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The crippling fear of impending danger that anxiety brings can strike at any time. When you’re suffering from an anxiety attack, which is a common form of severe anxiety, your mind will be consumed by disturbing thoughts for hours, if not days.

There are a number of therapeutic options that may help reduce future episodes of severe anxiety, and these can be used in addition to traditional pharmacological interventions, which may produce negative effects upon long-term use.

Here are four tried-and-true breathing techniques that will help you feel calm and in charge of your worries.

Mindful Breathing

This breathing technique aids in slowing the rate of respiration.

Find a comfortable position and focus intently on your breath without altering it. Feel the changes that accompany each deep breath; the rhythm, texture, and temperature of each breath.

After this, take even deeper breaths while observing the disappearance of stress, worries, and judgments after a few minutes of mindful breathing.

Breathing Words

If you desire something to concentrate on during your breathing exercises, this method is likely for you. It is one of my favorite techniques for reducing the intensity of psychological stress.

This exercise involves adding words to each deep breath in order to distract the mind from anxiety while also delivering a message.

Straighten your posture on a chair. Instead of saying the words out loud, visualize breathing them in and out as you inhale and exhale. For instance, inhale the word “I.” As you inhale, you should think “am,” and as you exhale, you should think “calm.” Start with “I am calm,” and once you’ve mastered it, switch to a phrase that makes you feel more relaxed.

Square Breathing

Square breathing, also referred to as “four-square breathing,” involves counting to four while taking deep breaths.

Begin by settling comfortably into a chair. Once seated comfortably, inhale while counting to four, hold your breath while counting to four, exhale while counting to four, and then take a brief break while counting to four. Repeat this physical activity for four minutes.

If this technique is effective for you, you can increase its effectiveness by visualizing during your breathing exercises. Imagine drawing a four-sided box each time you count to four. This will prevent you from having any unwanted thoughts.

Balloon Breaths

This is perhaps the most effective method, as a great number of people tend to find success with it. It involves deep, diaphragmatic breaths that can quickly induce a state of relaxation.

You begin by sitting on a chair or lying on your back on the ground. One advantage of lying on the floor is the enhanced awareness of diaphragmatic breathing.

Once you have found the optimal position, place one hand on your abdomen and the other on your chest. Observe how your diaphragm inflates like a balloon as you inhale. Imagine the balloon deflating and losing all of its air as you exhale.

Perform this exercise ten times more.

as published in Mental Daily and Space Coast Daily

Jose Florez, better known by his pen name Joey Florez, is a graduate of applied psychology at Florida Tech.

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The post Four Breathing Exercises That Can Help You Address Anxiety appeared first on The Good Men Project.

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