Does breathing help?

[krfoss]

Hi everyone.

I am a recent graduate in counseling and am doing some research into social phobia/ anxiety treatment. I keep reading books where people reccomend breathing techniques (deep breathing, zen breathing, breathing in for 2, out of 2, in 2, out 4, etc), but I wanted to find out from you, the people who REALLY know, if this actually helps in the moment of anxiety to calm down.

If this does help, I'd love to know how to best use it, or which ones work the best. If it does not work, I'd love to find out what has worked for you to help calm your anxiety during times it peaks in social situations.

Finally, I'd love to talk with any or all of you to help answer other questions and hear from you about your experiences and sucessess.

Thanks!

 

[sabbath9]

Hi everyone.

I am a recent graduate in counseling and am doing some research into social phobia/ anxiety treatment. I keep reading books where people reccomend breathing techniques (deep breathing, zen breathing, breathing in for 2, out of 2, in 2, out 4, etc), but I wanted to find out from you, the people who REALLY know, if this actually helps in the moment of anxiety to calm down.

If this does help, I'd love to know how to best use it, or which ones work the best. If it does not work, I'd love to find out what has worked for you to help calm your anxiety during times it peaks in social situations.

Finally, I'd love to talk with any or all of you to help answer other questions and hear from you about your experiences and successes.

Thanks!

Hi krfoss, welcome to SPW!

Breathing helps a lot. When I notice that I'm anxious, I'll take a deep breath (by expanding my stomach) and hold it for a couple of seconds, slowly release, then I won't inhale in until another couple of seconds have passed. After a couple of repetitions I usually feel better and can make room for my emotions, anxiety, etc. I even wear suspenders so that I can leave my belt loose and breathe properly when I need to.

CBT and meds didn't help me much, but Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has. Do you have any experience with ACT?

 

[krfoss]

Thank you so much for responding. As I mentioned before, just because authors write about the breathing technique a lot doesnt mean it will always work. Do you have any other tips for managing your anxiety while in the moment?

I do not have any experience with ACT, right now I am doing Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD and Social Phobia, but would love to hear more about it. Do you have any resources I could see, i.e. websites or books?

 

[kayelle]

Thank you so much for responding. As I mentioned before, just because authors write about the breathing technique a lot doesnt mean it will always work. Do you have any other tips for managing your anxiety while in the moment?

I do not have any experience with ACT, right now I am doing Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD and Social Phobia, but would love to hear more about it. Do you have any resources I could see, i.e. websites or books?

Breathing is definitely one of my coping techniques in moments of panic. I also use coping statements, repeating sentences like 'i am safe' and 'this will pass soon', or things like 'this is just anxiety, it will soon pass' and 'i can handle this'. I also distract myself, things like focusing on whatever's around me or ringing someone.
They're my main coping strategies will panicking. My treatment is basically CBT, I see a psychologist once a week and we set out things for me to do for the week, exposure. It's going pretty well I think.
There is one book that has helped me immensely in both the exposure part of the anxiety and in the dealing with the issues behind it. It's called 'The anxiety and Phobia Workbook' by Edmund J. Bourne. It actually gives you things to do and exercises do try, actual practical things I can really apply in my life, which is quite different to other books I've read.

hope that helps!

 

[sabbath92003]

Do you have any resources I could see, i.e. websites or books?

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