Hyperventilation and Successful Breathing

What is 'successful breathing' and how do we employ it throughout our day in order to feel good, balanced and stress-free? Many people everywhere simply don’t take breathing serious enough or employ necessary breathing techniques. In order to feel good and balanced all the time, everyday, we need to ensure we are not Hyperventilating, or Overbreathing.

Hyperventilation, or Overbreathing, is simply breathing in a rapid and shallow way, using the upper chest instead of the abdomen. Breathing this way produces more oxygen than the body needs and results in a fall in carbon dioxide levels in the blood. This causes a multitude of physical symptoms which can mimic most known diseases and disorders and can be the cause of endless fruitless investigations such as neurological tests and heart tests; so it is important to ensure your breathing is sound and isn't the cause of many of the physical symptoms you are feeling.

How Hyperventilating Affects the Body

Since the normal functioning of every system in the body depends on the correct amounts of oxygen and carbon dioxide circulating in the blood, it is easy to see why ‘unbalanced blood’ can cause such havoc. It is key to note that although it was formerly thought that anxiety caused hyperventilation, it is now known that it can be the other way around. Yes, many doctors and physicians believe and document that your anxiety can be caused by improper breathing and can be cured by eliminating faulty breathing. Once again, this isn't always the case and it is imperative to first figure out what is causing your anxiety: is it your breathing only or is it combined with your thoughts and stress levels?

Let me go through the symptoms of hyperventilation, I am pretty sure you are familiar with this list:  general exhaustion, aching muscles, panic attacks, feelings of unreality, depersonalization, dizziness, faintness, irritability, depression, poor memory, lack of concentration, shortness of breath, tingling hands and feet, difficulty in swallowing, pain in chest, pain in neck and shoulders, burping, Irritable bowel and wind distension, allergies, disturbed sleep, increased sensitivity to light and sound, ringing in ears, and the list goes on. I mention these because I know these symptoms are familiar to you and may have been the source of your pain at some point; my hope here is to get you familiar with a possible cause to your anxiety and help you overcome it.

Recognizing Hyperventilation

It is easy to recognize hyperventilation. If your breathing is erratic, noisy and rapid where the chest is heaving and the abdomen is barely moving you are overbreathing. If You also feel the need to take an occasional deep breath and often find it difficult to breath out and sighing at intervals seems to relieve this, you are overbreathing.

The interesting thing about discussing hyperventilation is often people are very unwilling to accept their breathing pattern is causing their symptoms. In my research I have found many instances where doctors have asked their patients to speed up their breathing, only to see the rapid return of their symptoms: panic, tingling, etc; this soon convinces the patient the source of his or her troubles.

I am not saying your breathing is the source or only source of your anxiety, but it could be, so it is worth investigating and addressing. If anything it is wise to implement proper breathing throughout the day just to reduce your overall stress and anxiety level; that seems worth it!

Breathing Exercises

It will take time, probably several weeks, for your better breathing to become automatic so be patient with yourself.  So when breathing, always ensure your breaths are slow and gentle and not deep and gentle; this is the breathing pattern we want to establish throughout the day as your automatic breathing pattern. At first, before your breathing becomes automatic it is good to make time to do 2 half hour sessions daily, the best times are after breakfast and before dinner. As you become more skilled you will be able to do this anywhere, even sitting in traffic.

Simply find a chair , place one hand on your stomach and one on your chest. The hand on your chest should stay as still as possible. The hand on your stomach will go up and down as you breathe. Breathe out through your nose (don’t force it), and let your stomach fall gently as you do. Breathe in through the nose letting the stomach rise. Try to make the outward breath longer than the inward breath.Gradually train yourself to breathe between 8 and 12 times per minute – anything over this is too rapid.

The aim is to breathe SLOWLY lifting the abdomen. If you breathe too deeply you can become lightheaded or your heart may bump a little. This shows how not only low carbon dioxide levels but also a rapid change in these levels can cause symptoms. This is nothing to worry about, but if you get in a muddle take a rest and start again.

Understanding your breathing is key to not only dealing with your anxiety, it is important in your general functioning everyday so must not be ignored. Follow and persist with the breathing exercises and you will feel better, stronger and more balanced in time. If you enjoyed this article please pass it onto a friend or someone who may benefit from it.

Thank You

Faramarz