Breathing
Why do people tell you to 'just breathe'?
It can be really annoying when you're feeling activated and someone tells you to 'just breathe'. Sometimes it can make the breathing even harder to do - and then the breathing that is meant to make you feel calm, just ends up feeling impossible, and you end up feeling even more activated than before!
Imagine that you are feeling activated because you are feeling anxious. Anxiety is actually a physical response that takes place in our body. These responses are outside of our conscious control and take place through our autonomic nervous system (ANS). Our body reacts to a real or imagined threat with a physiological response, the ANS activates our Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) so we are ready to deal with the threat. The ANS doesn't care if the threat is real or imagined, it's job is to react to threat(s) and get the body ready to do something about it.
The SNS makes our muscles tense; our heart beats faster; our breathing becomes faster and more shallow - allowing more oxygen into the blood stream to prime our muscles in case we have to run away from the threat; our eyes become more focussed with a narrower range of vision; our tummy stops digesting food and sometimes can try to get rid of anything that is in there - this is why sometimes anxiety can make us feel nauseous.
This response is FANTASTIC if there is an actual threat - it allows us to move quickly away from the threat and get to safety. But when there isn't an imminent threat, or there is a remembered or imagined threat, this type of SNS response can get in the way.
When we are in a safe space, we can shift from Sympathetic Nervous System mode into Para-sympathetic Nervous System (PNS) mode to help us calm down more quickly. The PNS slows down our racing hearts by slowing down our breathing, which in turn slows everything else down and we return to 'rest and digest' mode again.
This is why some people will tell you to 'just breathe' when they notice you are activated.
But what some people don't really understand is that the bodily-based feelings and sensations that make up anxiety can be really uncomfortable to experience. If your chest is tight because your body is getting you ready to run away from a real or imagined threat, then to sit and experience that feeling while trying to breathe is actually quite uncomfortable.
While one of the aims of therapy is to help people become more aware of their body, and better able to experience all the pleasurable and unpleasurable experiences the body has to offer - it isn't always the best thing to just jump right in and experience that if the body is not a safe enough space to be in.
Your counsellor will be able to offer you a range of different options to help switch on your PNS which don't necessarily involve just sitting there and breathing.
Imagine that you are feeling activated because you are feeling anxious. Anxiety is actually a physical response that takes place in our body. These responses are outside of our conscious control and take place through our autonomic nervous system (ANS). Our body reacts to a real or imagined threat with a physiological response, the ANS activates our Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) so we are ready to deal with the threat. The ANS doesn't care if the threat is real or imagined, it's job is to react to threat(s) and get the body ready to do something about it.
The SNS makes our muscles tense; our heart beats faster; our breathing becomes faster and more shallow - allowing more oxygen into the blood stream to prime our muscles in case we have to run away from the threat; our eyes become more focussed with a narrower range of vision; our tummy stops digesting food and sometimes can try to get rid of anything that is in there - this is why sometimes anxiety can make us feel nauseous.
This response is FANTASTIC if there is an actual threat - it allows us to move quickly away from the threat and get to safety. But when there isn't an imminent threat, or there is a remembered or imagined threat, this type of SNS response can get in the way.
When we are in a safe space, we can shift from Sympathetic Nervous System mode into Para-sympathetic Nervous System (PNS) mode to help us calm down more quickly. The PNS slows down our racing hearts by slowing down our breathing, which in turn slows everything else down and we return to 'rest and digest' mode again.
This is why some people will tell you to 'just breathe' when they notice you are activated.
But what some people don't really understand is that the bodily-based feelings and sensations that make up anxiety can be really uncomfortable to experience. If your chest is tight because your body is getting you ready to run away from a real or imagined threat, then to sit and experience that feeling while trying to breathe is actually quite uncomfortable.
While one of the aims of therapy is to help people become more aware of their body, and better able to experience all the pleasurable and unpleasurable experiences the body has to offer - it isn't always the best thing to just jump right in and experience that if the body is not a safe enough space to be in.
Your counsellor will be able to offer you a range of different options to help switch on your PNS which don't necessarily involve just sitting there and breathing.
What is breath-work?
Breath-work is the way that can use our breath to help control our response to stimulii.
We can activate and deactivate our Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and our Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) through our breath.
When we breathe in slowly and deeply, and release the air faster than our intake, we send a message to our brain which becomes alert and activated, moving into a sympathetic response.
When we breathe in with a shorter intake than the exhale, we activate the PNS. This is the system that helps us return to ventral vagal or “rest and digest” mode.
It is good to practice and get used to activating the PNS so that when we notice that the SNS response is happening because we notice that we also feel anxious, triggered, spacey etc, we can engage in breath-work to help de-activate the SNS and get back to normal functioning.
We can activate and deactivate our Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and our Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) through our breath.
When we breathe in slowly and deeply, and release the air faster than our intake, we send a message to our brain which becomes alert and activated, moving into a sympathetic response.
When we breathe in with a shorter intake than the exhale, we activate the PNS. This is the system that helps us return to ventral vagal or “rest and digest” mode.
It is good to practice and get used to activating the PNS so that when we notice that the SNS response is happening because we notice that we also feel anxious, triggered, spacey etc, we can engage in breath-work to help de-activate the SNS and get back to normal functioning.
5-3-7 Breathing
Check in with yourself before starting this practice and notice how activated you feel.
What number would you give the activation you feel on a scale of 1 – 10?
Where in your body do you feel the activation? How might you describe the sensation you feel?
Try to practice this by taking 10 breaths using the 5-3-7 breathing
Don’t worry if your first few breaths feel like you are breathing too fast, you will soon settle into the rhythm of this type of breathing.
At the end of your practice, check in with yourself again to notice how activated you feel.
Has the number you gave the activation level changed?
Has the activation lessened or intensified in your body? Has it shifted positions or sensations?
Sometimes it can be useful to use a counting device to help keep on track with how many breaths you have completed. For each breath you take, move a bead on your pipe-cleaner-fidget-tool.
What number would you give the activation you feel on a scale of 1 – 10?
Where in your body do you feel the activation? How might you describe the sensation you feel?
Try to practice this by taking 10 breaths using the 5-3-7 breathing
Don’t worry if your first few breaths feel like you are breathing too fast, you will soon settle into the rhythm of this type of breathing.
At the end of your practice, check in with yourself again to notice how activated you feel.
Has the number you gave the activation level changed?
Has the activation lessened or intensified in your body? Has it shifted positions or sensations?
Sometimes it can be useful to use a counting device to help keep on track with how many breaths you have completed. For each breath you take, move a bead on your pipe-cleaner-fidget-tool.
Finger hold and squeeze
To increase the effectiveness of the 5-3-7 breathing, we team it up with some acupressure .
Don’t worry, there are no needles! Acupressure works by stimulating the same points as acupuncture would. These points are called ‘meridian points’ and help activate different parts of the brain to respond in a more healthy way.
At the end of each finger, on either side of the nail, there is an acupressure point which helps stimulate the part of the brain that activates the PNS.
To stimulate the acupressure point, simply squeeze either side of your nail with the thumb and fingers of the opposite hand. Don’t squeeze so hard that it is painful, a firm pressure is all that is needed. The point you are aiming for is either side of the ‘moon’ that is on your fingernail (or where the moon would be if your nails are painted or your can’t see it)
If you find that you are too uncoordinated to accurately connect with the end of the finger because of panic-symptoms, you can hold the whole finger in the palm of the opposite hand and give it a little squeeze. You will still stimulate the acupressure point.
To use the acupressure to activate the PNS, you can just squeeze the ends of each finger without having to engage in the breath-work. It is subtle and no one knows you are doing it.
Don’t worry, there are no needles! Acupressure works by stimulating the same points as acupuncture would. These points are called ‘meridian points’ and help activate different parts of the brain to respond in a more healthy way.
At the end of each finger, on either side of the nail, there is an acupressure point which helps stimulate the part of the brain that activates the PNS.
To stimulate the acupressure point, simply squeeze either side of your nail with the thumb and fingers of the opposite hand. Don’t squeeze so hard that it is painful, a firm pressure is all that is needed. The point you are aiming for is either side of the ‘moon’ that is on your fingernail (or where the moon would be if your nails are painted or your can’t see it)
If you find that you are too uncoordinated to accurately connect with the end of the finger because of panic-symptoms, you can hold the whole finger in the palm of the opposite hand and give it a little squeeze. You will still stimulate the acupressure point.
To use the acupressure to activate the PNS, you can just squeeze the ends of each finger without having to engage in the breath-work. It is subtle and no one knows you are doing it.
How will this help me?
A benefit of the finger hold and squeeze is that you are crossing the centre line which activates a part of your brain called the diencephalon. This part of your brain is responsible for creating a protein called myelin which coats every nerve cell in your body and increases the speed and accuracy of information being passed to your brain. Myelin is what the corpus colosseum is made from, it connects the left and right hemispheres of your brain – by doing this simple practice you are also increasing your ability to link the left and right hemispheres of your brain!
Try practicing your 5-3-7 breathing while doing the finger hold and squeeze to help you keep track of what breath you are up to. When you run out of fingers, just switch over to the other hand and continue counting.
It can feel like it takes forever to complete one round of the 5-3-7 breathing, but 10 breaths/fingers only takes 2 ½ minutes!
Some people have been really creative and found doing their breath-work while they wait for the kettle to boil, or for the traffic lights to turn green helped them incorporate this practice into their daily life. Where might you find 2 ½ minutes in your day to practice this simple activity?
Try practicing your 5-3-7 breathing while doing the finger hold and squeeze to help you keep track of what breath you are up to. When you run out of fingers, just switch over to the other hand and continue counting.
It can feel like it takes forever to complete one round of the 5-3-7 breathing, but 10 breaths/fingers only takes 2 ½ minutes!
Some people have been really creative and found doing their breath-work while they wait for the kettle to boil, or for the traffic lights to turn green helped them incorporate this practice into their daily life. Where might you find 2 ½ minutes in your day to practice this simple activity?