Breathing Exercises for Anxiety

When you have to deal with social situations, it can be debilitating with social anxiety. One way to relax before these types of situations is to learn breathing exercises. This is when you use deep breathing as a way to relax and de-stress before something fearful.

The Basics of Deep Breathing

You should first lean what deep breathing is and how it can help you. It may seem simple since breathing is something you do without realizing it constantly, but deep breathing is a little different. It allows you to focus on each breath as you exaggerate inhaling and exhaling. This can help with so many things, from helping to stop a panic attack, to relaxing you before doing something you are fearful about. It gives you something else to focus on, not to mention how much stress it can relieve. There isn’t really a right or wrong way to do it, as long as you are breathing in and out and focusing on the breaths while forgetting about the worries in your mind.

Simple Breathing Exercise

Here is a simple way to start deep breathing. Sit in a comfortable spot to practice deep breathing, preferably where you are alone and don’t have a lot of other distractions. Close your eyes and inhale a deep breath. Focus on the inhaling, from the sound it makes to how it feels in your chest and lungs. Hold the breath for 5 seconds, then release and focus on exhaling. Make it loud and exaggerated if you need to do that to relax and focus only on the breathing. Do this back and forth for a few minutes, and you will soon notice that you have begun to calm down.

Incorporating Meditation

Deep breathing is used in many different practices, including yoga and meditation. Meditation is also great for social anxiety, so it is a good idea if you can start your breathing exercises while also learning to meditate. During deep breathing, you are focusing only on your breaths, so that you are beginning to clear your headspace. This is also how you start learning how to meditate, so you can do both practices at the same time.

Try to breathe in deeply and empty your mind of all your worries and fears, and you will notice that your anxiety begins to reduce and you can handle more social situations.

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