Breathing Exercises for Panic Attacks-Easy Relief Methods
In this post, I am going to bring a few breathing exercises for panic attacks which can really prove out to be a good tool for you to calm yourself when you get those troublesome panic attacks.
Our breathing has a lot to do with our emotional states and various mind states produces different types of breathing patterns, it is hard to discern these variations in our breath during normal mood changes since the change is very insignificant but, in cases of serious emotional imbalances it becomes very obvious.
The good news is that we can use our breathing to deal with seemingly insurmountable emotional problems whether let it be fear, anxiety or depression.
In case of panic attacks it is undoubtedly impossible to press an immediate escape button however with practice you can really learn to relieve yourself by regulating your breathing patterns.
Deep Breathing Exercises
Deep breathing is not a good thing to do during hyperventilation, we will discuss about it later but, in all other cases you can definitely benefit from the deep breathing exercises that I am going to discuss here.
These exercises are very appropriate to be used to avoid intense emotional trouble if you can detect the symptoms prior to the attacks (which most patients can do with experience).
Counted Breaths
Again, this is a very easy exercise which you can perform at any place and time according to your convenience.
To do this, sit straight by keeping your spine erect and take a long deep breath in by slowly counting up to four, then hold your breath for another count of four and exhale by again counting from 1-4, repeat until you feel relaxed.
Belly Breathing
Belly breathing is a very simple deep breathing exercise which you can use anywhere, anytime.
Just place both your hands on your belly and slowly inhale feeling your belly expand out, hold your breath for a while and then exhale by feeling your belly contract back…Repeat it several times till you feel relieved.
This exercise might seem too easy to be effective but, do not judge it by its simplicity because it brings your attention to your breath by taking it off from the disturbing feelings and thus stops it from ascending.
During Panic Attacks
#1-Hyperventilation
Panic attacks are mostly accompanied by hyperventilation, the symptoms are deep long rapid breath, dizziness, sweating, numbness and nausea
The cause of hyperventilation is excessive removal of carbon dioxide from the body that occurs due to frequent deep breaths and that’s why deep breathing is not good in such cases.
Don’t worry there is a solution.
Nadi Shodan Pranayam
In nadi shodan pranayam you breathe from alternate nostrils and therefore it helps in balancing the carbon dioxide in your body.
To do this, sit in cross legged position and keep your back straight. Now, press your right nostril with your right thumb and inhale from your left nostril.
Hold your breath for a while and then exhale from your right nostril by pressing the left one with your right ring finger.
Now, reverse the process and repeat for at least 10 minutes.
#2- I Can’t Breathe
This is another common problem faced by patients suffering from panic attacks; all of a sudden they feel it hard to breathe.
In real it is a false feeling because they are actually breathing in such situations but, due the intense stress caused by the panic attack they forget to exhale and they focus only on inhaling.
So when you feel like this, make sure to recognize your true condition and exhale before you try to breathe in.
All these exercises are helpful for your emotional troubles because mindful-breathing brings your mind into the present moment and allows you to gain a better control of it.
This is a personal development blog and these are just a few yogic and mindfulness exercises using which you can treat your emotional problems, try them and find if it works for you.
If you are under treatment then please do continue with it along with these exercises.
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