Slow Breathing
Slow breathing can relieve anxiety and prevent you from
having a panic attack, if you do it as soon as you notice yourself
overbreathing or becoming anxious. Socially anxious people are advised
to do slow breathing before tackling a feared social situation or
at any time they feel anxious.
When you are first learning slow breathing you may find it easiest
to practice this technique lying flat on your back, knees bent,
feet flat on the floor and eight inches apart. Place one hand on
your chest and one hand on your abdomen.
Hold your breath and count to 10
Then breathe out and think' relax' to yourself
Then Inhale slowly through your nose for 3 seconds. The hand on
your abdomen should rise whilst the hand on your chest should stay
relatively still.
Then exhale through your mouth for three seconds, making a whooshing
noise as you breathe out. Think "RELAX" as you exhale.
The hand on your abdomen should fall as you exhale.
After a minute of breathing in and out in a six second cycle, hold
your breath again for 10 seconds
Keep repeating this process for 5 minutes.
Once you feel you have mastered the technique lying down, then
start practising slow breathing whilst sitting or standing. Then
you will be able to do slow breathing to relax yourself wherever
you are in public.
Do this deep breathing for 20 minutes a day and any time when you
feel yourself becoming anxious. Depending upon your commitments
you might need to break up your 20 minutes during the day into 4
x 5 minutes relaxation segments or 2 x 10 minute relaxation segments.
Andrews, G., Crino,R., Hunt,C., Lampe, L., & Page, A. (1994).
The Treatment of Anxiety Disorders Cambrdige, England. Cambridge
University Press
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Anxiety
Disorders