Changing your state of mind could be one of the many ways you attempt to control your asthma symptoms without an over-reliance on drugs.
For many people asthma symptoms are linked to allergens in the air we breathe, which irritate airways and cause them to narrow and swell.
Obvious causes include dust, smoke, pollution from cars and food allergies.
But some asthmatics find that emotional stress can leave them struggling to breathe.
Although there is no cure for asthma, medication can keep it under control, but many asthmatics try to find ways of avoiding anything that may set off their symptoms and stop them from living an active life.
Avoiding allergens can be relatively easy once you have identified those which trigger your condition, but avoiding emotional stress can be harder to achieve.
People experiencing an asthma attack may find it difficult not to panic, making the episode a whole lot worse.
There is often little scientific evidence that alternative therapies make a physical difference to your condition, but the use of homeopathy, yoga practice and hypnosis have shown to improve sufferers’ symptoms.
Hypnosis can provide relief to your asthma symptoms by helping you control the psychological side of the condition.
Relaxing your body and mind through hypnosis could help you prevent attacks, but could also put you in better control of the panic when you do experience an attack.
Most asthmatics can sense when they are heading for an attack and there are specific techniques which, if used properly and at the right time, can calm the symptoms and stop an attack in its tracks.
Neuro-linguistic programming, or NLP, is all about modelling the patterns of human behaviour and many say it can be applied to those with asthma as a way of controlling their symptoms.
It is important to research any alternative therapy you may take part in. There are very few scientific studies that show that these therapies make any difference to your wellbeing, but there are many asthma sufferers who claim they work.
It is vital that you continue to take your medication as prescribed by your doctor even if you are participating in alternative therapies, even if the therapy appears to calm your condition.
