Help for anxiety

ElizabethRoad

My therapist told me to do diaphragmatic breathing to help with my anxiety. According to him, it stimulate the vagus nerve which automatically relaxes the body. He suggested 20 breaths, 3 times a day. (And as needed.) It's helped a lot, although I hardly ever remember to do it 3 times a day.

- Place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen. When you take a deep breath in, the hand on the abdomen should rise higher than the one on the chest. This insures that the diaphragm is pulling air into the bases of the lungs.

- Take a slow deep breath in through your nose and hold it for a count of 7 (or as long as you are able, not exceeding 7).

- Slowly exhale through your mouth for a count of 8. As all the air is released with relaxation, gently contract your abdominal muscles to completely evacuate the remaining air from the lungs.

Lolli1986

Yes, my psychologist taught me something similar. When feeling anxious, put your hands horizontally on your belly with the fingertips touching, and breathe in deeply enough that the fingertips no longer touch. She called it 'budda belly breathing'.

Whenever I remember that it exists, even if I'm calm, I sit and do it for a while, too, because practice makes perfect!

Great advice, thanks for sharing.

PeaceLoveVeggies

Thanks for this guys! I'll need it in a couple of hours!