A number of social phobics are capable of decreasing the amount of their physical symptoms by giving attention to their breathing. At first, this may appear odd. After all, everybody knows how to breathe! Nevertheless professionals declare that a lot of individuals with anxiety troubles do not breathe correctly. Frequently, their breathing is excessively shallow, as well as fast, or excessively from the chest.
Put into practice inhaling and exhaling unhurriedly. Breathing all the way through the nose rather than through the mouth will make this easier. Furthermore, gain knowledge of breathing from the diaphragm, in view of the fact that breathing from your upper chest increases your danger of hyperventilating. To check yourself in this regard, when standing up, put one hand on top of your waist and the other in the center of your chest. At the same time as breathing, become aware of which hand is moving more. If it is the hand on your chest, you need to practice breathing from the diaphragm.
Of course, not each breath has to come from the diaphragm. (The usual ratio of diaphragm-to-chest breaths is 4 to 1, however this will differ at times.) And a word of warning is fitting: Those with unremitting respiratory circumstances—such as emphysema or asthma—ought to see a general practitioner previous to adopting new breathing techniques.
For a number of social phobics, nervousness is so strong that it leads to a panic attack. This unexpected, overwhelming fear frequently leaves its victim hyperventilating, feeling weak, and believing that he or she is having a heart attack.
Professionals say that it is best not to battle the attack. To a certain extent, they recommend the sufferer to ‘ride out’ the anxiety until it passes. “You can’t stop it once it starts,” says Jerilyn Ross. “It just has to run its course. Just keep telling yourself it’s frightening, but it’s not hazardous. It’s going to pass.”
Melvin Green, executive of an organization that treats agoraphobia,
likens the attack to a little wave that can be seen approaching a
coast. “This represents your original feelings of anxiety,”
he says. “As the wave approaches land it grows larger and larger.
This represents your feelings of anxiety growing. Soon the wave is
very large and peaks. It then flows down into a smaller and smaller
wave until it disperses on the beach. This image represents the start
and finish of the anxiety attack.” Green says that victims ought
to not fight the feelings but run with them until they pass.
To help ease anxiety, watch your diet, work out regularly, and get appropriate rest.