"Box Breathing" Strategy for Anxiety

Having trouble with your anxiety? If so, you are certainly not alone. This situation is unsettling, at best. Our brains are wired towards what’s called the fight or flight response. When our brain perceives that we are in danger of some sort, we either want to run away from the perceived danger or fight with it. Neither of those strategies is an option, which of course makes us anxious. Often, when we are anxious, we breathe very shallowly, or may even hold our breath without realizing it. Making a conscious effort to breathe more deeply in a controlled way is one way that we can help to calm our nerves and calm that fear response in our brains.

There is a simple technique, called box breathing, that can help to ease our anxiety.
First, either imagine a square in your mind or draw a square on a piece of paper. Now, time yourself for 4 seconds across each side of the square.


4 seconds across the top to the right, breathe in.
4 seconds down the side of the square – hold your breath in
4 seconds across the bottom of the square – breathe out
4 seconds up the square, hold it in.


Go around 3-4 times, and you should feel better. Thanks to www.teencentral.com for this suggestion.

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