When you get bad news and you feel that the earth is running away from under your feet, and your heart is trotting, your breathing will be short and shallow. How to save yourself quickly? “Try to find a comfortable place to sit. For example, an armchair. Sit with your head resting on your back, your arms outstretched to your body and your legs slightly apart. You need to breathe slowly, deeply, at a regular pace. Breathe through your nose, counting from 1 to 6, and exhale through your mouth, just as slowly, for 6 seconds. Continue this exercise without breaks and without holding your breath, until you feel that calm is installed “, explains the psychologist Vanda Sultan.
Those who suffer from anxiety it is good to learn a specific breathing technique, called abdominal breathing. It has the effect of a true “internal xanax”, meaning it calms you down and reduces anxiety. How to do it: you have to sit on your back or sitting, with one palm on your chest and the other on your abdomen and start the so-called “belly” breathing. Inhale slowly and deeply (for 3-4 seconds), enlarging the abdomen (the palm pressed to the belly should be pushed forward and the one on the chest should remain still). Hold your breath for 3-4 seconds, then exhale slowly. Pause again for 3-4 seconds, and resume the exercise. “To learn how to do this breathing exercise correctly, it is recommended to practice it for 5-10 minutes twice a day, for three weeks. By doing it daily, correctly, you will be able, when you need it, to control your anxiety and to significantly reduce stress “, says the specialist.
Are you afraid of the plane or the height? At that moment, your heartbeat accelerates, you have short, shallow, jerky breathing in your chest. To calm down, use the breathing exercise in the abdomen, described in the state of anxiety. Inhale in 4 seconds, hold your breath for another 4 seconds and exhale in another 4 seconds.
In case of insomnia. If it is caused by stress, there is the 4-7-8 breathing technique, which is said to bring you instant sleep. Lie in bed, as relaxed as possible, empty your mind of worries and thoughts. With your mouth closed, inhale slowly, counting to 4, hold the air in your chest counting to 7, then exhale deeply, counting to 8. Repeat this breathing technique and you will feel how you relax, start to yawn and fall asleep. Exercise should promote blood circulation and slow down the heartbeat, confesses Vanda Sultan. You can combine it with soothing music.
–
