Sometimes anxiety can take our breath away...but not in the beautiful and exciting kind of way.
It's no surprise that people with severe anxiety can regularly experience breathing issues during times of panic, but often poor breathing techniques can become a habit.
The only way to practice proper breathing techniques, is by first understanding the kinds of breathing patterns you might suffer from.
1. Shallow Breathing
Breathing in too quickly.
2. Monitored Breathing
Thinking about your breathing too much.
3. Over-Breathing
Breathing in as much air as you can, because you feel like you're not getting enough.
These poor breathing habits can lead to a number of different issues when faced with anxiety, but the most common is hyperventilation.
Hyperventilating can be really tough, because not only do you feel like you have no way of regulating your breathing, you might also start to feel chest pain and a rapid heart beat.
Proper breathing techniques take a lot of practice, but once mastered you'll learn how healthy calming breathing can be to the mind and body during moments of panic and anxiousness.
After all, calm breathing is a physiological strategy which is universally effective for relieving high amounts of anxiety instantly!
Let's talk more about hyperventilating...
When we hyperventilate it usually feels like we aren't getting enough oxygen, but the truth is that we are getting too much of it, also referred to as Over-Breathing.
Try this next time:
Focus more on your out-breath, rather than your in-breath. Try to make each breath out of your mouth slow and steady.
Some people find it's easier to pretend they're blowing up a balloon, and I would even suggest taking a small paper bag and placing it over your mouth.
By doing or imagining this exercise, you are allow your body to breathe with the least amount of force in a regulated way.
Should we breathe deeply or slowly?
While most people would argue that deep breathing exercises are a great tool for dealing with anxiety, slow breathing can be much more effective.
Slow breathing is meant to be simple and natural, not complicated. When we allow ourselves to breathe slowly, we also slow down our heart rate.
Try this approach next time:
Do 10 breathing cycles where you monitor your heartbeat.
1. Inhale, counting 5 heartbeats.
2. Hold breath, counting 7 heartbeats.
3. Exhale, counting 9 heartbeats.