Breathing to Relieve Stress and Anxiety

Stress is no stranger to any of us and we need to accept that it is an indefinite part of our lives. Every time we get stressed out, our bodies will naturally produce certain hormones because of the intense feelings we are having. As a result, our heart starts to beat faster and the blood flow in our system increases. If we allow these stressors to constantly haunt us for prolonged periods of time we may even burn out or become extremely fatigued.

How then do you attempt to handle and deal with something that you know will always be there? How do you handle stress? There are actually many ways to do this but in this article we will be focusing on one way only: through breathing.

Slow and deep breathing has several effects on your body, the most prominent being the ability to relax your muscles and body to achieve a state of 'peace'. When you get stressed out your body naturally goes into a 'fight or flight' mode. This is like being in a constant state of high alert. Slow breathing can be used to counter this by relaxing your body to lower the heart rate in an attempt to reduce the intense feelings.

Deep breathing does not just involve the lungs but also the abdomen. Sit back comfortably with your back straight and start by placing one of your hands on your chest and then place the other hand on your abdomen. Breathe in slowly and gently through your nose and you should be able to feel the hand placed on your stomach start to rise. However, the hand on your chest should move only slightly. After inhaling to a point of comfort, hold the breath for a few seconds before exhaling through your nose or mouth and, again, you should feel only limited movement of the hand placed upon your chest. But you should feel your abdominal muscles contract slightly as you exhale. Repeat this method of breathing for a short while and you should soon feel calm and relaxed.

The benefit of this type of breathing is that by taking long, slow breaths that go deep into your abdomen you are actually maximizing your oxygen intake. The result is instant stress relief. With more oxygen in your system, your body calms down and puts you in a much more relaxed state. At the same time you are also clearing your mind of stress since you are very much focused on breathing properly and deeply. If your mind begins to wander bring your focus back to the breathing and you will find yourself to be much more relaxed.

Deep breathing like this can be helpful for everyone and it does work, but only if done properly. No doubt there are other ways to deal with stress, but deep breathing can be done anywhere and at any time and requires no equipment except for your nose and a working set of lungs! The important thing is that it helps you quickly reach a state of calm and to clear your thinking. Still skeptical? Why not try it for yourself; you won't be disappointed.

Jan Oliver is an academic, writer and researcher in natural health. See more of her work at http://www.control-your-blood-pressure.com/ - Discover genuine natural ways to lower blood pressure immediately. Click Here to get your free report on dealing with blood pressure.

The Secret Disorder That's Scaring Celebrities to Death

The disorder I'm referring to is called anxiety and panic attacks and millions of people silently suffer from this disorder each day of their lives. While panic and anxiety attacks have been around for years and years there has been a recent increase over the last decade.

This disorder can cause a person to have a sudden bout of physical feelings of intense nervousness associated with tightness in their chest, racing heart beats/skipping heart beats, sweaty palms of hands, numbness on face or other body parts. A sensation of choking or can't breath properly. What's also really frightening to the person is that there can also be intense feelings of unreality and impending doom or death.

A lot of these panic attack symptoms can mimic that of a heart attack, and often people are rushed to the hospital only to find that they are having a panic attack.

Most of the panic attack triggers are caused by stress reflected by social factors such as stress with jobs, relationships, raising children, or health issues. However there are also certain foods and drugs that can cause anxiety and panic attacks such as caffeine found in coffee,tea,soda and recreational drugs like pot, meth, crack.

As you may know Celebrities are often under long periods of intense stress associated with their schedules and lifestyles which can often strain their relationships with their spouses, domestic partners, other family members, as well as business deals and no surprise also leading to drug use.

When you combine all these factors it leaves celebrities in a higher bracket of being susceptible to panic and anxiety attacks compared to those people who may not have quite so much to deal with on a daily basis. Although many professionals, working parents, stay at home moms and others are often plagued themselves with anxiety and panic attacks as well.

I've suffered from severe panic attacks for nearly 30 years. Stop living in fear like I was. Get my free tips that can stop your panic attacks forever. Go to my blog "How To Stop Panic Attacks"

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