Panic and breathing troubles: "I can't take a full breath!"
The vlog version of this blog post.
Panic attacks and the struggle to take a full, satisfying breath commonly occur together. Whenever we experience a high level of stress, our musculature inevitably constricts. The muscles used for breathing are no exception, and they get tight as well. There are two ways to release this tension: Stretching and breathing within your bounds. In this post, we'll cover them both.
The cat-cow stretch may loosen your breathing.
The cat-cow stretch is excellent at targeting all the musculature involved in breathing. Here is how to do the cat-cow stretch:
Get on your knees and hands.
Let's start with the cow pose. Create a hump in your back by crunching down your abs like you are curling yourself into a ball. Drop your head, and tuck it under you as though you are trying to look at your stomach. Exhale as you do this. Squeeze your abs and hold it for 3 - 5 seconds. You should feel your abs working.
Now we're going to reverse the motion and create an arch in your back. Release your abs and begin to bend in reverse. As you do this, lift your head to the ceiling and inhale. This is the position that will create the stretch that we're looking for. The more effort you put into forcing more air into your lungs in this position, the deeper the stretch will feel. Hold this position while holding your breath for 3 to 5 seconds.
Now go back to step #2 and repeat this process as often as you need. I recommend that you repeat this cycle ten times in a row. Afterward, test how your breathing feels; it should feel looser.
Chest tightness is a self-feeding problem.
For many people, the difficulty with inhaling fully is a cyclical, self-feeding problem. During fight-or-flight, our muscle tensions increase, and so does our "air hunger." The purpose of the increased air hunger is to feed our muscles in anticipation of having to fight or run away. This process is normal.
Stress tensions can exist anywhere in your body. You'll most commonly find them on the torso, such as the shoulders, chest, abdomen, neck, or back. This increased tension can inhibit the free movement of the rib cage while breathing.
The problem occurs when you hyper-focus on how this tension makes it harder to breathe. By becoming hyperfocused on our breathing and how bad it feels, we are creating more anxiety and frustration that further worsens the tightness.
"Breathing within your bounds" is the solution to anxiety-induced chest tightness.
Breathing within your bounds refers to only inhaling as much as your body allows without having to strain. Have you noticed how you're constantly trying to force a deeper breath? Paradoxically, we're worsening our tensions by doing that. However, if you were to find a way to get the air you need to live and stop obsessing over those deep breaths, you would paradoxically release that tension and be free to breathe normally.
How do we deal with that air hunger properly?
There are two ways to deal with air hunger. One is to take deeper breaths, and the other is to breathe faster. For most people, the tension comes from chasing those deep breaths. Therefore, the solution will be to switch to taking shallower but faster breaths. By becoming more flexible in how you satisfy your air hunger, you decrease the desperation that previously maintained your stress and chest tightness. With time, your chest tightness will subside.
Breathing within your bounds.
The intervention that I am recommending is called "breathing within your bounds." The bounds refer to the comfortable range of chest expansion. As soon as you experience resistance in your chest, you stop inhaling. That's how you breathe within your bounds. If you find that doing this increases your air hunger, increase the speed at which you breathe. Do this until you find a comfortable way of being without chasing the deeper breaths. Over time, as you get more comfortable with this new way of breathing, your chest tightness will loosen up.
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Perhaps you understand what you must do to eliminate panic but need some troubleshooting or direct support. I invite you to book a private, one-on-one session with me, where we'll focus on whatever is causing you trouble. I created multiple levels of care for private sessions so that everyone has an option that they can afford. Lastly, you can reserve these sessions each week or book on an as-needed basis.
