Breathing to Decrease Anxiety
Anxiety in the general population has been increasing for years. Add the fear, social isolation, economic impact, and disruption to our routines that go along with a global pandemic, and we have a real problem on our hands. And then there's the comfort food we're eating. A diet heavy with ultra-processed food is associated with anxiety and depression. The systemic inflammation caused by ultra-processed food is thought to involve the microbiome.
If you're anxious and go to your physician, you will often receive an anxiolytic. Anxiolytics are challenging to stop. Patients become dependent on the medication over time. Weaning of anxiolytics should only be conducted under the strict supervision of a physician.
There are many integrative medicine techniques applicable to anxiety. The methods I mention here are adjuncts to, not replacements for, care by a physician. Although the NCCIH site does not mention diet explicitly, there is an emerging body of data that links depression and anxiety to systemic inflammation. Given the association between systemic inflammation and anxiety/depression, I believe, in addition to the modalities mentioned, One must consider diet. Changing to whole, plant-based foods, thereby minimizing processed fare (especially starches and sugars), should decrease systemic inflammation. I believe improving diet can help reduce the severity of many physical ailments and mood disorders.
The body is a complex, integrated system with many components, all working together in synergy. One of our bodies' critical relationships is the connection between the mind and the body: our thoughts influence our bodies, and our bodies affect our minds.
Each of us possesses a powerful tool to minimize our stress and anxiety. That tool is our breath. Breathing techniques have been a part of meditative practice for thousands of years. The efficacy of meditative practice is now supported by science, demonstrating breathwork is effective in combatting anxiety as well as helpful in improving sleep.
Current thinking is that breathing helps anxiety in two ways: 1. stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system and 2. focusing attention on your body and away from counterproductive thoughts.
There is a wide range of breathing techniques; some meant to relax, others to stimulate. To get you started, here is a video of Andrew Weil teaching the 4,7,8 technique. The linked documents below contain other methods:
Breathwork is available to us at any time, day or night. Give it a try and let me know what you think.