article - try breathing, trust me

try breathing, trust me

Many of us will have heard someone say

"just breath" when they're trying to help

someone in distress. And you've probably

also heard how deep & rhythmic breathing is

key to mediation & other pastimes like yoga

This article is very similar to an article elsewhere

in our stress help pages about banishing stress.

You may wish to check out this other article, but

it's not a biggy if you don't have time

Whatever you might have heard, breathing

exercises do have the power to calm a person.

Slow 'standard' breathing does dial-down anxiety.

(And when I say 'standard' I mean

what you, me, all of us do each & every day to

stay alive)

But what's far more effective is a technique called 'diaphragmatic breathing'. It's a little different to 'standard' breathing, but still very straightforward

to learn. As 'Diaphragmatic' is a bit of a mouthful,

for the rest of the article we'll use

'DP breathing' instead

Read on to learn more about how 'DP breathing'

can help, plus hear our founder's personal story

about learning how to breathe properly

from a professional

try breathing, trust me on this

In other articles in our help pages, we

talked about

'cognitive distortions'.

In effect, how we challenge our own negative patterns of thinking & along the way tackle the negative thinking at the root of our anxiety

'DP breathing' offers something different. In & of itself, 'DP breathing'

won't tackle the root

of a person's anxiety,

but it will dampen the

symptoms - read on to

learn more

A quick science lesson: what is 'diaphragmatic' breathing?

So, you might be surprised to hear that there's a couple of ways we

can take a breath:

1) the first uses our sternum & its muscle group to fill & empty our lungs

2) the second uses our diaphragm to fill & empty our lungs

See the illustration below

The second way we breathe, where we use our diaphragm, is known as (you guessed it) 'diaphragmatic breathing' - or 'DP Breathing' for short.

So what's the difference? Well, when we are 'DP Breathing', we take much deeper breaths. The lungs fill much closer,

if not to, their full capacity

Why do deeper breaths help?

Like so much in the world of wellness, there's no definitive answer to explain why deeper breathing helps to dampen anxiety

But some have

speculated: because

deeper breathing draws more oxygen into our lungs, and expels more carbon dioxide (toxic byproduct) each time we breathe, maybe our body feels less "physically" stressed. Hence we feel less 'psychologically' stressed. And less

anxious

Read on to learn the 'DB Breathing' technique

Want to learn more about the science, please click here

'DB Breathing' step by step

When you first start practising 'DB Breathing' you may wish to lie down or sit in a chair as this will help you to focus on your breathing - but you're free to do this wherever & however you feel most comfortable

Begin by placing one hand on your upper chest & the other on your stomach below your ribcage.

The only part they'll play is feeling how much your

chest rises & falls and how much your stomach rises & falls. Nothing more

Start to breathe in slowly & deeply through your nose. The idea of 'DB Breathing' is to use the diaphragm to draw in a breath rather than your sternum. The hand on your chest should remain still, the hand on your stomach should rise

If you're finding it a struggle,

try visualising taking in a breath by expanding your stomach

When your lungs are full, pause for five seconds. Concentrate on the sensation in your chest, the feeling of having a full breath

Exhale slowly through pursed lips. The hand on your chest should remain still, the hand on your stomach should fall

Keep practising until

breathing this way becomes second nature. You'll be using this technique when you're feeling stressed, so you'll want to be able to do it without too much thought

When you're feeling stressed, try to find a moment & a quiet spot for a session of 'DB Breathing'. Keep the session going

until your symptoms begin to dial-down. This is likely to take at least a few minutes, but might be longer - it's very much a personal thing

As you become more practised, you may find you're able to start a session whilst still in an anxiety-inducing setting - for example whilst in a meeting at work. 'DB Breathing' can be done pretty discreetly especially as it becomes more & more second

nature

trueME founder's personal story -

learning how to breathe properly

As I've mentioned elsewhere, in 2018 I underwent a course of therapy with a professional to try to overcome my anxiety & occasional panic attacks. One of the first things I discussed with my therapist was my breathing. She noticed that whilst we were talking I was breathing very shallowly using my chest - rather than my diaphragm. We paused & she taught me how to breathe properly using

my diaphragm

When I feel anxious or stressed (or both) I pause & check how I'm breathing: am I

breathing shallowly using my chest? Or am

I breathing deeply with my diaphragm? If shallowly, I'll take a moment to focus on my breathing. After emptying my mind & focussing on my breathing, I'll quickly return to 'DP' breathing. And more often than not, it helps to dial-down my symptoms

'DB Breathing' isn't a cure-all for stress, but should become another vital tool in our personal toolkit of techniques designed to

help banish the symptoms of stress

& anxiety.

But, please remember

Everyone is different. It's hard to generalise about these things as there are 101 different reasons about why you might be feeling the way you do.

If you feel that you are not able to manage your feelings of anxiety on your own, please don't suffer in silence. Help is available. Please seek the help of a suitably qualified medical practitioner.