How Deep Breathing Aids In Recovery From PTSD
Deep breathing is one way to quickly reduce anxiety caused by PTSD. When your amygdala, the part of the brain tasked with keeping you safe, thinks you are in danger, it initiates the stress response, also known as fight-flight-or-freeze. If we are truly in danger, the stress response helps us make appropriate decisions. However, when it is constantly initiated despite the lack of danger, we live with intense anxiety.
Dr. Herbert Benson, a Harvard Medical School cardiologist, studied the effects of relaxation techniques in the 1970s and coined the term relaxation response. When you experience a deep sense of rest you are experiencing the relaxation response. Deep breathing, also called diaphragmatic breathing, is one way to invoke the relaxation response. By deliberating taking the time to breathe in slowly and breathe out slowly, you calm your nervous system and stop the stress response. You re-wire your brain in the process.
The benefits of deep breathing for PTSD
Deep breathing brings four different benefits to you, according to a health clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. It strengthens the diaphragm, which pulls air into the lungs and expels it by contracting when you breathe in and relaxing when you breathe out. Deep breathing also slows your breath rate. When we experience the stress response, our breath is more shallow and faster, which can cause us to hyperventilate (breathing too rapidly). By practicing deep breathing, you can prevent hyperventilation.
The other two benefits of deep breathing are decreasing oxygen demand and using less effort and energy to breathe. Consider what happens when someone has a panic attack. Hyperventilation causes the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide to be upset. Breathing in too rapidly increases the oxygen in the blood, which causes someone to feel short of breath.
Researchers looked at American male veterans of the Iraq or Afghanistan war with PTSD who practiced Sudarshan Kriya yoga, a breathing-based meditation. What they found is that “there may be clinical utility for Sudarshan Kriya yoga for PTSD.” Other studies discovered:
Researchers found that diaphragmatic breathing has positive effects on mental function.
A study on deep breathing found that it can improve mood and reduce stress.
A study looked at the effects of a cognitive behavioral intervention combined with a breathing relaxation exercise on sleep quality and heart rate variability in people with major depression. What researchers found is that the quality of sleep improved as did heart rate variability.
How to practice deep breathing
Begin by inhaling slowly through your nose. Watch as your chest and lower belly rise. Exhale slowly through your mouth. If you are new to deep breathing, find a time every day to practice it for at least a few minutes. Make sure you are seated comfortably and it is quiet. Many apps exist which can make practicing deep breathing easier. Two of the author’s favorites are Breathe2Relax and The Breathing App.
If you are ready to begin recovering from childhood trauma, pray this prayer:
Oh Lord, I thank you for the gift of life. I thank you that by deep breathing I can reset my brain. I ask You to let me feel Your presence every time I do deep breathing exercises.
Image by John Hain from Pixabay
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