

● unable to breathe deeply

● chest tightness, pressure, and pain

● exacerbation of inflammation

● altitude sickness (nausea, faintness)

● breathlessness, air hunger

● endurance (e.g., running)

● decision making, cognitive function

● disruptive symptoms (e.g., tachycardia)

● fatigue (bicarbonate deficiency from overbreathing)

● focus (e.g., golf, shooting)

● memory (lines of a play, taking a test)

● movement (disorientation, poor coordination)

● muscle function (spasm, fatigue, stiffness, pain, tetany)

● pain (lower threshold), e.g., gold metal ice-dancer winner in Olympics

● performance anxiety (in all kinds of venues, e.g., public speaking)

● rehearsal (e.g., diving)

● sleep apnea (sleep disturbances) 

● palpitations

● increased rate

● angina symptoms

● arrhythmias

● nonspecific pain

● ECG abnormalities 

● anxiety

● anger

● fear

● panic

● apprehension

● worry

● crying

● low mood

● frustration

● performance anxiety

● phobia

IMPORTANT!

Many, perhaps most, of these kinds of “symptoms and deficits” occur in a context (stimulus control) and are learned responses to the effects of hypocapnia, e.g., inability to focus or remember triggers anxiety, frustration, or anger (Type 3 habits) 

● trembling

● twitching

● shivering

● sweatiness

● coldness 

● tingling

● numbness 

● acute fatigue

● anxiety

● burnout

● chronic fatigue

● effort syndrome

● headache

● hyperarousal

● muscle pain

● stress

● tenseness

● weakness

Most all known acute and chronic stress symptoms and deficits 

can be triggered by respiratory compromise. 

● blurred vision

● dry mouth

● dry skin

● sound seems distant 

● reduced pain threshold

● Tinnitus

● numbness

● tingling (hands, lips)

● dishabituation 

● dizziness

● loss of balance

● fainting

● black-out

● confusion

● disorientation

● disconnectedness

● hallucinations

● traumatic memories

● low self-esteem

● personality shifts

IMPORTANT

State changes set the stage for learning new behaviors, a sense of self,

accessed only through becoming hypocapnic. Breathing may become

a gateway to different psychological postures (configurations of Type 3 habits). 

● dishabituation

● attention deficit

● inability to think

● confusion

● disorientation

● poor memory

● learning deficits

● poor concentration 

● tetany

● hyperreflexia

● spasm

● weakness

● fatigue

● pain

● chest pain, pressure, discomfort

● difficult to swallow

● feelings of suffocation 

● Reduced cerebral blood flow (vasoconstriction) 

(approx. 4% per mmHg: 25% at 34 mmHg, 60% at 25 mmHg)

● Bronchiole constriction

● Cerebral and myocardial hypoxia (O2 deficit)

● Coronary vasoconstriction 

● Gut smooth muscle constriction

● Placental vasoconstriction

● Reduced cerebral blood volume● Reduced placental perfusion● Reduced ocular blood flow ● Reduced splanchnic organ perfusion (hepatic and renal arteries) 

● nausea

● cramping

● bloatedness

● exacerbation of sensitivities, disorders 

● coordination

● reaction time

● balance

● eye-hand coordination

● perceptual judgment 

● Digital artery spasm

● Hypertension

● Ischemia (tissue anemia)

● Migraine

● Placental blood flow

● Red blood cell rigidity, thrombosis 

SLEEP

“One of the mechanisms by which application of noninvasive positive airway pressure reduces 

CENTRAL SLEEP APNEA is by increasing hemoglobin oxygen saturation and increasing the partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide toward or above the apneic threshold. In fact, central sleep apnea is predicted by the presence of hypocapnia during waking hours. Thus, hypocapnia is a common finding in patients with sleep apnea and may be pathogenic.”

Laffey, J. G., & Kavanagh, B. P. Hypocapnia. New England Journal of Medicine (2002); 347(1): 43-53. 

“We conclude that when apnea occurs under conditions in which central PCO2 is well below the CO2 setpoint, subjects are at risk of developing dangerous hypoxemia due to absence of a hypoxic ventilatory response.”

Corne, S., Webster, K., Younes, M. Hypoxic respiratory response during acute stable hypocapnia. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2003); 167(9), 1193-9.

A study by Javaheri, Shahrokh and Corbett, W. Sthat illustrates the importance of breathing habits during waking hours and their possible effects on sleep.

● Behavioral: performance issues, speech, singing, task challenges

● Cardiovascular: angina, heart attack, arrhythmias, ECG abnormalities

● Chronic pain: injury, disease, systemic inflammation

● Cognitive: learning disabilities, ADD, ADHD

● Drug efficacy: shifts in pH and electrolyte balance alter absorption

● Emotional: anger, phobias, panic attack, anxiety, depression● Fitness issues: endurance, muscle strength, fatigue, altitude sickness

● Gastric: irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), non-ulcer dyspepsia

● Neurological: epilepsy● Neuromuscular: repetitive strain injury (RSI), headache, orthodontic

● Pregnancy: fetal health, premature birth, symptoms during pregnancy

● Psychological: trauma, PTSD, drug dependence

● Psychophysiological disorders: headache, chronic pain, hypertension

● Respiratory: asthma, emphysema, COPD

● Sleep disturbances: apnea

● Unexplained conditions: fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue

● Vascular: hypertension, migraine, ischemia, hypoglycemia 

Breathing habits may be the cause or be an important contributing factor.

Learned overbreathing results in CO2 deficiency, behavioral hypocapnia, which may seriously and immediately disturb acid-base balance. Its effects on body chemistry may mediate changes labeled as “unexplained symptoms,” including misunderstood performance deficits and “effects of stress,” all of which may be mistakenly attributed to other causes. 

There are often symptoms and deficits that are simply unaccounted for, ones that may be debilitating and likely “managed” with psychiatric drugs for lack of any other alternative, e.g., 911 callers. People suffering with stress, burnout, and syndromes like fibromyalgia fall into this category. 

Unexplained symptoms present a major challenge to healthcare systems at large, worldwide. In the UK, for example, the National Health Service (NHS) completed a survey that indicated that about 50 percent of all patients seen on an outpatient basis showed no organic evidence accounting for their symptoms. 

Simply looking for organic factors for understanding “unexplained” symptoms is to overlook the role of basic physiological reconfiguration programming (or learning) principles that govern homeostasis.