Breathing to Relieve Stress

When you are stressed and angry or frustrated about a situation you may forget about the various self help stress management techniques. Anyway most of them won’t be practical to do in the actual moment when the stress is happening. Exercise can help tremendously but not always a practical thing to start running away from a situation. No, exercise is something to do in an ongoing way.

However there is one technique you can use when the stress is actually occurring and it will have an immediately beneficial effect on your emotional state.

Has it ever occurred to you how important breathing is?

Don’t laugh I’m not trying to be too facetious! It’s just that breathing is something which most times just happens without any conscious effort on our part. You don’t tend to notice your breathing unless you have a disease of your lungs, you feel as though there isn’t enough air, you are suffocating or if you’ve just run up a steep hill.

Pause for a moment and consider this. Your breath is absolutely vital for life. Whatever your mood and however you feel there is a change in the way you breathe. When you are upset, agitated, angry, or calm, content, passionate, happy, your breath responds to the way you are feeling.

So just if you want to be and feel different then change your breath. This is a useful tip to remember if you are feeling overwhelmed or agitated or angry and feel like you want to hit someone or shout at them. You can feel your face flush, your pulse and breathing quicken and your anger mounting. Before you do something or say something you might regret tell yourself to stop and ‘connect with your breath.’

You take a slow breath in to the count of five and then a slow breath out to the count of five or more if you can. Try to make the out breath longer than the in breath. Repeat this several times and notice what happens to your mood and to your body too. As you do this you will begin to feel calmer and more composed. Your pulse will slow in line with your respiration and as that happens your feelings of calmness and relaxation will increase.

Just concentrate on your breath as you breath out the negative emotions and breath in relaxation and peace. Try it and notice how much more quickly you can defuse a difficult situation.

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How to find a little peace in your day and in your life

One of the best things we can do for ourselves in order to destress and manage stress is to rest periodically throughout the day, but when we are not used to it, there seems to be some freaking out when we try.

First of all, you may need a reminder to stop. Many of my clients post notes to themselves to remember to take deep breaths throughout their day.

I just made signs to post in my house that say, "Stop. Breathe.Enjoy."

Whenever I pass a sign, I stop, take three deep breaths and remember to enjoy the feeling. Then....I continue with whatever I was doing. Just an idea.

And here are a few more ideas to give you pause...literally.

1) Carry a book or magazine with you in your purse of briefcase. Then, if you need to wait in a line, instead of overloading your brain with text messages and phone calls, you can catch up on some reading. A good book is a great escape!

2) Walk. Even if you can only take 10 minutes during your lunch hour. Don't make phone calls. Let your mind drift and relax.

3) Write it down. Your complaints, your thoughts, your questions. This is a great stress reliever. Out of your head and on to the paper. (By the way, this can be in a journal or on a paper that you can throw away after venting.)

4) If you have a phone call to make, totally concentrate on the call. Don't look at the computer, don't do another task; focus on the person you are talking to. Giving your full attention to something can be restful in its own way.

5) Close your eyes periodically during the day. Staring at the computer all day, or even reading can stress you out. Rest.

Slowing down is not easy. I know that, but you have to start somewhere. You may be so used to living in a stressed out way, that you do not realize how much you need the rest.

Take little steps now to keep yourself healthy later.

Get more info about Relaxation Techniques for Stress Management