Anxiety Treatment NYC: Why Everyone Keeps Telling You “To Take a Breath”

Anxiety Treatment NYC: Why Everyone Keeps Telling You “To Take a Breath”

There are certain times of the year when life just ramps up. Things at home, things at work, and things in your relationships just seem to take on a life of their own. Soon, you feel like you can barely keep your life the well-oiled machine you aim for. 

And as the months wear on? Well, you’re likely just more rushed, overworked, and on edge. Then, anxiety creeps in and a cycle of stress and exhaustion begins to accompany all of the racing thoughts connected to your myriad obligations and responsibilities. By the time you can manage a vacation, you probably feel the tension taking up residence in your body. 

It’s usually at this point that your therapist, physician, or your best friend starts talking to you about breathing. “Just breathe” or “relax and take a deep breath,” they say.

 Do you ever wonder why breathing is their initial advice?

Anxiety Treatment NYC: Why Stopping to Take A Breath Makes Sense

That surprisingly helpful suggestion is not just a kind way of telling you to chill out, it’s rooted in real science. On some level, they know what your nervous system knows: time spent intentionally inhaling and exhaling is the first step to soothing ongoing anxiety. 

Breathing intentional, deep, calming breaths settles and clears the mind and body. It relaxes your muscles, shifts your perspective, and allows you to receive helpful, stabilizing input. Thereby, anxiety is then reserved for real, temporary crises so that you react appropriately when the time comes.

If you can tap into your breath when you are stressed, pressured, and overwhelmed, you’ll find that calm and self-correction aren’t nearly as out of reach as they sometimes feel. 

Anxiety Treatment NYC: How Breathing is More Than Just Breathing

Life is uncertain. Lots of things conspire to make us anxious. Things happen within us and around us. People try our patience and we do things to get in our own way. Learning to tune into your breath can help you reset and feel present, safe, and far less reactionary.

Breathing is Coping

To intentionally breathe is to help you become aware and mindfully present. The reactivity you’re experiencing becomes clear. Anxiety often drives shallow breathing and muscle tension. Controlled breathing is a way to tune out the world, and slow down your thoughts, alleviating the sense that you are “stuck” or backed into a mental or emotional corner. 

Deep breathing signals your brain to turn off the stress-induced sympathetic nervous system driving “fight-or-flight” behavior. Instead, calm breathing stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system. This helps you to “rest and digest,” effectively processing what is happening to and around you. Thus, your heart rate and blood pressure normalize, your sleep quality and digestion improve, and your mood is less reactive and negative. 

Permitting yourself time to inhale and exhale deeply is key to surviving stress cycles and promotes a higher level of vigor and vitality during anxious times. You may also find that previously automatic coping options like explosive or risky behavior, substance use, disordered eating, or other unhealthy choices are less appealing.

Breathing is Connecting

Deep breathing is also a gateway to inner healing and connection. Those who practice yoga or Tai Chi know this well. When you focus on your breath, it serves as a grounding technique. It is a tool to help you examine and address what matters to you. 

Essentially, you can reconnect to your body and mind, tapping into what they both need. The result? Often, you feel more peace and a sense of empowerment. With practice, the anxiety of external judgment and negative self-perception ease. Self-awareness and self-acceptance are heightened.

Breathing is Communicating

When you can breathe deeply and soothe your nervous system, you can communicate your wants and needs more effectively. You also communicate to loved ones or coworkers an ability to calm down and regulate your own emotions. This demonstrates a desire to preserve and restore your relationships. 

In other words, controlling your breath is a way to both encourage yourself and communicate self-control and stability. This reassures and connects you to other people. As you breathe through periods of anxiety, you reveal that recovery, clarity, and forward movement are important to you and entirely possible.

Anxiety Treatment NYC: 

All told, deep breathing is a way to support emotional stabilization. It is something you can do in the moment to restore calm and improve impaired functioning. You can use it routinely to focus inward and stay present as well. 

Still, reining in your emotions with breathwork is just the beginning of a path toward lasting relief. Counseling with a qualified anxiety therapist will help you with breathwork techniques and foster more coping skills too. In addition, you can identify recurring triggers and toxic beliefs, interrupt negative rumination and learn to manage your stress responses. With such support, you can find long-term relief from your anxiety. 

Let’s take that first deep breath together. Please read more about our Anxiety Treatment counseling services.

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