What’s Breath Got to Do with Anxiety?
Sadie Croshaw
Are you constantly hearing about breathing and meditation being a magical tool for anxiety and stress? Breath-work has sort of become a buzzword lately, which makes the idea of it a little cliche.
So where’s the proof? Why does this idea of breath-work hold so much weight in so many different spheres–between doctors, therapists, physical therapists, yoga teachers, teachers, etc.? Why are some dentists even recommending yoga to their patients?
Anxiety is such a complicated illness, and it manifests differently in each person. For me, it shows up as jaw clenching, migraines, dizziness, chest pain, and shortened breath. You may experience one of more of these symptoms. You may experience a variety of totally different symptoms. That’s what makes it so tricky to understand.
But in general, anxiety is often related to a sense of unsettlement, insecurity, racing thoughts, etc. CERTAINLY, any symptoms you’re experiencing should be discussed with a doctor and/or a therapist. But with that, one of the largest sources of empowerment for me has been educating myself about why my body responds to situations the way it does.
As I researched anxiety, the breath, and the body’s response to stress, I learned that the body sometimes gets conflicted with a feeling of stress and a need to enter fight, flight, or freeze mode at times when that fight, flight, or freeze mode may not actually be “necessary.”
So for example, I experienced a car accident a couple years ago and have had anxiety with driving ever since. I may feel excessively overwhelmed, waiting at a two-way intersection for far longer than necessary, too nervous to continue driving, because I think someone is going to hit me again. I may begin hyperventilating, tears running down my face, obstructing my view of the road.
It’s an understandable response. It’s a valid response. But it’s not helping me. I should still drive carefully and watch the drivers around me, but my response to begin hyperventilating and crying isn’t helpful and isn’t necessary to keep me safe.
So…Back to the main question of how breath relates to our experiences with anxiety. I want you to try something next time you’re experiencing anxiety: notice what your breath does in that moment. Is it shortened/quick? Is it more through the nose or the mouth? Is there emphasis on the inhale or the exhale?
Here’s a common effect anxiety has on the breath: our breath shortens, we emphasize the inhale over the exhale, and it may also be isolated to the mouth rather than the nose. As you observe your own breath during anxiety attacks or moments of stress, it may mimic these reactions. It may not.
Regardless, this response to stress likely isn’t helping us deal with the stress. The shortened breath, emphasis on the inhale, and breathing more through the mouth are all less effective at oxygenating our body during a time when we need it most.
The key is the long, full exhale through the nose. It allows greater filtration of the air entering the body, it gives more time for a better oxygen exchange (which means our organs will get more oxygen with each breath), and it allows the parasympathetic nervous system to take over for the body.
The parasympathetic nervous system is the rest and digest system, the opposite of the sympathetic nervous system we’ve already mentioned–fight, flight, or freeze mode.
I realize that it’s not so simple to just decide to exhale longer through the nose, especially during times of stress or crisis, and that’s why we offer several services to assist you! It’s important to give ourselves the time and space to educate ourselves about our breath, explore techniques that are helpful for us, and practice those techniques so they become more natural. If we don’t practice when we aren’t experiencing anxiety, it will feel nearly impossible to enact them when we are experiencing anxiety.
Here are some options to get you started:
First, we have a 6-week video course called Breathing for Anxiety. Learn more about it and get started here.
We look forward to helping you discover how your breath can assist when you experience stress or anxiety!