So, I'll be honest. I used to hate the idea of 'deep breathing.' I especially used to hate it as a coping skill. We have been breathing since we've been born; we do it without thinking. What is deep breathing really going to do for us when it's so automatic?
Well, a lot actually. First and foremost, it's portable. When it comes to coping skills, you can take this one anywhere you go. You only need yourself. Things like stress balls or journaling, you have to remember that stress ball and journal (and a writing utensil!). Breathing can be done anywhere you are!
After that, there's the fact that slowing down our breathing slows down our heart rate and helps us feel less panicked. If your heart beat is racing, it's hard to focus on anything else and just accelerates our emotion because we feel anxious. Focusing on breathing also 'clears our mind' by giving us something else to focus on - that deep cleansing breath.
But how can we really get the best bang for our breath? Here's some ideas and tips:
Take a limited number of deep breaths (no more than 5). Anymore will only result in you feeling light headed and dizzy, which is also not helpful
Breaths with counts: This is where you count as you breathe in (1, 2, 3) and then do the same number of counts out (1, 2, 3)
Box breathing: Take a breath in counting (1, 2, 3, 4), hold counting (1, 2, 3, 4), breathe out counting (1, 2, 3, 4), hold with your breath out (1, 2, 3, 4). Added bonus to imagine your breaths making a box and each time you count, it's another side of the square.
One deep breath: Imagine pulling in the calm as you breath in and blowing out the chaos as you breath out.
You can also try breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth with any of these.
As with most coping skills, practice makes better. Do these even when you aren't feeling anxious or frustrated and they will develop and become more effective and efficient for you. For example, if you are so mad that you are about to punch something, that one deep breath is going to do nothing for you because you aren't going to image any amount of calm that you are breathing in. But if you use it periodically even when not irritable and imagine that calm, it's going to calm you a lot better when you do need it.
You can keep tweaking any coping skill until it gives you the best benefit and feels right for you. These a some some ideas. What are ways you have tried?
Comments