Just Breathe

Since spending a lot of my time talking about Burnout, I am continually asked for some tips on how to ground oneself when in an anxious state and feeling overwhelmed.

It is a very good question and one that takes shape in different ways.

I can say that we tend to pay far more attention to our phone and laptop battery than our own batteries.

The fundamentals are hugely important and I often get a response of ‘okay, what else..?” when I tell people that breathing is the basis of everything we need to do to slow down, especially when anxious. But that is usually enough to slow down and regain composure.

Our breath sends the signal to our autonomic nervous system that we are not actually in danger when our response to our environment seems to think we are.

Blokes especially will take on the advice when I explain that every military and police tactical response unit in the world employs a ‘Combat Breathing’ strategy. (Box breathing – deep breath in for a count of four, hold it for a count of four and breathe out for a count of four). Snipers and Olympic shooters use it to control themselves, firing between breaths or sometimes heartbeats, which require slow breaths.

Our Fight or Flight response involves short, sharp breaths and shallow breathing to prepare us for action. It is steeped in evolution and has kept us safe since we evolved. But we aren’t in the sorts of danger we once were. Nevertheless, our Fight or Flight response doesn’t take any chances.

Try this (if you don’t already) and offer this advice to anyone you think could do with it.