Sometimes due to anxiety your breathing pattern may change to a shallow fast breath, this type of breathing also leads to heightened feelings of anxiety as the biochemistry of your body changes due to an increase in carbon dioxide and an alkalization of your system. It can create a loop that feeds the anxiety. So changing the way you breath can help tremendously.
There are different types of breathing pattern disorders, some more extreme than others and some are related to physiological diseases. The type that we are focusing on here is the more subtle form of a disordered breathing pattern that is not caused by any underlying medical diagnosis. It is associated with chronic over-breathing combined with upper chest breathing and although it may appear minor it definitely has strong felt consequences both emotionally and physically.
More recently in my practice I have found an increase in people reporting feeling anxious and also I have noticed more physical evidence of people struggling to relax their body and signs of over activity of the nervous system, such as shallow rapid breathing and an inability to let go of holding patterns in the body especially throughout the arms shoulders and neck.
Often people come to see me for treatment of muscular discomfort especially of the neck and shoulders. One of the first things I assess is for a breathing pattern disorder. I also take a detailed consultation of their past and current health and discuss how they are feeling and their stress and energy levels.
Here are some symptoms of a breathing pattern disorder
Feeling anxious and uptight
Achy muscles and joints
Frequent yawning sighing
Digestive problems feelings of nausea
Lump in the throat
Tired all the time
Hyper vigilant feeling on edge
Feeling spaced out
Breathing feels uncomfortable
Disturbed sleep
Erratic heartbeats
Pins and needles
Cold and clammy hands
Chest Pains
Loss of confidence
Feeling dizzy disorientated
Irritability
Feeling of 'air hunger'
A simple and effective way to start lowering feelings of anxiety is to focus more on strengthening and extending your exhalation.
Pursed Lips Breathing
Relax before starting pursed lip breathing. Take a minute to drop the shoulders and release the tongue from the roof of the mouth. It may help to close the eyes when trying pursed lip breathing for the first few times, if this feels uncomfortable for you keep your eyes open and focus on something in your environment.
To do pursed lip breathing
Breathe in for 2 seconds through your nose, with your mouth closed.
Breathe out for 4 seconds through pursed lips, as if gently blowing.
Close your mouth and breathe back in for a count of 2 seconds through your nose.
Start with a breath that you can manage easily, the ratio is double the exhale time of the inhale time, 3/6 4/8.
Keep repeating this breathing sequence of your chosen length. Starting with practicing it for one minute and gradually building up to 5 minutes by adding an extra minute each day until you can comfortably manage 5 minutes.
Practicing the pursed lip breathing once in the morning and once in the evening can start to make a difference to how you feel.
I will be sharing more ways to manage anxiety in future posts.
Know that there are ways to find your path back to being relaxed, find the techniques that work for you, each person responds differently.