BREATH

It seems that whenever a person is anxious or panicking someone can be heard saying “breathe,” “take a deep breath,” or “just calm down.” Yes, calming down can be as simple as taking a few deep inhales and exhales. But we can’t just make ourselves calm down or stop being anxious if someone tells us to. And for most people, bringing in a deep breath when they are having a panic attack is not easy; not even close to easy.

With practice and a semi-conscious openness to being calm, to slowing down, and being with what you are experiencing, even if it is scary or uncomfortable, we can shift our nervous system into a physiological state to cope with the experience by changing our breathing pattern. We hypothesize that reversing homeostatic alterations with meditation and breathing techniques rather than targeting neurotransmitters with medication may be a superior method to address the whole body changes that occur in stress, anxiety, and depression.

For example, shallow inhales followed by minimal exhales can send signals to our body that we are either encountering a perceived threat in the here-and-now OR something similar to what is happening ‘now’ has occurred in the past and our body is preparing for the unpleasantness that it experienced years ago.

Breath is a three-way bridge that connects our nervous and limbic systems to our bodies AND the present moment. Words and thoughts can NOT make our body disengage from it’s survival wiring but breath can; it is one of the mechanisms that can shift our physiological state. The vagus nerve can notice full inhales and long exhales and send (unconscious) signals to the body indicating a state of safety.

By being mindfully aware of anxiety, panic, or discomfort in our bodies or minds we can shift our body’s response to the present moment by doing a breathing exercise. Simple, right?

Not really. It is only simple if we have practiced breathing exercises when we felt comfortable, grounded, or ‘fine.’ But if we are experiencing anxiety, panic, overwhelm, PTSD, or catastrophic thoughts, it is really challenging to try a breathing exercise for the first time if we have not practiced it several times. When we are not fine our heart rate is usually elevated and bringing on a new and slow breathing pattern that is unfamiliar will not work out very well. So, what can we do?

PRACTICE! Click here to work with a therapist in Texas