Breathing for Anxiety: The Most Effective Technique

Anxiety is when feelings of intense fear or excessive worry start to become pervasive enough to disrupt someone’s daily life. A degree of anxiety can be normal as your body responds to stressful circumstances, and almost everyone experiences some feelings of anxiety at some point in their life. However, if anxiety becomes severe enough to interfere with daily life, it can be frustrating and even debilitating.

There’s a significant portion of anxiety which is not just one’s thoughts, but also a bodily response to the “threat” that you perceive. This can mean that suddenly you’re dealing with a racing heart, clammy hands, shallow breathing, and feeling like you need to make a run for the bathroom.

No matter the cause of one’s anxiety, whether it’s an acute situation or the constant concern of something more serious, like generalized anxiety disorder, there are simple steps you can take to downgrade your symptoms and obtain a degree of relief. One of the most well-studied and easily accessible tools is learning how to breathe for your anxiety.

Why should I try breathing for anxiety?

If you’re in the midst of a panic attack or suffering from debilitating anxiety, the suggestion that you try a breathing exercise might feel paltry or inadequate. And it’s true – if you are really struggling, then breathing might not be all you need. But it’s an excellent starting point.

When you experience anxiety, there’s an increase in the level of stress hormones that are released, and your body is primarily operating from its sympathetic nervous system (SNS). Engaging in diaphragmatic breathing (belly breathing) stimulates the vagus nerve. It can help to increase heart rate variability (a measure of how quickly your body can return to homeostasis after a stressor) and helps to activate the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system.

You might have heard that there are two nervous system states: “rest and digest” and “fight or flight.” Breathing in a measured and controlled way helps to send signals to your body that you are safe to be in a “rest and digest” (parasympathetic dominant) state.

While the research is still forthcoming on exactly how breathing works to shift your body’s nervous system state, what we know is promising. Deep breathing does appear to lower cortisol (a stress hormone), lower respiratory rate, and impact blood pressure favorably. Best of all, breathing is a free tool that anyone can learn, and that can be employed anywhere. This makes it an important first line of defense for those who regularly deal with anxiety.

What is the most effective form of breathing for anxiety?

While there are many different techniques one can learn to mitigate anxiety, the answer to which one is most effective might be as simple as this: the one you actually do. The key to breathing exercises being effective is practicing them often enough that they are easy to remember when you then do get in a state of acute stress or anxiety.

Practicing breathing techniques during a time when you’re not already feeling intense levels of stress further reinforces the message to your body and brain that you are safe. Thus, when you do practice breathing in a more intense situation you’ve got another layer of felt safety to draw upon.

Common breathing techniques

Knowing some of the common breathing techniques is helpful:

Block breathing. This is a breathing exercise where you can visualize your breath going around a block. You will inhale to the count of four, hold the breath in for the count of four, exhale to the count of four and then hold the breath out for the count of four.

Repeat as many times as needed – usually about a minute is enough to considerably bring down distress levels. This technique works well for some people, but for others, the emphasis on holding breath and counting can be difficult to handle. In that case, simple diaphragmatic breathing or 4-7-8 breathing might be more helpful.

4-7-8 breathing. This is somewhat similar to box breathing but focuses on making the exhale longer than the inhale. You will breathe in gently through your nose for 4 counts, hold the breath for 7 counts and then exhale with a loud whoosh through your mouth for 8 counts.

If this amount of counting and holding breath seems too much, then you can also modify the exercise to be 2 seconds of inhaling, 3 of holding, and 4 of exhaling. Making your exhale longer than your inhale is a helpful strategy for communicating measured calm to your brain and body.

Diaphragmatic breathing. This is more of a catch-all term for any sort of gentle breathing that brings awareness to your body. Many refer to it as belly breathing. Rather than shallow breathing that is focused in the chest, diaphragmatic breathing brings the breath all the way down to the belly.

You can sit quietly and focus on inhaling gently through your nose, feeling the breath go all the way down as your belly gently fills with air. Then breathe out through your mouth, focusing on making your exhale slightly longer than your inhale.

Breath prayers. A beautiful way of combining prayer with our breath is called “breath prayers.” As Christians, we also can consider the profundity of a God who put the “breath of life” into us. If God himself breathed life into us, we can remember that with each breath we take. Repeating something as simple as “Jesus” (inhale) “I trust in you” (exhale), can be a way to ground both your body and soul in the truth that you are loved and cared for in breath prayer form.

Any number of phrases can be converted into a breath prayer, such as “I believe” (inhale) “help my unbelief” (exhale). Honest statements of truth combined with our breath can be a powerful tool to experience more peace throughout daily life.

Who can benefit from breathing exercises?

Anyone can benefit from breathing exercises. There are no contraindications, though if you experience any sort of dizziness while attempting more measured breathing exercises you might need to stop or try a gentler approach.

Even children can benefit from breathing exercises. One easy approach to teaching children how to breathe to calm their bodies is to teach, “sniff the flower, blow out the candle.” They can pretend to sniff a flower, then blow out a candle (a finger held up in front works well as a pretend flower/candle). It’s a simple strategy that’s easy to remember and fun to teach.

Breathing exercises are appropriate for teenagers as well. They can be a wonderful tool to empower them to take active steps to manage their mental health. There are multiple apps that can be downloaded to a smartphone to guide you through these exercises on the go, if that’s an option that appeals to you.

Next Steps

While breathing exercises are very effective for anxiety, it’s also possible that you need more extensive help to get to the root cause of your anxiety and address the symptoms. If this is the case, we are here for you.

Persistent anxiety can often be related to past trauma or have underlying causes that might need more tools and a kind and caring professional to help you work through them. There are a multitude of other evidence-based treatments for anxiety that can work alongside breathing exercises, so if you are still suffering, please don’t hesitate to reach out for help.

Many people don’t need to attend counseling as a permanent part of their life. But they may need extra support for a period of time to be able to rework patterns that aren’t serving them. We are here for you, so please call us today if you think counseling could help.