Sometimes, Deep Breaths Don't Help Anxiety!

I don't know about you, but sometimes when I'm feeling anxious and I try to take a deep breath, my upper chest tightens, it feels like my esophagus is just not wide enough, and I feel like I'm still not getting enough air so it's a suffocating feeling, and then I get light-headed. Then you start thinking about how you're breathing and then you get even more anxious because what if you're not breathing correctly and then basically, you're just gonna die.

So many of my clients sigh in relief when I share this with them because they get told so often by well-intentioned people to "just breathe. just take some deep breaths." Like, gee thanks Donna, I wonder why I never thought of that!

Sometimes, deep breathing isn't the solution.

If anxiety keeps creeping up on you and it’s starting to make you feel pretty out of control, let’s talk and figure out what works best for you in reducing those symptoms.

Analysis Paralysis

Are you a high-achieving, successful professional struggling with constantly overthinking and having difficulty making decisions or taking action?

Welcome to the Analysis Paralysis Club (APC, woot woot--also known as the club that no one wants to be apart of but everyone has a hard time leaving.) I personally get stuck in the analysis paralysis trap way more than I care to admit. 

 https://doist.com/blog/analysis-paralysis-and-your-productivity/

This article has some great information regarding small behavioral changes you can make. However, there is usually something deeper than just habits that we must explore to understand what drives our analysis paralysis and anxiety. We won't find lasting change until we work through those deep dark ugly fears that fuel our anxiety.

Enter: therapy

Call to set up a free 15-minute phone consultation to see if I might be the right fit to guide you on this journey of deep self-exploration!

Anxiety and Anxiety About Anxiety

Does your anxiety cause anxiety? And that causes more anxiety? Which in turn causes more anxiety about the growing anxiety about the anxiety? Then suddenly your mind is racing and down the rabbit hole you go. You start feeling restless, your chest tightens, and even those deep breathing exercises that everyone tells you to do makes you feel like you can’t breathe. You can’t fall asleep or you wake up in the middle of the night only to toss and turn, wrestling with your racing thoughts, and since you didn’t get a good night’s sleep, your anxiety is even more heightened throughout the next day making life miserable. On and on this cycle goes. 

Anxiety is a b*tch. Anxiety about anxiety is an even bigger b*tch because it makes you think that you can’t handle your anxiety which makes it feel even more scary and hopeless. The worst part is how out of control you feel. It can be so overwhelming.

Maybe you’ve read all the self-help books and listened to all the TED talks and tried all the guided meditations, and it hasn’t really helped. Maybe you’ve even been to therapy before and the thought record worksheet, mood log, and coping skills list were just thrown onto a huge pile of mail. And yet here you are, reading this, admist the feelings of hopelessness. Let me tell you this: there is help! You can overcome anxiety!

Ask yourself: What is Anxiety doing to my life, my work performance, my relationships, my health, my happiness, etc. Is Anxiety interfering with my daily life?