Breathing for Stress Relief and Anxiety Management

Breathing for Anxiety Relief

Of all of the simple, natural, free and easy things that life already gave us to manage anxiety, the number one most accessible is that thing that we are already doing anyway, simply because we are alive. That thing is breathing.

We have to breathe anyway, so we may as well harness this most fundamental aspect of human life and use it to full advantage.

There are many different breathing exercises for various purposes. Later in this article there’s a guide to a super simple yet highly effective breathing exercise to immediately relieve anxiety but before we come to that, let’s have a little look at why breathing in a particular way is such a great anxiety management tool.

You have most likely heard of the ‘fight or flight mode’, sometimes known as the fight, flight or freeze mode or state. This is the state our amazing bodies kick into when they’re working to save us from danger. The fight or flight mode is what we’re in when our sympathetic nervous system is activated.

Ideally, when the danger has passed, we come back to the ‘rest and digest mode’, sometimes known as the rest, repair and digest mode or state. This is the state in which our bodies tend to all the functions that keep us healthy and well. This mode is what we’re in when our parasympathetic nervous system is activated.

Our bodies are truly amazing things, perfectly designed to support our health and wellbeing. As such, both of these states play their part in our wellness, each in their own way at the appropriate time.

Unfortunately, due to a variety of reasons, including but not limited to trauma, complex trauma (a series of traumatic events) and ongoing stressful circumstances and environmental factors, we can get stuck in fight or flight mode. When we’re stuck in this mode, it is highly likely that we’re going to be living with persistent anxiety.

This can be perpetuated by the circumstances themselves but it can also be perpetuated by our thoughts and our physiological responses, including the way we breathe.

When we’re in fight or flight, our breathing is generally rapid and shallow, which is helpful and appropriate during those situations where we are faced with actual threats from which we must protect ourselves.

But it can also be a chicken and egg thing because habitual shallow and rapid breathing can work to hold us in the fight and flight mode, thereby perpetuating the experience of anxiety.

When we deliberately take deeper, slower breaths right down to our bellies, we engage the diaphragm and, when we do this, we stimulate the vagus nerve – a fabulous, tree of life, communication superhighway network connecting our brain with our vital organs. When we stimulate the vagus nerve, we activate the parasympathetic nervous system, that part of the autonomic nervous system responsible for the rest, repair and digest mode.

We’ll come to that simple breathing exercise in a moment but something to note before we do: if you have a lung condition, such as COPD, or other issues or difficulties with breathing, you may wish to explore some other simple ways to stimulate the vagus nerve.

As a prelude to the exercise, you might like to take a moment now to simply notice your breathing. This in itself can be a powerful tool for anxiety relief because choosing to focus our attention on our breath can bring us out of the monkey mind and into the moment. Each breath can only ever happen in the moment it’s happening in. Being present with that is being present with the reality of physical sensations occurring in the here and now.

There are a number of different things you can choose to notice about your breath, including:

• the depth of your breath

• the pace of your breath

• whether you’re breathing through your mouth or your nose *

• the sensations of air moving through your nasal passages or your mouth

• the feeling of expansion as air enters your lungs

• the feelings of release on the exhale

• the sound of your breath

(* Breathing through the nose has a host of health benefits, so, if you’re able, choose to breathe through your nose.)

You may notice that as you bring your attention to your breathing, it may naturally become slower and deeper. Or it may not. As mentioned above, slower, deeper breathing is the type of breathing that’s associated with the rest, repair and digest state.

Practising the following exercise is going to support not only activating the parasympathetic nervous system in the moment, it will also support the development of a habit of breathing more slowly and deeply, enabling you to remain in that rest, repair and digest state as your healthy baseline.

A SIMPLE BREATHING EXERCISE TO SUPPORT ANXIETY MANAGEMENT AND MINIMISATION

Please take note of the following points before practising the exercise:

• If possible, breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth for the purpose of this exercise.

• Make your out-breath longer than your in-breath. Counting can be a helpful way of ensuring this. Counting can also be helpful in giving a busy mind a neutral focus. So, for example, breathe in for a count of four and out for a count of seven. The numbers themselves aren’t important. The objective is to slow the out-breath and to ensure all air is expelled from the lungs.

• If it is comfortable to do so, you may choose to notice a slight pause at the top of the in-breath and/or at the bottom of the out-breath.

• If it is safe to do so, you may choose to close your eyes while practising this exercise but it will be effective with eyes open or closed. Sometimes, closing the eyes can assist with focus as you develop your practice.

• DO NOT FORCE ANYTHING! Practise at your own pace and make sure you don’t put yourself off by making yourself uncomfortable by overdoing anything. The more you practice, the slower and deeper your breathing will become.

ANXIETY MANAGEMENT BREATHING EXERCISE STEP BY STEP

• Take three slow, deep breaths following the points above

• Allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm

• Take a moment to notice any changes in how you’re feeling

PRACTISING THE EXERCISE

This exercise can be very powerful in bringing us back to the rest, repair and digest state after a situation that has kicked us into fight or flight mode. It’s also healthy and helpful just to do it a few times throughout the day for the sake of its benefits.

Choosing to practice this exercise at least once a day will not only provide benefit in the moment, it also helps us to remember to do this exercise at those times when we really need it.

Taking some time to really notice the positive impact on the physical sensations in the body can also encourage us to remember to utilise this simple yet highly effective tool in those moments when we need it the most.

For those with an experience of ongoing, persistent or chronic anxiety in any of its various forms, regularly practising this exercise can become a fundamental part of a program that can make experiencing ongoing anxiety a thing of the past.