I often say that ‘Stress isn’t what happens to you but how your brain and nervous system react to the demands of life’. The same can be said of anxiety. It is a response of the nervous system to a combination of trauma and/or chronic stress.
The good news is that you can use the same processes in the body that resulted in anxiety to train your nervous system to respond completely differently.
Check out a few social media posts I’ve made about Anxiety
How Breathing Can Drive Up Anxiety
My Brief Encounter with Anxiety
About 8 years ago I encountered some sudden, dramatic and unexpected changes in my life that I was not prepared for. The experience left me stressed, distraught, not sleeping and experiencing significant stress and anxiety. It was enough to motivate me to find a solution to how my body responded to the stress I was experiencing.
I knew that I had no real power to control the stress that I might experience so I put my attention on how to shift my response. I explored scientific discoveries, bio-hacking techniques, and ancient practices. Some practices worked and I kept them. Others offered no evident benefit so I discarded them.
Over time my nervous system changed and I experienced what I now refer to as resilience. Stressful events that previously had a profound impact had very minimal effect on me. I knew I was onto something.
I then melded these approaches into a chiropractic approach that transforms how the nervous system responds to stress.
Stress as the Cause of Anxiety
Oftentimes anxiety develops after stress and trauma in childhood but it also emerges after prolonged exposure to stress. Over time stress causes a chronic overactivation of a part of the nervous system called the Sympathetic Nervous System. This is commonly referred to as the ‘Fight-or-Flight’ system.
The sympathetic system causes a number of responses in the body that can eventually result in anxiety. A few of these changes are:
- Increased muscle tension and pain
- Reduced sleep quality and duration
- Increased heart rate and blood pressure
- Increased inflammation
The activation of the sympathetic system suppresses the activity of its counterpart, the Vagus Nerve. The Vagus Nerve promotes:
- Lowered heart rate
- Digestion
- Quality sleep
- Recovery and healing
Over time the chronic activation of the ‘fight-or-flight’ system along with the disrupted sleep, inflammation, and muscle tension can easily develop into anxiety and even depression.
Common Anxiety Symptoms
Anxiety can differ from one person to the next and from one episode to another. Here are some common anxiety symptoms:
- Feeling nervous, restless, or tense
- Increased heart rate
- Breathing rapidly
- Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than present worry
- Trouble sleeping
- Difficulty controlling worry
Your Most Powerful Tool…BREATHING!
Breathing is a unique function of the body. Most body processes like your heart rate or digestion function without your input. Breathing happens 24/7 without you having to think about it as well. But, unlike heart rate or digestion you can easily consciously modify your breathing. You can change the rate, the duration of a breath, and the volume of a breath.
There is a relationship between how you breathe and how your nervous system functions. Your breathing can activate the ‘Fight-or-Flight’ system or you can use it to slow down and create ease and peace and safety.
Diaphragmatic breathing and other methods of breathing have been researched as tools to reduce anxiety and stress.
Take These Steps for Anxiety Stress Relief
Believe it or not most people breathe in ways that perpetuates stress and anxiety. Let me show you the basics first and then I’ll show you how to use specific breathing practices.
Start here!
- Nasal Breathing: your nose was intended for breathing. It filters air, warms it up, and produces nitric oxide which is critical to deliver oxygen to your tissues. If you are not eating, drinking, or talking then close your mouth and breathe through your nose.
- Slow Your Breathing: Have you ever had a panic attack or seen someone experiencing one? If not, how about a child becoming hysterical? What happens to their breathing? It gets rapid, very shallow, and all comes from the upper chest and shoulders. Slow your breathing down.
A good practice is to slow your breathing to about 6 breaths per minute in and out through your nose.
- Diaphragmatic Breathing: Stand in front of your bathroom mirror and take a couple of breaths. Where does your body move when you breathe? Do you see movement in your upper chest, shoulders, and neck? If so, your breathing is likely activating your sympathetic nervous system.
Learn to breathe using your diaphragm. This is also called abdominal breathing. Start lying down and put your hands on your belly below your ribs. Slowly breathe in through your nose and try to focus all the movement below your ribs. Once you can do it lying down transition to sitting up. And, once you can do it sitting, try standing.
Only after you are able to simultaneously breathe slowly in and out through your nose using your diaphragm should you move onto the next breathing practices.
- 4-7-8 Breathing: this exercise is attributed to Andrew Weil, MD of the University of Arizona. Use this practice to help calm anxiety in real time. Using it as a daily practice will over time raise the activity of your Vagus Nerve.
- Place one hand on your belly and the other on your chest.
- Count to four as you take a deep, slow breath from your belly.
- Hold your breath for seven counts.
- Breathe out for eight counts. Try to get all the air out of your lungs by the time you count to eight.
- Repeat three to seven times or until you feel calm.
- Take a few minutes to sit and feel the sensations in your body and mind before returning to your day
- Resonance Breathing: Resonance Breathing has been researched to improve Heart Rate Variability, blood pressure and mood. This is very slow breathing equally on the inhale and the exhale. Research has shown that 5 ½ breaths per minute is the ideal but that can be difficult without a special timer. Try for 6 breaths per minute with equal 5 second inhales and 5 second exhales.
This practice should be done for 5 minutes twice a day. You will notice yourself much more relaxed and calmer after 5 minutes. The more you practice this the more you will raise the activity of your Vagus Nerve.
You can use both the 4-7-8 Breathing and Resonance Breathing to help when you are feeling anxious. The real benefit comes with daily practice. Over time you will shift your nervous system from a Sympathetic Dominance to greater and greater Vagal tone.
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