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Anxiety & stress

Anxiety, panic and stress

We assume anxiety makes breathing fast. It also works the other way around — fast breathing produces anxiety.

Familiar signs

Your heart races for no reason
Sweating or trembling hands
A tight feeling in the chest
Fear of speaking in front of people
Permanently alert, never quite settled
A racing mind at bedtime

Why does this happen?

The nervous system has two modes. One is rest and recovery. The other is the alarm state — heart rate up, muscles tight, cortisol and adrenaline released.

Short bursts of that are useful. The problem is never leaving it. Fast, shallow breathing signals danger to the brain continuously.

The carbon dioxide receptors sit close to the part of the brain that regulates emotion. When they become oversensitive, tiny changes trigger panic. Training reduces that sensitivity.

What changes?

  • You gain a concrete tool for the moment anxiety arrives
  • Heart rhythm steadies
  • The nervous system drops into recovery faster
  • The bedtime spiral of thoughts quietens

Which exercises?

1

Rhythmic breathing

Six breaths a minute — five seconds in, five out, with no pause between them.

2

Short breath holds

Exhale, hold for five to ten seconds, recover through the nose. Usable in the moment.

3

Left-nostril breathing

Close the right nostril and take twenty slow breaths through the left. Supports the recovery state.

Related video

Buteyko Breathing Exercises in 3 minutesSource: Buteyko Clinic International

Other topics

This is educational information, not medical advice, and it does not replace treatment.

A good life starts with breathing well.

Join the next class?

The four-hour course runs online over Zoom at 99,000₮. You get instructions as soon as you register.