Controlled Breathing

Abdominal breathing (also known as belly breathing) is a powerful tool for managing anxiety and panic attacks.

Slow, controlled breaths can help calm a racing heart and other physical symptoms of panic, effectively interrupting the escalating cycle of anxiety. Even if a full-blown panic attack occurs, belly breathing can help you recover faster.

Trying to reason your way out of a panic attack is often ineffective because panic originates in a different part of the brain that does not operate by logic and reasoning. While we can try to communicate with this part, it's not receptive to our words.

Therefore, it's crucial to practice belly breathing before a crisis hits. This prepares you with a reliable technique to manage anxiety when it arises.

The primary goal

The main goal is to gain control of your breathing and slow it down. While controlled breathing won't eliminate anxiety entirely, it can prevent it from escalating.

Included are a few methods that some people find helpful, but if counting breaths feels overwhelming, simply focus on exhaling completely and breathing at a slower pace.

Remember, the key is to find what works best for you in the moment.

Box Method

The box method is a good way to start. 

1. Slowly exhale for 4 seconds (remember to completely expel the air from your lungs). 

2. Hold for 4 seconds. 

3. Slowly inhale over 4 seconds. 

4. Hold for another 4 seconds.

5. Repeat.

As you improve, increase the exhale time toward 11 seconds and the inhale time to 7 seconds.

4-7-8 Method

Another method that has widespread success is the 4-7-8 method. This involves an inhalation over 4 seconds, holding for 7 seconds and then exhaling over the period of 8 seconds.

10-10 Method

Count to 10 while you inhale and count to 10 as you exhale.

What's going on?

During heightened anxiety and panic attacks, your body's emergency response system activates, preparing for a perceived threat. While we may rationally recognize that the threat isn't real, the part of our brain responsible for this response is not rational; it cannot be reasoned with.

This emergency response requires increased oxygen intake and carbon dioxide release, priming us to fight or flee. However, by consciously controlling our breathing, we can override this system and signal to our brain that the perceived alarm is false.

This approach allows us to take charge of our physiological response, even when our rational mind struggles to control our emotions.

Why does it work?

When we take thoughtful control of our breathing, we can override our biological emergency response system and send a signal to our irrational brain that the alarm is not real.