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Breathing Retraining

Description of the Strategy

Breathing retraining, also referred to as diaphragmatic breathing or abdominal breathing, is a successful method used to reduce physiological arousal or anxiety. When anxious, breathing tends to become shallow and rapid. This breathing pattern can perpetuate or even worsen the state of tension in the body by reducing the amount of oxygen being supplied to the brain. In addition, rapid, shallow breathing may result in hyperventilation, which occurs when excess carbon dioxide is in exhaled in relation to the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream. People tend to hyperventilate when they are feeling anxious or tense. However, hyperventilation itself increases symptoms such as dizziness, increased heart rate, and tingling sensations, which serve to further exacerbate the anxiety. Breathing retraining can help reduce physiological symptoms of anxiety by increasing the oxygen supply to the brain and by triggering the parasympathetic nervous system, which works to restore the body to a calm, resting state. This technique is particularly useful for people who suffer from panic attacks, social anxiety, phobias, or other anxiety disorders.

Guidelines for Implementing the Strategy

The first step in breathing retraining is to learn to distinguish between shallow chest breathing and deep abdominal breathing. One helpful way to identify such difference is by placing one hand on the chest and the other hand on the abdomen right beneath the rib cage. First, one takes a normal chest breath by trying to make the hand on the chest rise and fall while inhaling and exhaling through the mouth. Once able to recognize the sensations associated with shallow chest breathing, the next step involves “retraining” the breathing process by taking deeper abdominal breaths. This is done by inhaling slowly through the nose. Attempt to minimize the movement of the hand on the chest when inhaling by forcing the air deeper into the abdomen, which will cause the hand on your abdomen to rise. It is sometimes helpful to imagine inflating a small set of lungs below the rib cage. While exhaling, the client is asked to breathe out slowly through the nose as the hand on the abdomen falls back down to the resting position. Practice sessions need last only approximately 5 minutes. Some people find it helpful to count slowly to five while inhaling and count backward to zero while exhaling. Counting can serve to slow down the breathing rate, which decreases the chances of hyperventilating. These exercises are easiest to do while lying down at first. After becoming comfortable with the exercises while lying down, the client progresses to a standing position. Ultimately, this technique can be successfully applied while in a sitting position during daily activities (e.g., while driving, at work, in a meeting).

Brooke L. Whisenhunt
http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412950534.n46
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