My Favorite Breathing Technique for Anxiety

Situational anxiety is something I’ve struggled with for many years. Fortunately, I don’t experience it often. When it occurs, it usually has to do with things occurring in life where I feel powerless. It’s the worse feeling, and I think it’s the most uncomfortable I’ve experienced. It’s a crazy cycle that starts in my head and within two seconds goes straight to my heart. My pounding heart then exacerbates my thoughts of powerlessness, thus leading to a vicious cycle that’s difficult to break. Fortunately, there is a breathing technique that works well for me at breaking this cycle, and hopefully it will for you too, but first let’s briefly discuss the driver of this cycle.

The cycle begins with a negative thought. You have a thought that triggers the release of stress hormones. Then your heart begins to pound. The pounding heart sends strong pulse waves to your brain. These pulse waves and the stress chemicals inform your brain that you are now in fight or flight. The amygdala, the part of the brain associated with emotions and less rational thinking, becomes hyperactive. Now here’s the thing. Having a hyperactive amygdala makes it difficult to think in a clear self-supportive manner. You’ll tend to think self-critically with greater self-doubt and a pessimistic outlook. These negative thoughts keep the heart racing. Thus, the vicious cycle continues. 

An effective way to break this cycle is through your body - a bottom-up approach. If you can calm your heart you will be able to calm your mind and shift your thinking to the more rational and intelligent part of your brain, the prefrontal cortex. The most effective non-pharmacological method I’ve used for breaking the cycle is the following breathing exercise.  

I learned this breathing exercise from Wim Hof. The full method is done for three rounds, but you can ease yourself into it by starting with one or two rounds.  If you’re not used to breathing techniques, it’s a good idea to reduce your breath-holding times from what’s noted below. This is what you do:

All three steps are intended to be done without interruption. It takes about 10 minutes to complete all three rounds. A full guided video is also listed below.

Step 1

  1. Take 30 deep cyclical breaths

  2. Fully exhale and hold your outbreath for 60 seconds.

  3. Take a deep breath in and hold for 15 seconds. When you’ve completed 15 seconds that’s the end of round one.

Step 2

  1. Same as step 1 except the outbreath is held for 90 seconds

Step 3

  1. Same as step 2

This breathing exercise is an emotional self-regulation skill. These skills have become increasingly useful in a world of such uncertainty. As with all skills, it’s best to start practicing the technique when you don’t need it. This way, you’ll be able to implement it more easily in a time of need. If you try this method, please let me know how it goes. If you have other methods you’ve used, share them with us.

Here’s a link to Wim Hof’s video where you can be guided through the whole process.

 

Scott Bevins