Hi Dizzy and Davit: Personally, I have used deep breathing and box breathing for years to help with anxiety, during an attack too. It works for me. I practiced breathing exercises when in a relaxed state so that when I did feel anxiety or stress coming on, I would use it right away to help me relax before the anxiety escalated. When I feel tired out, breathing ex. helps too. Sometimes I just breathe in, hold for a count of two, gently let it out without forcing it out. If you place your hand just below your rib cage you will be able to feel it go up and down as you breathe. It doesn't have to be a big rise, you will feel a slight rising which is o.k. Just remember that breathing in expands, and breathing out contracts.
I would practice this every single day as part of your coping techniques. I remember when learning this that I chose a specific time every day and a specific chair. I would practice this about 10 minutes every day. Whenever I felt anxious again, I would go back to that chair and do the breathing again. After awhile, the mere sitting down in that chair signalled to my body that this was a relaxation time.
Another idea: when I was very anxious and not breathing properly, I used to sing. Singing makes you open up, breathe more and it's a great distraction. I used to use this when driving when I got tensed up.
Hope this gives you some ideas.
Your friend, Sunny
Hi Dizzy
I used to count to try to regulate it. By the way it is interesting that if you pass out your breathing will adjust to what you need. According to my Doctor. I think it is okay to think your breathing back to normal the same as trying to lower your pulse by thought which is much harder and probably only comes down because you are distracting the ForF reaction.
I don't belly breath as much as I should for the simple reason that it puts more O2 in my blood and hence to my brain.
Do you think there is a wrong way to do it. Now you have got me wondering if I just naturally belly breath when I'm anxious. It will have to wait because this antibiotic leaves me short of breath and I just naturally strive to get more air in my lungs.
20 more days to go but I will try to remember the question after I'm back to normal.
Bit confused but curious
Davit
I have some questions about breathing. When during an attack some people hyperventilate and others like me stop breathing. I know Ashley said not to use box breathing to stop an attack and I agree. However if you are one of the people who hyperventilate or stop breathing, which makes the symptoms of an attack worse, should you not try some relaxed breathing not necessarily boxed breathing but just relaxes breathing so you are behaviourally telling your body you are relaxed during an attack. This is part of a behavioural change to an attack am I wrong?
I was reading about paying attention to how you breathe during different emotional states. I noticed that I never abdominally breathe unless I do boxed breathing or purposely abdominally breathe. My final question is it worth it when say you watching TV and are in a relaxed state to try to retrain you bodies to a minimum do some abdominal breathing. After 25 years of anxiety, I have turned into a chest breather even when relaxed. I know there are articles that say watch a baby breath when it is not in distress and you will see its tummy or abdomen raise and lower. Again I ask is It worth trying to change how you breathe when in a relaxed state is this not the behavioural part in some small level of CBT. I am thinking that if you retrained your body to breathe abdominally without paying attention then we would naturally have less stress and anxiety. I have been told the answer is no by one person, but it seems to me that part of CBT is to change the way you think and the other part is to change the way you behave or breathe. Alternatively, is the answer to change the way you think about being a chest breather just the thought alone, in other words if you try to abdominally breathe while relaxed you are at first creating some anxiety that you are not doing it naturally. If you achieved abdominal breathing without anxiety towards it and not thinking about it could this not be the ultimate goal, or is it unachievable.
Dizzy
