Anxiety can be experienced in many different situations, but for those who suffer from extreme anxiety, having a panic attack can be a very terrifying ordeal. In fact, nowadays, many people who suffer from anxiety have turned to drugs in order to try and keep some degree of control over their lives.
However, a dependency on drugs to beat your anxiety can lead to more problems, as you’ll constantly be worrying whether you have your medication on your person, just in case you should feel a panic attack setting in.
There are ways to fight anxiety without the use of drugs, and one technique that can help you no matter where you find yourself is a breathing technique called “Alternate Nostril Breathing”. This technique, developed by Kundalini yoga practitioners, is completely natural and may just give you the freedom from anxiety that you have been looking for.
According to the article “Panic Attacks and Suffocation Alarm Systems”, published by the Colombia University Medical Center (CUMC), “panic attacks result not from fear and anxiety, but from breathing abnormalities”. Research psychiatrist at CUMC, Dr. Donald Klein, proposed a model that said that people who experience panic attacks often have “hypersensitive suffocation alarm systems” that trigger breathing difficulties and the subsequent anxiety attacks.
Therefore, what we can draw from this is that breathing and anxiety attacks are linked, both scientifically, as significant research suggests, and anecdotally, as a popular means of controlling them.
Alternate Nostril Breathing Technique
Should you suddenly feel a panic attack approaching, no matter where you find yourself, simply excuse yourself, and find a quiet place where you can focus on your breathing.
This technique is as easy as it sounds…
Step 1. Block your right nostril, and breathe in deeply and slowly through your left nostril.
Step 2. Block the nostril you just breathed in with (left), and exhale out your right nostril.
Step 3. From here you continue to block your left nostril and breathe in deeply and slowly through your right nostril.
Step 4. Alternate this breathing process and focus on the air going in and out, and before you know it, you might have intercepted the panic attack before it goes any further.
We are beginning to learn more and more about panic attacks, and having a technique that you are able to draw on in a tricky situation is something that you can always carry with you. That is, instead of something physical, such as drugs, which you can lose.
So give Alternate Nostril Breathing a go, and hopefully, it will help prevent severe anxiety attacks.
To see a demonstration of this technique, simply check out the video provided below:
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