Panic attacks are very distressing to experience. When you have a panic or anxiety attack, your heart starts beating loudly, your breathing becomes faster, your hands start shaking, you feel as though you are having a heart attack or you will suffocate. And this can happen any where, sometimes in public places, which makes it even more distressing. What can you do if you have this experience? The answer is relaxation techniques. Here in this article I will be talking about one of the simplest relaxation technique: belly breathing. 

Belly breathing is a type of deep breathing which is simple to learn and practice. If used during a panic attack, it can slow down your breathing, lessen the anxiety, slow down your heart rate, and make you feel calmer. 

During a panic attack, your Sympathetic Nervous System gets triggered, which invokes a fight or flight response. All the symptoms of a panic attack then start due to an activated Sympathetic Nervous System. Deep breathing activates the Parasympathetic Nervous System, which slows down your body and makes you calmer.

Here’s how to do it:

Sit back or lie down in a comfortable position. Close your eyes, if you like. You can place a hand on your stomach and your chest. If you breathe deeply, you will notice your hand rising and falling with each inhalation and exhalation.

1. Inhale: Breathe in slowly through your nose for 4 seconds.
2. Pause. Hold in air in your lungs for 4 seconds
3. Exhale: Breathe out slowly for 6 seconds.
4. Repeat: Practice for about 5 minutes everyday

Just knowing this technique is not enough though, it is also important to practice it so that you can automatically start doing it during a panic attack. During a panic attack it is very difficult to think clearly, so trying to remember a technique you have read about but never practiced will be very difficult.

For best results, its better to start doing this as soon as you feel yourself panicking. Dont wait for the panic attack to peak.

This technique can also be used as a general relaxation technique for anxiety or stress.

Doing this technique can help you when you have a panic attack, but will not prevent anxiety or panic. For proper treatment of your panic disorder or anxiety disorder please consult a  Psychiatrist. If you are already on treatment, don’t abandon it just because you have learnt this technique. Consider this to be an additional tool for relaxation, not a replacement for treatment.

To know more about panic attacks, read my article on Panic disorder here.

To know about other relaxation techniques, check out my article on Grounding techniques here.