How many times have you been told that when you're feeling anxious or you're feeling stressed that you should take a deep breath?
The reason why taking a deep breath is such a great coping skill is because it actually targets our nervous system. The nervous system is one of our body systems that is responsible for a ton of involuntary actions. One example is our heart rate.
The nervous system is actually broken down into two separate systems: the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is what's responsible for our fight flight or freeze response. Those are the actions that we engage in when we're feeling anxious or scared. The parasympathetic nervous system controls our rest and relaxation responses. So those are the things that are calming us down when we're feeling upset or anxious.
But the trick is that they both cannot be activated at the same time. So if we are feeling anxious or overwhelmed, our parasympathetic nervous system is actually being suppressed by taking deep breaths and really focusing on that. We're allowing for more carbon dioxide to enter our blood and that helps to quiet down parts of our brain like the amygdala which is responsible for our anxiety and fear responses.
More carbon dioxide in our blood also helps to synchronize our heart and our breathing. So by practicing taking deep breaths and making this a regular part of your routine, when you become upset, you're actually doing things to change the physiological part of your body that will help you ultimately reach your goal of feeling more calm and in control.
The next time you notice stress start to rise, your heart beating faster and tension spread throughout your body, try taking a long, slow breath and see what happens!