Coping With Panic Attacks Tips: Deep Abdominal Breathing

By Serge Taylor

One of the most common symptoms that someone having a panic attack will experience is difficult and constricted breathing. Sometimes the breath will feel totally constricted with the sufferer is unable to draw breath. And other times the breathing will become rapid to the point of hyperventilation. When you consider this, it seems appropriate that most methods of dealing with panic attacks incorporate some form of breathing technique.

The most useful breathing technique that can be used in a panic attack situation is abdominal breathing. Most people in times of stress, and this would be particularly so in the case of someone experiencing severe anxiety or a panic attack, start to breathe in a very shallow fashion and high in the chest. It is almost as if they are rapidly panting and unable to catch their breath. This is exactly what happens when the body goes into a fight or flight response.

This breathing response is only part of the problem. The real problem is that the person having the panic attack begins to focus on their breathing difficulties which leads to an increase in the anxiety and panic which causes even greater breathing restrictions and difficulties

Our nervous system obviously recognizes that breathing is essential to our survival and sends feedback that how we are breathing is not adequate for our needs. When a panic attack sufferer becomes aware of this physical and mental feedback, they literally start to panic which further amplifies the feedback in the hope that it will be heard and the breathing adjusted accordingly.

This is the vicious cycle of a panic attack.

Through regular use of deep abdominal breathing the anxiety attack sufferer can begin to develop a powerful tool to help them cope with their anxiety attack. But this is something that needs to be practised regularly if it is to be used during the extreme anxiety and stress of a full-blown panic attack.

This is just like training regularly for some sporting competition. The more you practice before the actual event the more automatic the desired responses will be come game time.

Ideally if you suffer from panic attacks you will want to practise abdominal breathing during times when your stress levels and anxiety levels are almost non-existent. By practising in these less stressful times the body is given a chance to familiarise itself with this different breathing method. And once the body becomes familiar with this particular style of breathing it should then be practised during times of moderate anxiety and stress.

Over time our confidence and ability to apply the deep abdominal breathing technique in all kinds of situations of varying levels of stress and anxiety increases. So much so that in a very short time the method can be applied during a panic attack situation.

However the real benefit of regular deep abdominal breathing is how it changes your nervous system making it less prone to stress and anxiety and thus over time preventing panic attacks from occurring in the first place.

This way of breathing is very natural and easy. Like any form of exercise please make sure to start slowly and gradually allowing yourself enough time to get familiar with the technique before increasing the length of time of your abdominal breathing sessions.

Also keep in mind that this form of breathing is normal and natural. In other words this is how we are supposed to breathe. If you want proof look at how very young children breathe and notice that they belly breathe more often than not rather than breathing with their chests.

So rather than think of this as learning something new we are simply re-familiarizing ourselves with something we already know how to do.

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