#breathing exercises for anxiety

[medantahospital606]

Best Breathing Exercises for Anxiety

#how to calm anxiety #breathing exercises for anxiety #exercises for anxiety

[anxietyreliefandmindfulness]

The "4-7-8" breathing exercise has helped many people to relieve anxiety and fall asleep. T

his video guides your breathing with an animation and relaxing nature sounds to follow the 4-7-8 pattern.

#4-7-8 breathing #breathing exercises #Anxiety Relief #stress relief #breathing exercises for anxiety #breathing exercises for stress

[zordonmlw7]

G3 episode where Frankie feels like they have a lot in common with Twyla, such as enjoying stimming. Frankie considers that they might also be autistic and sets out to get a diagnosis.

The monster psychiatrist gives Frankie a consultation and tells them that among the monsters they're authorized to diagnose with autism, constructs are not one of them.

Frankie takes this to think that they are therefore unable to be autistic and tries to play down their traits that could be considered autistic since they're "not allowed" to be autistic and forces themselves to stop stimming.

At the end of the episode, Twyla teaches then the lesson that when it comes to mental health, sometimes there are things more important than a diagnosis. If a coping mechanism helps them and allows them to be themselves and isn't hurting others, it doesn't matter if they are diagnosable or not, they should use it.

#monster high #heath talks about how his therapist taught him breathing exercises for anxiety #and even though he doesn't have anxiety they can help him not to burn down the school when he's stressed

[luminarai]

Just found this app called breasy that I highly recommend to people with breathing issues related to anxiety, stress, asthma, vcd, chronic hyperventilation, and the like. Or if you just want to work on some breathing exercises for mindfulness or meditation.

It’s totally free and comes with 5 different breathing exercises with super short descriptions of what they can be used for.

It looks like this, but you can remove the stars if you want to

You can also add/remove vibrations and sounds for the exercises so that you get a soft chime or vibration when you need to exhale/hold/inhale (the chimes are pitched slightly different depending on the action so you can use it without looking as well, which I really like!). You can also set a timer for a session.

I’ve really struggled with asthma related breathing issues lately and this is pretty helpful for me when it comes to not over-inhaling or panicking when I’m waiting for my medication to kick in when I’m having an asthma attack, so I just wanted to pass a recommendation along in case it could help someone else too.

#cecil blogs her life #breathing exercises #mental health tips #resources #asthma #vcd #vocal chord dysfunction #shortness of breath #anxiety #panic attacks #chronic hyperventilation #hyperventilating #mindfulness #meditation #7-11 breathing #triangle breathing #box breathing #air hunger #equal breathing #4 7 8 breathing #asthma attack

[samuwhal]

We need to change how we talk about self-help techniques.

By self-help techniques, I’m talking about: grounding, mindfulness, meditation, breathing exercises, physical activity, and--the big one--yoga. I have struggled with my mental health since I was fifteen, and just now, I am realizing how much these things can actually help. I am almost twenty-six years old, and I will have been in therapy for ten years this fall. Let me tell you, I have spent so much of that time renouncing these tools. Recently, though I’ve realized that: holy shit, they can really work...but man they are offered to struggling people in the worst possible light.

TL;DR: Just because suggestions about ways to manage mental illness are framed as “you have to try it or you want to be sick” doesn’t mean that they can’t actually work or that you are invalidating yourself by trying or being helped by them. Featuring personal anecdotes and a boat metaphor.

I know I am not alone in that the idea of these techniques and exercises just made my skin crawl. They made me feel vulnerable in a way which really scared me, they felt impossible to initiate in the moments needed most, and--ultimately--they felt incredibly diminutive. Think about it: people getting sucked into rapids will drown cursing your name if all you do is insist they have to “ride the wave.” “Fuck you.”

When I began taking anti-depressants, it was not without a fight. I’m lucky; my parents were willing and able to put me in therapy as soon as I asked. But with medication, they were concerned it was a shortcut, that I would be on pills for the rest of my life, and that the chemicals would change me and do “the work” for me, as if this was an issue of character development and not brain malfunction. Why wouldn’t I just do something relaxing when I was upset? Why wasn’t I leaning more into my spirituality? Why wasn’t I letting anything else help me?

And that’s the problem! I tried to explain that I would be able to use those techniques easier if medication brought my overall symptoms down. You wouldn’t expect me to paddle upstream against a tsunami, but I could feasibly make progress against a strong current. Even at that point, if I go over rapids, I want a fucking life jacket, not somebody with their feet firmly planted on the riverbank shouting, “Try yoga!” Though I of course continued therapy in addition to medicine, I still resisted any advice having to do with self-help because of that sentiment.

To be clear, I’m still very pro-medication and for eliminating that stigma. Really, though, when somebody is having such debilitating symptoms--emotions--that they feel like they are getting pulled underwater and gasping for air, it’s not fair that the solution could be something as effortless as breathing in while counting until it’s better. That sounds like bullshit. Mental illness physically hurts, but to outsiders, it’s all in your head, and it would be fine if only you could step back and appreciate how good you have it. If “mindfulness” works, then maybe those people are right, and that can’t be true. It hurts too much to be true.

However, I want you to know that your struggles won’t be any less legitimate if something simple actually does end up helping. I have two stories here:

1. Last year, after wanting to start for ages, I finally began exercising: just going to the gym a couple of times a week. My goal was only to feel better in my body, not really to do anything for myself mentally. I even hired a personal trainer to write work-out routines for me to follow, both to hold myself accountable (I won’t skip if I’m paying someone) and just so I wouldn’t be totally lost the second I walked in. But I have felt so many unexpected mental benefits, as well:

Getting my heart rate and breathing elevated--and continuing to exert myself through it--has kept me steadier when anxiety starts to set in. I feel more confident knowing that I can lift heavy things, run distances, and because I did something productive. I’m not stress or bored-eating, not necessarily because I’m afraid I’ll “put the calories back,” but because I’m simply more regulated. I have been sleeping better since pushing my muscles has reduced my lower back pain. I don’t procrastinate showering if I’ve just gotten back from the gym. When I sit down to schoolwork, I focus easier if I had exercised. Something something endorphins. I know I’m starting to sound like a “bro,” but the point is that these are huge benefits to exercising that just don’t get mentioned by the people crudely suggesting that it will fix your depression.

2. A couple of months ago, I was having a bad night, and the “don’t believe any negative thoughts about yourself after 10 p.m.” rule had gone out the window. I did what many of us have taught ourselves to do and asked for a lifeline: I texted my girlfriend in the same room (because vocalizing it was too hard) asking if she would come over to sit with me. I didn’t even realize I was having an anxiety attack, but she did. At first, I felt too frozen and in-pain when she asked me to sit up from clutching the fetal position. Instrumentally, though, she said that she wanted to help, but I had to help myself, too. She was throwing me a ring, but I had to swim and meet her halfway. I sat up.

She held me and led me through a “find five things in the room” exercise, and fuck me: it helped. No, I wasn’t cured. I’m still not. But this broke my self-destructive loop, and I was able to go to sleep relaxed. This was an epiphany for me. I could have provided myself this tool, this comfort, the entire ten years I’ve been dealing with this shit! Instead, I’ve just been enduring it, hoping against everything pulling me down that--instead of drowning--I’ll eventually kick the riverbed where it’s shallow enough to stand.

When self-help techniques are offered to mentally ill people, they tend to be used as a “gotcha:” you could easily be better, if only you wanted to try. To be completely fair, this isn’t always the meaning. However, it only takes a couple of those microaggressions to ensure you shut down when your therapist or a concerned loved one asks if you've tried "grounding” before.

Please, take it from me: these tools aren’t just leaky arm floats that people who never even needed to learn how to swim offer just to feel better as they watch you struggle. They are a life jacket to keep you afloat when you tip, a wider paddle to outrun the rapids, a better rudder and tiller so you can actually steer, a bailing bucket for when things get dicey, or pontoons so you won’t tip so readily. Trying self-help techniques doesn’t disclaim what you’re going through, they just might make it more bearable.

And you’re worth that.

#okay to reblog #mental health #mental health tw #mental illness #therapy #anxiety #anxiety tw #depression #depression tw #grounding #mindfulness #medication #yoga #exercise #meditation #breathing exercises #honest advice #if this helps one person it's worth it #reflection #mental health stigma #end the stigma #you are loved #you are not alone #mild swearing #gym #anxiety attack #panic attack #panic attack tw #anxiety attack tw #about me

[wlwanimation]

Orion and the Dark was objectively a cute film, however. If I had seen it when I was the target age for the film, I would have hated it.

I have had severe anxiety my whole life, which got clinically diagnosed for the first time when I was 6 years old and then only got progressively worse through out elementary school. The amount of times I was told to do things despite being scared, or forced to face my fears because I was told it would fix them… it never helped, it only gave me trauma on top of the anxiety and taught me I couldn’t trust adults to help me. So when I see a film like this, where the message is “do things despite being afraid” and “facing your fears will make them go away” it’s frustrating, because the thing that actually helped me when I was struggling with panic attacks, social anxiety and phobias in the fifth grade was not exposure, it was therapy and medication.

Also. The way this movie frames bullying sucks ass, almost making it seem like it’s Orions fault for being afraid rather than the bullies fault for harassing him.

#idk. I just want a movie that handles disability and mental illness in a way that doesn’t frame no longer having the disability as the goal #I wish the film ended with Orion still being scared but understanding why the dark is important and learning ways to manage his anxiety #have sweet dreams teach him calming breaths and quiet teach him grounding exercises or whatever #the anxiety plotline was just kinda dropped at the end #orion and the dark #oatd

[unicarcass]

having a panic attack + flashback and almost immediately forgetting what all that was about is so fucking weird like okay. huh

#some kind of thought popped up involuntarily related to last..? friday that kicked up a flashback that triggered a switch #which kicked up a panic attack #and? we took our anxiety meds and did breathing exercises together and waited for it to subside and #yeah i dont remember who that was with me other than 'not me' i was just focused on helping them calm down #aaauuuaaaauaua #something hospital related ig #zero.txt

[ringneckedpheasant]

anyone else with childhood trauma find themselves unable to believe that not everyone will get mad at them for forgetting something or failing to do something on time

#it’s so wild how professors just Do Not care if you don’t turn in work beyond docking your grade #like if I forget an assignment I don’t have someone breathing down my neck about my wasted potential or w/e #this post specifically brought to you by me having unbearable anxiety because I was barely able to practice guitar this week #& had maybe worked on the songs I was supposed to practice for a total of An hour #& he was just like. ‘that’s okay :-) do you want to work on something else today? let’s do some exercises for finger strength’ #absolutely bewildering I felt like I should’ve been getting chewed out #marc.txt

[madame-fear]

God give me more patience because if you give me any more violence I might just kill someone 🗡

#the breathing exercises aren’t working for my current anger issues + anxiety #someone cheer me up #✧.* amiraverse

[icedmetaltea]

Love just laying in bed all day and having my chest vibrate for no reason cause anxiety decided now to be a bitch, all while I want to write or draw or do anything but no, I have no inspiration to do anything, my mind is blank. I have to be terrified of anything that gets my heart rate up even a little, even like walking a short distance to take care of like eating and all that. All while my parents are gone for the week. All while I'm spiraling and thinking about the future and worrying about how tf I'm going to get a job and be independent someday, no matter how horrifically lonely that sounds.

Feels like any progress I make is one step forward and a thousand steps back... ugh

#tw anxiety #vent #irl stuff #why #I've done everything right #I've been exercising and eating healthy and doing therapy #and yet rn the dread is there #the tightness in my chest is there #I'm constantly aware of my breathing and heart rate and can't make it stop #and the thoughts are back wooo

[funkyness]

broke down crying at the family event 🙃

#incredible how my aunt i don't even like was more compassionate to me than my mother #I'm just stressed about uni #my mum was like 'why are you crying stop you're acting crazy no one did anything to you' #i think she was just embarrassed we had to leave early #at least my aunt helped me do breathing exercises #also my mum's boyfriend was drinking and he drove us home so that didn't help with my anxiety

[blatterpussbunnyfromhell]

.

#ive been trying breathing exercises to calm my anxiety #i am in therapy #i have friends and a family #i know i am smart and what my abilities and qualities are. but then... #why do i feel like crying all the time. why does everything feel so hard and why have i been feeling so lonely #fucking hell

[tired-twili]

Me: has a really hard couple of days and stuggles to do basic tasks

My parents: it rlly upsets us when u don't eat dinner with us:(

#then they tell me i need to manage my stress better #bcs this happens to everyone i just react badly lol #listen i love my parents #theyre just a bit clueless when it comes to mental health #also the ones who told me to do brething exercises when im having an anxiety attack #likeee i cant breath thats kinda part of the problem #rant #twili speaketh nonsence #also i find it ironc that they keep telling me i should talk to them but completly invidate my feelings eveytime i try like??? #ok then

[bookwyrminspiration]

the amount of anxiety the body can hold without exploding is truly incredible

#social anxiety #quil’s unholy underworld #c’mon breathing exercises it’s you and me we can get through this #it would also help if I could differentiate between anxiety and actual physical like discomfort #the fact I’m a semi-functioning person at all is truly incredible #maybe I should’ve taken that psychiatrist up on the offer to get medication for this

[soulinkpoetry]

The ones who grew up in a toxic household held their breath for so long , they still find themselves not being able to breathe properly when the past resurfaces.

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If you can relate please seek help. There are professionals who can provide you with the right tools , that if used correctly you’ll be able to breathe again.

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.# The body keeps the score

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#childhood trauma #seek help #breathing exercises #toxic environment #coping #anxiety #mental health quotes #soulinkpoetry #poetry #she writes #thoughts #feelings #that’s life #poets on tumblr #the body keeps the score

[ignorancelive]

worst end of the day i have had in a second made even WORSE cause i just remembered i ran out of weed when will it end

#its fine its all small problems that have already mostly been resolved they just all happened within two hours now im upset and tired #need the ​Mutuals to send me a hug and a kiss and an everything will be ok #realistically i am going to set something up for tomorrow / do an anxiety breathing exercise / and try to fall asleep #im just so AUGHJSHHHHHHHH cause they were mosly things that i NOTICED not things that happened so if half of these happened this morning + #+ or tomorrow afternoon it wouldve been peachy everything just lined up horribly