1. Use the breath: By making an executive decision to focus on the breath you shift breathing from an automatic reptilian brain response to a conscious prefrontal cortex response. If this seems too difficult to do while in a fight or flight or panicked state of mind, parse the lips and slowly blow out – a slow, longer outbreath stimulates the ventral vagal nerve, activating the parasympathetic nervous system thereby calming the nervous system. The in-breath will then occur automatically and it is easier to focus on the out-breath. Engaging the breath is the quickest way to slow down the heart rate, to lower blood pressure and to return normal blood flow to the brain.
∙ Practice deep abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing while not in an anxious state makes it easier to breathe more deeply when under stress and reverse shallow breathing with the chest only.
Another useful breathing exercise for increasing the out-breath is the “2-4-6-8-10” method of breathing: (1) Inhale to the count of 2, (2) Exhale to the count of 2, (3) Inhale to the count of 2, (4) Exhale to the count of 4, (5) Inhale to the count of 2, (6) Exhale to the count of 6, (7) Inhale to the count of 2, (8) Exhale to the count of 8, (9) Inhale to the count of 2 (10) Exhale to the count of 10.
∙ From yoga, comes the Ujjayi or “Ocean Sounding Breath.” The Ujjayi breath focuses the mind and generates internal heat. In Ujjayi breathing, the glottis is partially closed. The glottis is that part in the throat area that closes when you swallow, but which is open when you breathe. When you partially close the glottis while breathing, you can hear a sound resonate from within, as well as feel a flow of air on the palate. A slightly different sound is heard on inhalation and exhalation. During inhalation, tighten the abdominal muscles very slightly, and during exhalation the abdominal muscles are used to exhale completely. The technique is as follows: a) Come into a comfortable seated position with your spine erect, or lie down on your back. Begin taking long, slow, and deep breaths through the nostrils. b) Allow the breath to be gentle and relaxed as you slightly contract the back of your throat creating a steady hissing sound as you breathe in and out. The sound need not be forced, but it should be loud enough so that if someone came close to you they would hear it.
c) Lengthen the inhalation and the exhalation as much as possible without creating tension anywhere in your body, and allow the sound of the breath to be continuous and smooth.
d) To help create the proper “ah” sound, hold your hand up to your mouth and exhale as if trying to fog a mirror. Inhale the same way. Notice how you constrict the back of the throat to create the fog effect. Now close your mouth and do the same thing while breathing through the nose.
2. Bilateral stimulation: Stimulating both sides of the brain can be surprisingly effective at reducing anxiety. Find two points and move the eyes back and forth horizontally for 24 sets. Or cross your arms and tap opposite arms 24 times each side. Another option is to hold a ball and pass it back and forth between your right and left hand, being sure to cross your center line. Bilateral stimulation increases coherence between the limbic brain and the neocortex and, like deep breathing, activates parasympathetic response.
3. Heart coherence: From the work of the HeartMath Institute, heart rate variability is associated with health and relaxation as well as brain coherence. The heart sends information to the brain through electromagnetic waves, through the pulse, through a blood pressure wave, and through the release of an atrial peptide, a hormone that inhibits other stress hormones. Bring awareness to your heart and begin to imagine breathing deeply in and out from the heart, keeping your hand over the heart to help you maintain your awareness on the heart as you breathe.
4. Mindfulness - cultivating a witnessing awareness: Negative emotion often begin at a level below conscious awareness. Neuroception is the term for the brain’s hard-wired process of continuously scanning the environment for signs of danger. When the perception of danger is present, the amygdala sounds the alarm leading to the sympathetic arousal already discussed. Victor Frankl wrote that “between the stimulus and the response, there is a space, and in that space is our power and our freedom.” Mindfully becoming aware of the cascading responses of the body and of events that trigger such responses and then restoring attention to the bigger context and perspective helps to calm the fear response. The orienting response is the term used when a mammal reorients to its environment following a dangerous event that triggered a freeze/fight/flight response. Increasing observational awareness not only internally but also externally to one’s visual field activates the orienting response. John Arden, PhD recommends a helpful acronym for using mindfulness and action to “rewire the brain.” The acronym is FEED:
Focus and attention activates the PFC – ensuring other parts of the brain are engaged. An intention is established and attention is given to the intention. Effort shifts attention from perception to action which activates the brain to establish new synaptic connections. Effortlessness is a sign that a new habit has formed, that the brain is using less energy and new neuronal connections have been established. Determination means maintaining the intention to remain in practice.