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Breath Work
Anxiety attacks are extremely
scary. You feel as though you are ready to die. Here is one alternative way
to help yourself get through an attack.
Breath work is an effective
alternative technique that can be used whether you
are taking anti-anxiety medications or not.
One of the most interesting things about breathing
is its dual nature: it's something that happens
automatically, but at the same time, it's
something that one can control. It is both helpful
and useful to pay attention to your breath and how
you breathe. Start slowly and simply. You don't
want to increase your anxiety by worrying if
you're doing a breath work exercise properly!
Go ahead and try the following
techniques to help relieve some anxiety:
Go to your bedroom and close the door. Pile a
couple of pillows on the edge of the bed and then
pound the pillows with your fists. You might want
to yell while doing this, but only if yelling
won't disturb or upset anyone else.
Do some jumping jacks, jump rope, or march in
place for a few minutes.
Dance to music. NOTE: This works best when no one
else is around. You can turn up the music a bit
and you don't have to worry about what you might
look like while dancing around your living room!
Go for a walk around the block.
All of these activities will help release muscular
tension; they also tend to lead naturally to
deeper breathing - you need oxygen
Now you're ready to try some breath work. Here's a
good place to start:
Find a place where it's quiet.
Sit in a straight back chair with both feet on the
floor, hands on your thighs. Or lie down on the
floor on your back with arms by your side, palms
up, and your legs slightly separated and relaxed.
Relax your jaw and gently close your eyes.
Take a couple of deep breaths. Sigh as you exhale.
You might want to stretch your arms a couple of
times as you inhale and exhale. Listen to the
sound of your breath as you inhale and exhale.
Notice your abdomen rising and falling as you
breathe in and out.
Practice
Makes Perfect
Begin by doing this for a couple of minutes. Then
gradually increase by adding a couple of minutes.
There is no need to rush.
This practice is something you can do from time to
time during the day, even while you're at work or
standing in line at the bank. Pause for a moment,
close your eyes, and listen to the sound of your
breath.
What happens? Maybe you'll notice that you were
holding your breath and you hadn't noticed that
before. Maybe you'll notice, as you're listening
to your breath and feeling your abdomen rising and
falling, that your breath is gradually slowing
down and deepening.
There's no need to push yourself or judge
yourself. The idea is simply to be quiet and
notice how you're breathing at that moment. Be
patient with yourself. You'll get it!
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