Anxiety, fear, and panic attacks are characterized by shallow breathing, which leads to what is called hyperventilation of the lungs. This leads to an oversaturation of oxygen in the blood and a decrease in CO2. This leads to the respiratory center in the brain triggering a series of processes in the body to help restore a healthy blood balance and biochemistry.
Among these processes: spasms of small capillaries and blood vessels, decreased blood pressure. This imbalance, despite the high oxygen content in the blood, causes a lack of oxygen supply to the cells of the brain, heart and kidneys. Hypoxia occurs, which causes dizziness, “lump in the throat”, difficulty in breathing, a feeling of suffocation, and pre-consciousness.
It’s possible to normalize the oxygen and CO2 content, as well as to reduce the adrenaline level within a few minutes, simply by doing one of the breathing techniques.
Conscious Slowing of Breathing
Performing this technique, it is necessary to breathe not with the chest, but strictly with the diaphragm. For this purpose, during inhalation we stick out the abdomen forward, imagining, for example, that when you inhale in the abdomen the “balloon” is inflated. Breathing at the same time is slower than usual. What is important, the breath should be comfortable! Avoid overstraining the abdominal muscles and unpleasant feelings, lack of air.
To make it easier to control, you can put your hand on your stomach. You can perform the technique sitting in a comfortable position with eyes closed or standing with eyes open. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. When exhaling, relax all the muscles of the body. The exhalation should be longer than the inhalation.
Square Breathing
Another simple technique that requires no special training or conditions. At the same time, it quickly switches us from a state of emotional arousal to a conscious state of observation – square breathing.
As soon as you feel that you are “boiling over,” or a panic attack begins, shift all your attention from your mind to the sensations in your body. What does your body feel? The mind can be tricky and pretend. The body never cheats. Therefore after you have concentrated on sensations of the body, present before you a drawing with the scheme of a breath on a square and start to breathe. You can do this standing with your eyes open right in the subway, in the middle of a meeting, or during a walk.
Performing the “Square Breathing” technique is as easy as betting via this sportsbook Canada:
- Take a comfortable standing or sitting position with a straight back.
- Close your eyes and take several deep breaths and exhales. Breathe consciously and deeply, using full yogic breathing.
- Then, while breathing in, count to yourself (one, two, three, four).
- Make the breath delay, equal in duration to an inhalation.
- After the delay – exhale and again hold the breath, according to the scheme above.
- During the practice, concentrate on the breath, do not get involved in the thought process.
- During breath-holds, imagine that you are breathing with your skin.
- Breathe in this way for 5-15 minutes a day.
Performing this technique not only relieves muscle tension and stress of any kind, but also normalizes blood pressure, calms the nervous system, effectively changes the emotional state, relieves excitement and jitters. Daily practice makes the body immune to infectious diseases, improves gastrointestinal function, increases concentration and performance, and balances the activity of the right and left hemispheres of the brain.
After practice, answers to questions or new ideas often come. So in any unclear situation, just breathe and don’t forget that conscious breathing changes the internal state regardless of what’s going on outside.
