Breathing……not just for everyday life!!!!

“I can’t do this, nothing is working, I hate my life………I CAN’T BREATH”

“This is something that we hear on a regular basis and when the going gets tough it spirals all too quickly.”

Bubble blowing is a great was to get your child to Calm Breath.

When Chelsea or anyone else gets anxious and extremely upset, their breathing changes. For her, she will start to hyperventilate, and this can also make her more anxious as she will begin to panic and now we have more emotions going on, so it is important to learn the technique of breathing.

The goal of this is to reduce the stress chemicals your brain produces and facilitate a relaxation response, you have to actually concentrate and focus on your breathing, which helps balance the autonomic nervous system. This is used in Yoga, meditation and labour….take my word for it…..IT HELPS!!

Being able to learn the technique of calm breathing is simply an aid, do not expect it to be the solution for an anxiety attack. It's an excellent way to take “the edge off” Once your child is calmer and in the ‘now’ you can use other skills to help with the situation that started it all in the first place!!!! This is one of the best “portable skills” you can teach your child at an early age. In fact, come to think of it this is a useful skill EVERYONE should learn.

Newborn babies naturally breathe this way however the art of calm breathing is lost soon after and it’s important to once again learn the technique that teaches your child to slow down their breathing when anxiety and stress strike. Even our eldest daughter, who suffers from asthma, knowing how to calm breath helps her enormously.

At first, we would give Chelsea bubbles to blow, a fun way to help her to calm down without even realizing. This is a great coping strategy to have on hand for younger aged children but as your child gets older its not really something that can always be used, so learning to build on this technique is helpful and simple.

From bubbles to deep, slow breaths in through your nose and down to your tummy, allowing it to rise and fill your lungs, then slowly exhale. Talk your child through this and make them aware of how their body is reacting. We all breathe but have you ever really paid attention to how it makes you feel? Make them aware of the sensation in their nose as they breathe in and out, is the air cold or can they smell flowers, food etc. Place a hand on your stomach and or chest and feel those breaths. Taking their mind off the situation that caused the anxiety and getting them to focus on the smells and sensations helps to get your child into the “now”

“THIS ISN’T WORKING……I DON’T WANT TO DO “STUPID” BREATHING……”

Oh my goodness how many times has that be yelled at me and I mean YELLED AT ME!!!! So guess what? I would sit there and do the breathing in and out loudly myself. It sometimes would make her mad to hear me, and I would just tell Chelsea that is was something that I NEEDED to do to help ME in this exact moment…..and actually its partly true as I needed to think with a clear head and NOT react but to help Chelsea through her anxiety. More often than not as much as those “stupid breaths” that she could hear me doing: she would actually breathe along with me……"yupppp I’m quite the influencer!!!"

I already shared Paced Breathing with you in another post….So how do we manage anxiety , but there are so many ways to help calm your child down with breathing exercises to work on as your child gets older.

Another breathing exercise is Box breathing it’s a great technique to use and involves concentration, it is also known as square breathing, and it is precisely that: you think of the four sides of a box as you do this exercise. If your child thinks its silly tell them it is used by Police officers, nurses and U.S. Navy SEALs…..so really it’s a pretty cool exercise to learn!!!!

We don’t tend to use this exercise if Chelsea’s anxiety is already at a heightened state; instead, we use it BEFORE she gets to this point as it is a fantastic one to reduce the stress before it elevates. Make sure your child is sitting in an upright position with their feet on the floor and hands in a relaxed position, try to be in a quiet area so that they can focus on their breathing.

Now slowly exhale through your mouth and get all the air out of your lungs…listen to that breath and be in the "now" as you do so.

Slowly inhale deeply through your nose 1-2-3-4 Filling your lungs

H-O-L-D 1-2-3-4

Exhale through your mouth expelling all the air from your lungs 1-2-3-4

H-O-L-D 1-2-3-4

Repeat…

So next time someone tells you to “Chill” or “take a deep breath,” you know what to do!!!

Studies have shown that the benefits of calm/deep breathing extend way past the now and in the moment stress relief. Being able to slow your breathing which in turn helps to balance the Autonomic Nervous system will help to bring you into a state of rest and relaxation and in turn, helps to ease the symptoms of anxiety and other mental illnesses…….Basically, learn the breathing techniques, and it will help….I promise!!!!