Is it normal to feel low or anxious on home oxygen?

Yes — life with oxygen can be difficult, and worries, low mood and anxiety are common and understandable, not weakness. Talking to your team, family or a counsellor helps. Persistent low mood is also worth mentioning to your team, as it can sometimes signal low oxygen. SOS (1767) and mindline.sg (1771) are there if you are struggling.

What is the breathlessness-anxiety cycle?

Breathlessness is frightening, which raises anxiety, which can make breathing feel worse still. Breathing and relaxation techniques, a handheld fan, and the confidence built through pulmonary rehabilitation help calm both the breathing and the fear, alongside your prescribed treatment.

Should I turn my oxygen up if I feel worse?

No — never. Oxygen is set at a specific rate for your safety, and too much can be harmful, especially in COPD where it can cause the body to retain carbon dioxide. Breathlessness not caused by low oxygen is not helped by more oxygen. Use your techniques and plan, and call for help if breathing is severe.

When should I call 995 on home oxygen?

For severe or worsening breathlessness that does not ease or being unable to speak in sentences; blue or very pale lips, face or fingertips; chest pain; coughing up blood; and new confusion, marked drowsiness or being hard to wake (a danger sign of too much carbon dioxide). Call 995 — do not turn the oxygen up.

What are the signs of a lung flare-up?

More breathless than usual, more coughing, more phlegm or a change in its colour to green or yellow, and feeling generally unwell. Follow your written self-management or rescue plan and seek advice — do not just turn up the oxygen. Your respiratory team is your anchor.

Home Oxygen: Emotional Wellbeing & When to Get Help

Written & reviewed by the BestDoctors.sg editorial team · Last updated 28 Aug 2026 · General information, not medical advice

Living with home oxygen affects how you feel as well as how you breathe, and it comes with a small number of warning signs that everyone using it should know. This guide covers both: the emotional side, which is a normal part of adjusting, and the red flags that mean it is time to get help — including the crucial rule that the answer to feeling worse is never to turn the oxygen up. Knowing these makes living with oxygen safer and less frightening.

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In a medical emergency, or for severe or sudden symptoms such as breathing difficulty, chest pain, fainting or stroke signs, call 995 immediately.

This is general information and does not replace your team’s advice. Never increase your own oxygen flow rate. Call 995 for severe or worsening breathlessness, blue lips or fingertips, chest pain, or if the person becomes unusually drowsy, confused or hard to wake. For emotional support, the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) are on 1767 and mindline.sg on 1771.

The feelings are normal

Life with oxygen therapy can be difficult at times, and it is completely normal to have worries about it — about being dependent on the oxygen, about your condition, or about how you are seen. Low mood and anxiety are common and understandable, not a sign of weakness. Asthma + Lung UK recognises these feelings openly. Talking about them — with your team, your family, or a counsellor — genuinely helps, and support is there rather than something to face alone.

Self-consciousness in public

Many people feel self-conscious about being seen with a cannula and tubing, or carrying oxygen, when they are out. This is a very common worry, and it often eases with time and as confidence grows. Pulmonary rehabilitation, and meeting others who use oxygen, can help you feel less alone and more at ease. Focusing on what the oxygen lets you do — get out, stay active, keep your independence — can shift how it feels to use it in public.

The breathlessness-anxiety cycle

Breathlessness and anxiety feed each other: feeling breathless is frightening, which raises anxiety, which can make breathing feel worse still. Recognising this cycle is the first step to breaking it. Breathing and relaxation techniques, a handheld fan for the feeling of breathlessness, and the confidence built through pulmonary rehabilitation all help calm both the breathing and the fear. Your team can teach these techniques, which work alongside — not instead of — your prescribed treatment.

When low mood is a signal

Low mood is worth taking seriously for another reason too: for some people it can be a sign that their oxygen levels are low, rather than purely an emotional state. So persistent low mood is worth mentioning to your healthcare team, who can check whether anything physical is contributing. If you ever have persistent hopelessness or thoughts of harming yourself, reach out for help — in Singapore, SOS is on 1767 and mindline.sg on 1771, and in an emergency call 995.

Never turn the oxygen up

This safety rule sits at the heart of using oxygen well. If you feel more breathless, do not turn the oxygen up to try to fix it. Oxygen is set at a specific rate for your safety, and too much can be harmful — in COPD and some other conditions, too much oxygen can make the body hold on to carbon dioxide, which is dangerous. Breathlessness that is not from low oxygen is not helped by more oxygen. Use your breathing techniques, inhalers and plan — and if breathing is severe or not easing, call for help.

The red flags — call 995

Get emergency help — call 995 — for any of these: severe or rapidly worsening breathlessness that does not ease as usual, or being unable to speak in full sentences; blue or very pale lips, face or fingertips; chest pain or tightness, or pain spreading to the arm, back, neck or jaw; coughing up blood; and, importantly, new confusion, marked drowsiness, or becoming difficult to wake — which can be a danger sign of too much carbon dioxide. A flushed face with tremor and increasing sleepiness together is also a warning. In each case, the action is to call 995, not to turn the oxygen up.

Flare-ups and support in Singapore

Know the signs of a flare-up of your lung condition: more breathless than usual, more coughing, more phlegm or a change in its colour to green or yellow, and feeling generally unwell. If these appear, follow your written self-management or rescue plan — using any reliever inhaler or rescue medicines your doctor has prescribed for you — and seek advice; do not just turn up the oxygen. In Singapore, your respiratory team and oxygen supplier are your anchor for both equipment and clinical concerns, and HealthHub’s Airway Programme offers information; for emotional support, SOS is on 1767 and mindline.sg on 1771.

Sources

Asthma + Lung UK — Looking after your mental health: asthmaandlung.org.uk
University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS — Oxygen at home: uhcw.nhs.uk
Asthma + Lung UK — Managing COPD flare-ups: asthmaandlung.org.uk
Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) — 1767: sos.org.sg
mindline.sg — 1771: mindline.sg

General information only. This guide supports — but does not replace — the advice of your respiratory team and oxygen supplier, who set your oxygen and tailor it to you. Never change your own oxygen flow rate, and never smoke or allow naked flames near oxygen. Oxygen is prescribed for low blood oxygen, not to relieve breathlessness on its own. Call 995 if breathing becomes severe or does not ease as usual, if the lips or fingertips turn blue, for chest pain, or if the person becomes unusually drowsy, confused or hard to wake (a possible build-up of carbon dioxide from too much oxygen). If you are struggling emotionally, you are not alone — the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) are on 1767 and mindline.sg on 1771.

Emotional Wellbeing & When to Get Help with Home Oxygen (Singapore)