Re: Short of breath

Here is a good article on Pubmed

Hyperventilation in panic disorder and asthma: empirical evidence and clinical strategies.

Similarly, hypocapnia and associated hyperpnia are linked to bronchoconstriction, symptom exacerbation, and lower quality of life in patients with asthma.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20685222

Hypocapnia....is low CO2, which results from overbreathing. 

Bronchoconstriction is the constriction of the airways in the lungs

So hyperventilation leads to hypocapnia, which leads to constriction of airways, which leads to shortness of breath.

And it's the years of chronic stress that we have experienced that leads to the chronic hyperventilation.