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
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This article talks about the power of breathing & how it can help to banish stress. This article is similar to one elsewhere in our wellness help pages about tackling anxiety. You might want to check out this other article if you think you're also suffering
from anxiety, but it's not a biggy if you don't
have time
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Whatever you might have heard, breathing exercises
do have the power to calm a person. Slow
'standard' breathing does help to manage
stress. (And when I say 'standard' I mean
what you, me, all of us do each & every
day to stay alive.)
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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
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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 banishing feelings of anxiety. Here we're talking stress which is different to anxiety.
Feelings of stress should pass as things in your life begin to improve - unlike anxiety which has a tendency to stick around. The goal is to find ways to manage your stress & its symptoms until
they pass
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DP breathing won't
banish the cause of a person's stress, but it
will dampen the symptoms of stress as
you try to deal with whatever is causing the stress in your life - 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.
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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 banish the symptoms of stress
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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
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Read on to learn the 'DB Breathing' technique
'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 helping you to feel 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
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If you're finding it a struggle,
try visualising taking in a breath by expanding your stomach
Exhale slowly through pursed lips. The hand on your chest should remain still, the hand on your stomach should fall
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Keep practising until
breathing this way becomes second nature - it may take a while to get this right, just like learning to ride a bike. But you will get there in the end & it'll be worth it
When you're feeling stressed, try to find a spare 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
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As you become more experienced, you may find you're able to start a
session whilst still in a stressful setting - for example whilst in a meeting at
work. 'DB Breathing' can be done pretty discreetly
trueME founder's personal story -
learning how to breathe properly
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 with my chest - rather than my diaphragm. We paused & she taught me how to breathe properly using
my diaphragm
When I feel stressed I pause & check how I'm breathing: am I breathing shallowly with 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
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Although 'DB Breathing' isn't a cure-all for stress, it's another vital tool in your personal toolkit of techniques to manage
stress. Unlike other techniques, you can
also use it pretty discreetly which is
a pretty big plus
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.
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If you feel that you are not able to manage your feelings of stress on your own, please don't suffer in silence. Help is available. Please seek the help of a suitably qualified medical practitioner.