I recently started using breathing exercises for the first time in a few years when I’m feeling anxious, and they’ve been helping a lot. I hadn’t quite realized how big of a difference actually going by time could make as opposed to just generally trying to slow my breathing - if you’ve never tried it I’d highly recommend it.
I’m having trouble finding the pattern(s) that work best, though. It seems to vary so much; one day one will feel claustrophobically slow and another day it’s anxiety-inducingly fast, kinda defeating the purpose. But I don’t want to abandon timing it altogether when my gut is apparently pretty bad at figuring out what is the right pace.
Maybe I’m just overthinking this, but I’d love to hear your opinions and experiences. Also, do you use any other physical strategies, like belly breathing?
Really. Have you tried jumping on one leg, closing your eyes, twirling and praying to your token deity. You can point to the confused research, but these techniques don’t work. You’re better of learning a skill than wasting your time trying calm yourself by controlling your breath. Go diving if you’re abnormally attached to breath control. You’ll at least see things from another perspective.