Breathing Deep: the Simplest Way to Calm Yourself

Call this Anxiety Management in a jiffy but yes it is true and comes without the fear of side-effects or addiction fears - the things we associate with conventional and modern prescription drugs for anxiety, IBS, depression, obsessive thinking...



Personal Anxiety Management Experiences

I have to confess that I am an anxious soul. I don’t get flustered easily but a sense of uneasiness often overcomes me. I have tried anti-anxiety medications too. Called anxiolytics, these medications are supposed to slow down the release of chemicals that induce a sense of anxiousness. However, I didn’t find these to be too helpful. What has helped is a very simple change I have made to my everyday existence—breathing in a more relaxed manner.

Read about Anxiety Management in the Easiest Way: No Meds, Just Pinch Yourself

Browsing the web, I realized that most of us don’t breathe right. When anxious, this problem worsens as we breathe even more shallowly. I decoded this pattern in my daily life too. Every time I got into an over-thinking mode, my breathing was laboured. I would inhale air in huge bouts and gasps. The consistent smooth breathing pattern was missing. According to researchers, shallow breathing is both a result and cause of anxiety.

Read about Defeating Anxiety Using the Exhale Quick & Strong Approach - It Works!!

It starts when you feel anxious and it also stimulates anxiety symptoms like headaches, acidity or that burning feeling in the stomach. I have put a simple practice into motion. Whenever I feel overworked or getting restless, I shun my work for a minute and start breathing deeper, drawing in more air and exhaling it slowly. The idea is to make your breathing more relaxed. The results are better than depending upon Valium or Prozac.

To take this discussion further, you might want to read about my anxiety management approach during Mornings