The role of breathing
When we become stressed and experience something as threatening or frightening, our breathing becomes shallow. This often worsens the discomfort we experience when we have anxiety. To alleviate these symptoms, we can try to relax our body, lower our shoulders and breathe calmly. This signals to the brain that what is going on right now is not dangerous.
It’s good to practice relaxed breathing every now and then in everyday life, to be able to remember to breathe calmly in critical situations, when anxiety levels are high. Here’s an exercise you can try at least once a day for two weeks, and then whenever you feel you need it.
Relaxed abdominal breathing
- Sit down and place one hand on your stomach and the other hand on your chest.
- Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth a few times. Breathe calmly and don’t exaggerate your inhalation, let it happen naturally.
- Allow exhalation to take at least as long as inhalation.
- When you breathe in and out, primarily the hand on your stomach should move. The hand on your chest should only move a little or not at all.
- Repeat for 5-10 breaths.
When you feel that you have mastered abdominal breathing, you can remove your hands from your chest and stomach and continue practising without them. Instead, focus on allowing your stomach to expand and contract as you breathe.
You can do this in everyday life, for example while queuing in a shop, on a bus, on an escalator or waiting for the lights to change when crossing the street. Count your breaths and focus fully on your breathing.
After you have been practising relaxed abdominal breathing for two weeks, you can evaluate if it’s of help to you. If you find it helpful, think about how you can try to remind yourself to continue practising in everyday life. If you don’t find it helpful, consider if there is anything else you can do to practise pausing in everyday life when you feel tense or stressed. Maybe take a break, do something quiet or take a short walk?