3 Powerful Types of Breathing for Panic Attacks
So, your therapist told you that you should use breathing for panic attacks to help you calm down and relieve the anxiety. Here I’ll be discussing some different breathing techniques you can use to relax your mind and body to help put an end to panic attacks.
Deep Breathing for Panic Attacks
This one is no shock. One of the earliest panic attack symptoms is hyperventilation (fast, shallow breathing). Oftentimes, just experiencing this can cause you to think “Oh no! I’m about to have another panic attack!” and it can start a chain reaction that inevitably leads to a panic attack.
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By taking slow and deep breaths, you are doing the opposite of hyperventilation. Focus on breathing deep into your stomach. You should notice that you belly is moving when you are breathing, not your chest.
This alone can break the chain of events that often escalate into a severe panic attack. By breaking the first link in the chain, we stop the problem at the beginning before it gets out of control.
Meditative Breathing for Panic Attacks
Another breathing technique is the use of meditation for anxiety. By simply finding a quiet place and focusing on your breathing for a few minutes, you can calm yourself down. Buddhists have been doing this for thousands of years to find tranquility and enlightenment.
Now maybe your end-goal here isn’t nirvana, but the Buddhists are on to something. With careful practice at watching your breathing you can focus your mind away from all the distractions of your mind.
Other symptoms of panic and anxiety are racing thoughts, worrying, and disturbing thoughts. By putting all of your attention on your breathing you can, with practice, quiet all the mind chatter and shut off all that “what if…” thinking.
Holotropic Breathing for Panic Attacks
Holotropic breathing is a therapeutic breathing technique that has been used to heal mental and emotional wounds. Here, instead of trying to slow down the breathing, we are actually speeding it up.
Through very rapid and very deep breathing, you flood the bloodstream with oxygen, which mentally can unearth all sorts of repressed emotions. It also can be used to experience the physical symptoms of anxiety as well–numbness, dizziness, derealization, rapid heart beat.
Now this may seem incredibly frightening, especially if you have an anxiety disorder, but what is happening here, is you are experiencing all the usual symptoms of a panic attack in a completely safe environment. You have complete control over your experience. If it becomes too much for you to handle, slow down your breathing and the sensations will subside.
Holotropic breathing is a great way to work out any emotional causes of your anxiety and get comfortable feeling the physical signs of a panic attack without feeling out of control.
So, you can see, when it comes to breathing for panic attacks, there are quite a few different techniques you can use. What is most important is that you try out the one that feels right for you since you will be more likely to stick with it and continue using it in the long run.
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