How Breathing Reduces Your Anxiety
When someone is feeling anxious, the first thing most people say is, “take a deep breath.” Instinctively, we know taking a deep breath will help us pause, relax, and reset in order to continue on with our day. What’s interesting is that sometimes when people say this to me, I actually get frustrated! I don’t want to breathe! I’m in panic mode over here! But then I learned why the breath is so important and how to breathe in a way that almost instantly reduces my anxiety. And now it’s my number one go-to tool when I’m feeling anxious. And I want the same for you! Today I’m sharing exactly why taking a deep breath works and how to do it properly so that you can slow down your nervous system and reduce your anxiety.
Why Is It Hard To Think Rationally When You’re Feeling Anxious?
The amygdala is the part of our brain that is constantly scanning for danger. It’s an extremely helpful part of our consciousness because it’s main function is to keep us alive. Most of the time you don’t recognize it doing its job. But when there is a real threat to your existence, you can thank it for springing into action to ensure you are safe.
However … The amygdala is not super savvy. Unfortunately it can’t tell the difference between an actual threat, (e.g., getting out of the way of a moving vehicle) and a perceived threat (e.g., anxiety).
Anxiety is the memory of fear or the anticipation of fear. As worry and stress ruminate in your mind, the brain believes you are unsafe and the amygdala interprets your present moment to be a threat to your survival! So your body reacts the same way it would if there was an immediate danger. Your prefrontal cortex goes offline and your amygdala starts to run the show. This means that you end up reacting or making decisions from a place of emotion and fear rather than being able to think things through.
This is why when someone suggests that you, “take a deep breath” when you are at the height of your anxiety, you become annoyed or frustrated because that action doesn’t make sense to your amygdala. It wants to keep panicking!
But this friendly reminder can be just the trigger you need to switch off your amygdala and turn back on your prefrontal cortex.
Take a moment to recognize what’s happening if someone else reminds you that you are feeling anxious. Or, when you feel anxious on your own, try to simply name it. Sometimes just saying “I’m really anxious right now” outloud can shift your experience and turn down the intensity of the sensations. This awareness will create just a little bit of space for you to choose your next step. And knowing how and why the breath is so powerful in this situation can be extremely helpful.
How the Breath Works
Prana, or energy, rides on the breath, which means that you can directly influence your energy level and nervous system based on the way you breathe. And the most important thing is that your respiratory system is one of the few biological processes that can occur both consciously or unconsciously. It happens automatically AND you have the ability to influence the way you breathe.
When you breathe, the movement of muscles in your torso allows the lungs to expand and contract. Your breath is guided by the diaphragm (a large, dome-shaped muscle located beneath your lungs) and the intercostal muscles between your ribs. When your lungs expand, the volume within your thoracic cavity increases, and air is drawn into your lungs - a.k.a. you inhale. The opposite happens as your lungs contract back to their original shape. The volume decreases, which increases the air pressure in the thoracic cavity, causing you to exhale.
Research shows that breathing into the lower lobes of the lungs triggers your parasympathetic nervous system (rest, restore, and relax), while breathing into the highest lobes of your lungs triggers your sympathetic nervous system (fight, flight, freeze or faint). And since you can consciously breathe a certain way, you can focus on a few deep breaths to turn on your prefrontal cortex while slowing down your anxiety.
Letting Go and Three Part Breath
In my opinion, the most effective breath to quickly reduce your anxiety is a combination of the Letting Go breath and the three part breath.
When you first recognize that you are feeling anxious, or someone reminds you, instead of getting frustrated, pause and shift your awareness to your breath.
First, take three letting go breaths.
Inhale deeply through the nose and then exhale with a soft sigh out the mouth. As you exhale, think about releasing the excess stress you have but don’t release too much energy. Let the exhale be a soft sigh. After 3 times, notice how your energy shifts.
Then pause again and take three three-part breaths.
Bring your hands to your belly and soften or close your eyes. As you inhale, let the belly move into your palms so that your diaphragm can drop down and you can breathe into the lowest lobes of your lungs. As you continue to inhale, let the ribs expand and then fill the upper lungs into the chest. As you exhale, release the chest first and then the ribs, and then gently pull the belly back into the lower back to draw the diaphragm up toward the lungs, expelling as much of the exhale as possible. After three rounds, notice the effects in your body and mind. As you breathe slowly in and out, you may notice your mind relax and your energy soften or feel more steady.
While breathing, get as curious as you can about how the breath feels in your body. This will help anchor your awareness to the breath in order to pop back online your prefrontal cortex so that you can start to make decisions from a place of thinking rather than feeling.
I realize stopping your anxious mind is not always that easy to do. We talked about why above! But, if you can remember, even if for just one moment, that you have the power to control how you feel by simply taking a few conscious, deep breaths, you can reduce your anxiety and feel more grounded in order to continue on with your day.
Of course meditating is also a great way to slow down the body and mind! Interested in trying it out but don’t know where to start? Download my Free Guide, Simple Mind: Tips To Start Meditating With Ease”. This step-by-step guide is designed to take the mystery out of starting a meditation practice along with meditation strategies you can do right now to reduce your anxiety even when you're running short on time. Get started today!