Anxiety and Depression from a Breathworker’s viewpoint

Many of my clients both in the groups and privately suffer from anxiety or/and depression. The causes of this vary and there are often genuinely tragic circumstances leading to a spiral, but often there is no clear reason or cause. It just sneaks up slowly and gradually deepens in intensity and pain. Once there the feelings can come in brief waves or stay for years, even a lifetime.

Anxiety and depression are clearly not identical, but there are some common things between the two: Shallow breathing at the top of the chest Nervousness Irritability Problems sleeping Concentrating Difficulty making decisions

The hardest thing is for a depressed/anxious person to take the first step to change this situation as there is paralysis and fear. I always admire it when people take that step to come and do breathwork.

Why can Rebirthing and Breathwork have a powerful positive effect? When people are anxious or depressed they tend to take shallow breaths at the top of the chest – clavicular breathing. Most people are not even aware they are doing this. In fact, the psychotherapy distinction of anxiety is excitement without breath. The stress hormone Cortisol is released with this type of breathing. Breathing deeply and with a rhythm slows down the release of Cortisol. A shallow breath also lowers oxygen levels in the blood, which the brain senses as stress. Improper breathing can upset the oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange and contribute to anxiety, fatigue, panic attacks and other physical and emotional disturbances. Inhibited breathing effects neurological functioning. Given there is little or no reserve of oxygen in the brain it is very sensitive to any changes in level of oxygen present in the blood or changes to blood flow.

Rebirthing floods the body with oxygen and opens up the breath. Twice as much oxygen is brought into the still body than normal. Sometimes a lot of emotion is released if you have been shallow breathing for a long time. The breath has been literally de-pressed during this shallow breathing. It is a really wonderful process seeing anxiety and depression lift during a session. Yes it is a process and is rarely a one off solution, but it is an unpeeling and a reminder of how a person can/used to feel. It is also a simple thing for the mind to concentrate on – the breath inhaling, exhaling, connected, deep. This is in itself is a great process for depression and anxiety. It is a way of bypassing the mind which causes us so many problems.

For those who have not been able to make to step to take any action at all due to the depth of their situation I would encourage spending some time with people who are giving beyond themselves. Try to get inspired. Depression and Anxiety draw us into our own self-perpetuating worlds. If we can find the way to help others, even if it feels so hard at first – this is another powerful step towards healing.

Article by Lucy Pattinson