This time of year can be very stressful. The busy holiday season leaves many people feeling overwhelmed and anxious. Often, this stress can become a cycle in which we ruminate on our problems, preventing our bodies and minds from returning to a calm state. This heightened state of unease can lead to other health problems, which leads to more stress, and the cycle continues. So how do we break the cycle?
We spoke with Jenna Zaffino, a certified health and wellness coach we partner with, about ways stress affects us and how we can interrupt this dangerous pattern.
What Is Stress?
Our bodies depend on stress to adapt and grow, but prolonged stress is not healthy. During the stress cycle, interacting with a stressor activates the body's response. A chemical reaction heightens our senses and prepares us to address the stress. “Some people may feel their heart pounding, get a headache or feel short of breath. Others may feel hot or cold. The reactions and the stressor that cause the reaction are individualized to each of us,” Jenna said. Most of us recognize this as the fight or flight response.
Ideally, after dealing with the stress, we should return to a baseline level, where the body is calm, our breathing is regular, and we feel a sense of reconciliation. But often, we don’t allow space for this process and instead remain active by piling stressors, one on top of the another, until we are overwhelmed. This continuous cycle can cause the body to consistently be at some level of stress, leading to a plethora of health problems.
Using Breathing to Break the Cycle
“Breathwork is particularly useful to help get your body back to baseline, or a place of reconciliation,” Jenna explained. One simple strategy she suggests is called extending the exhale. This breathing exercise requires simply breathing in normally and then trying to breathe out longer than you breathed in. You can do this anywhere, and as many times as you need until your feel yourself start to relax and come back to baseline. Another similar practice is called a psychological sigh. This time you inhale once, and then a second time before finally exhaling fully. “These are very effective exercises for most people but as we are all different, if something is not working for you or is causing more stress than you should switch to another tactic,” Jenna continued.
For someone with breathing restrictions like asthma or COPD for example, Jenna suggests trying to slow your breathing by using the Take 5 Method. In this instance, you try to identify five things you can see, four things you can feel, three things you hear, two you can smell and one you can taste. Through this shift of focus we can help ourselves find our way back to our breath. “Just focusing acutely on something other than the stressor can be highly affective,” Jenna explained. Similarly, for those who struggle with breathing patterns, simply concentrating on the temperature of your breath as you breathe in slowly and then as you breathe out, is an easy alternative.
The most well-known breathing technique to reduce stress is box breathing. This requires breathing in for four counts, then holding the breath, out for four counts, and holding the breath again. You continue to do this until you feel calm. For her clients, Jenna suggests a modification in which during the times you hold your breath, you focus instead on softening your body. “This process helps you activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which is the opposite of the fight or flight response,” she said. “Stabilizing your breathing and taking prolonged pauses can interrupt your stress cycle, release tension and slow your heart rate. Sometimes, it can even reduce the amount of stress hormone that is being pumped into your body, making your brain recognize you are trying to slow down, not get revved up.”
Addressing Bigger Stressors
In a world where we are constantly bombarded by digital information, unwanted communication and tons of small stressors, the techniques above are perfect for daily use. But we also encounter bigger stressors that need a bigger response. The most effective way of disrupting your stress response is to remove the stressor or escape the situation. “I tell clients if they need to, they should take a bathroom breathing break, because that is a place where you can be all by yourself and pay attention to your breath for a few moments without someone bothering you,” said Jenna.
“You can give yourself a mental reset and remind yourself that you are more than this moment, and you can control your own experience and decide how to respond going forward.” For the news cycle, this may mean turning your phone off for a while. For the holidays, she suggests focusing on basic care which includes having enough food, water, rest and alone time. You can even combine these practices through yoga, tai chi, meditation or any other gentle movements that focus your mind and slow your breathing.
These are just some of the many breathing practices available in the PCN’s Mindfulness Library. By joining PCN you have access to the Wellness Library and can learn more ways to stay calm and connected to your breathing.
Blog last updated: December 4, 2024
