3 Ways to Start Emotionally Recovering after a Severe Asthma Attack

Physically healing after a severe asthma attack is a well-covered topic, but what about your emotional recovery? Olivia Fulton shares 3 steps to move on from the trauma without living in fear.

In 2019, I was lying in a hospital bed in an induced coma, my body reliant on a ventilator, all because of a severe asthma attack. At first, I didn't think the attack was even that bad. It had built up gradually, and I was getting advice from my respiratory team at the hospital.

Three days later, my health deteriorated rapidly. The asthma attack escalated beyond my control, and I needed urgent help.

This turned out to be the worst asthma attack I've ever had.

Despite this, I was left alone to deal with the emotional impact of the attack. I was sent home with a discharge letter and a follow-up appointment but nothing else. I've had to find ways to process the experience on my own.

I left with more questions than ever and a fear of it happening again. Why was this attack so bad? What did I do wrong? What happens if my medication doesn't work properly again?

Anxiety and fear overwhelmed me after the attack

On top of needing answers to all these questions, I had to try to get on with my life. I'm 33 years old and can't hide away. But, at that moment, that's all I wanted to do. I was scared of having another attack, and I didn't want to do anything that might trigger one.

For anyone dealing with a similar situation, I found these three steps helpful for my emotional recovery. They gave me a way to process what happened and reduced the fear of living my life as I did before. 

3 Steps for moving on after a severe asthma attack

1. Don't compare your asthma attacks to anyone else's

One person's worst attack will be vastly different to another's. I often hear from people that their attacks aren't as bad as mine, so they don't want to share their experiences.

Asthma attacks are entirely personal. Your worst attack is only as bad as what you know, and this will likely change over time.

My previous "worst ever attack" had happened when I was alone. It wasn't as medically severe as the one that led to an induced coma, but being alone made it much harder to cope. I couldn't use my usual coping strategies to get through it. It may well be that you never experience an asthma attack as severe as mine, but that doesn't make your experience any less valid.

To recover from a severe asthma attack, the only experience that matters is yours and how you come to terms with it. The important thing is your emotional and physical health.

2. Write down your feelings to sort out the facts

Blogging helped me deal with how severe my asthma attack really was. It also helped remind me that I came out the other side. I could put into my own words what the attack felt like, the lead-up to it, and how I felt afterwards. By doing this, I could articulate and answer many of my own questions.

I now realise that I did everything I could to prevent my attack. It was just one of those unfortunate events that couldn't be helped.

3. Be honest with your healthcare team and ask what you need 

I had so many questions after this attack, but they were questions I felt embarrassed to ask my consultant or asthma nurse. They included everything, from whether I could've died if I had been alone a few minutes longer to what I should do if I run out of medication. These are all questions I'm sure many asthmatics will have wanted to ask at some point.

Culturally, we don't like asking questions that scare us for fear of appearing weak or overly dramatic. But when it comes to an asthma attack, there is nothing scarier than being unable to breathe. Speaking to your doctor about what to do during a severe asthma attack will help ease concerns and speed up your emotional recovery. If you’d also like to talk things over with like-minded people, try out some online asthma support groups.

The takeaway

Getting over a severe asthma attack isn’t easy. It took me a while to move through the impact it had on me and get back to the life I had before. Mindfully working through scary feelings by blogging and finding answers helped me to process what had happened. As I got better at facing my emotions, my anxiety over it happening again became less and less intense. .

The aftermath of the attack will always be with me, but I know it wasn't my fault. There isn't anything I could have done differently to stop it, and I accept that now.

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Date of preparation: August 2023
D: COB-GB-NP-00132 (V1.0) / T: COB-GB-NP-00150 (V1.0) / M: COB-GB-NP-00149 (V1.0)