Well-Being Wednesday - Just Breathe

As I thought about topics to cover for Well-Being Wednesday, I examined what issues I run into again and again and decided (hopefully not narcissistically) that if I have a problem with something, there might be others out there struggling with the same issues. Today’s topic will focus on counteracting the negative effects of stress by using deep breathing.

Now stress has earned a bad reputation, but it actually has a good side. It seems to be one of our universal complaints, and yet stress is a very personal thing. Ask a dozen people what they define as stressful and you’ll probably get a dozen different answers. For example, shopping is stressful for one person, while it is fun for another. Background music may aid concentration for some people but be annoying for others.

Many things in life can be stressful. Some are big stresses like divorce or death of a loved one, moving to a new town, or financial problems. Some are everyday hassles, like waiting in line or contending with traffic, spilled coffee or a stopped-up sink. Just meeting life’s basic needs like having food to eat and a roof over your head can be stressful. Some stresses aren’t even negative events. Weddings, births, vacations, and visiting friends are happy occasions that can also be highly stressful.

So then, what is stress? Quite simply, it is the way your mind and body react to everyday irritations and changes that frighten, anger, or upset you. It is a normal response to a new or challenging situation. Stress can increase your alertness and concentration, sharpen your reflexes and stimulate you to perform well. Stress can help you in passing a test, playing a sport, dealing with heavy traffic or learning a new skill, adjusting to a major lifestyle change, or dealing with slight hassles. Stress can be dealt with in a healthy or unhealthy way. I remember hearing somewhere that stress is like a guitar string: you need a certain amount of tension to make music, but if the string is too tight, it will break.

The secret to managing stress is in how you perceive and react to it. Most people have had a first-hand experience with dealing fine with a situation one time, then the next time getting completely stressed-out over an identical circumstance. You may not have coped as well the second time because you were more tired or weighed down by other stresses.

Unfortunately, some people have an unhealthy view of all change. They see change and everyday hassles as threatening. They view the world through glasses tinted with pessimism and because they expect change to be harmful, it often is. These people often feel overwhelmed by stress.

Other people see change as positive and understand that stress is a fact of life. They realize change is sometimes difficult but can also be helpful. They know change brings new information, new experiences, and opportunities for personal growth. These people seldom let stress get out of control.

Whether you have a natural outlook on life that helps you deal with stress or helps you feel more overwhelmed by stress, we all experience stress. You can’t avoid all stress, but you can counteract its negative effects by learning how to evoke the relaxation response, a state of deep rest that is the exact opposite of the stress response. Dr. Benson first wrote about the relaxation response and I have a link to a few of his books at the end if you want to read more.

The stress response floods your body with chemicals that prepare you for “fight or flight.” But while the stress response is helpful in an emergency where you must be alert, it wears your body down when continuously activated. The relaxation response brings your system back into balance: deepening your breathing, reducing stress hormones, slowing down your heart rate and blood pressure, and relaxing your muscles.

In addition to its calming physical effects, research shows that the relaxation response also increases energy and focus, combats illness, relieves aches and pains, heightens problem-solving abilities, and boosts motivation and productivity. Best of all – with a little practice – anyone can reap these benefits.

The key to bringing about the relaxation response is focused awareness. Your breathing can be the object of that focus. In addition, because the normal breathing patterns can be disrupted by tension, stress, and pain, focusing on how you breathe may provide you with an additional method of relaxing.

Diaphragmatic Breathing

Learning to breathe deep is a great relaxation method. The key to deep breathing is to breathe deeply from the abdomen, getting as much fresh air as possible in your lungs. When you take deep breaths from the abdomen, rather than shallow breaths from your upper chest, you inhale more oxygen. The more oxygen you get, the less tense, short of breath, and anxious you feel. So the next time you feel stressed, take a minute to slow down and breathe deeply:

1. Sit comfortably with your back straight. Put one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach.
2. Breathe in through your nose. The hand on your stomach should rise. The hand on your chest should move very little.
3. Exhale through your mouth, pushing out as much air as you can while contracting your abdominal muscles. The hand on your stomach should move in as you exhale, but your other hand should move very little.
4. Continue to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Try to inhale enough so that your lower abdomen rises and falls. Count slowly as you exhale.
   

If you have a hard time breathing from your abdomen while sitting up, try lying on the floor. Put a small book on your stomach, and try to breathe so that the book rises as you inhale and falls as you exhale.

I plan to cover some other methods for achieving the relaxation response in the next few weeks. If you would like more information before then, you might check out the following resources:

Some great books on relaxation:

The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook
The Relaxation Response
Beyond the Relaxation Response

Some free relaxation exercises to help you practice deep breathing and other relaxation techniques:

Two relaxation exercises:

http://www.hws.edu/studentlife/counseling_relax.aspx

Free breathing exercise download found here: http://www.holycross.edu/wellness_programming/stress/breathing/

Various Relaxation resources can also be found here: http://www.loyola.edu/campuslife/healthservices/counselingcenter/relaxation.html

Jason Newland has provided many free relaxation audios for download here: http://freerelaxationaudios.com/