Breathlessness in Depression

Abstract

Breathlessness is a difficult symptom to define (Howell and Campbell, 1966). Comroe (1966) spoke of the value of obtaining detailed accounts, in the patients' own words, of how they experience their breathlessness. Olsen (1964), who wrote that, ‘the problem of defining dyspnoea becomes a little easier if it is considered as a complex of completely subjective symptoms,’ also stated ‘it is recognized that difficult breathing may be observed by the physician without the patient being aware of respiratory embarrassment’.