Anxiety is something that troubles everyone. From work troubles to relationship issues, everybody has something to be anxious about. In actuality, anxiety is quite natural and even necessary. Anxiety helps us prepare for something unpleasant. Essentially it makes us ready for bad situations, which is a good thing. However, it becomes a serious problem when it is incapacitating to the person experiencing it. Anxiety disorders are real illnesses that warrant treatment and sometimes medication.
The most common anxiety disorder is called the General Anxiety Disorder. This disorder is characterized by a heightened state of anxiousness. When a person has GAD his or her anxiety level is multiplied and every small thing becomes a cause for alarm. Another common disorder is panic attacks. Panic attacks are intense feelings of anxiety that come out of the blue. They can be so intense that people cannot speak or move.
Battling these bouts of anxiety is hard. Some resort to medication, but there are more natural ways to deal with it. One method is breathing exercises. Anxiety causes irregular and deep breathes. When a person is calm and relaxed his breathing is slow, steady and rhythmical. Controlling your breathing is the first step to feeling less anxious.
8 Count
This is a very simple breathing exercise. You can do it at home or at work. Simply sit with your back straight but relaxed. Put your hands on your knees and close your eyes. Then slowly fill your lungs with air for 7 counts, breathe through your nose. Make sure that you are filling your lungs properly (you should push out your abdomen). After 7 counts of inhaling, exhale for 8 counts through your mouth.
Breathing with the Stomach
Lie flat on your back and place your hands over your stomach. First, distend your stomach as far out as you can. Fill it with air and hold that position for two seconds.
Next, suck your stomach in as much as possible. You should fee your chest rise during the second part of the exercise. Repeat the two actions, going faster each time. Now, after you’ve gotten used to this abdominal action try to add regulated breathing with the actions. Breathe in through your nose as you push your stomach out. And breathe out through your mouth as you suck in your stomach.
These two breathing exercises will help remove the tension of the body and calm your nerves. Indulging in these exercises for a few minutes each day will help calm the anxiety that sometimes overcome people.
