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The first defense against unhealthy responses to stress in your personal improvement plan is not Tylenol, Motrin, and so on, but instead the best of stress techniques is deep breathing. Caution, if you suffer from panic disorder with or without agoraphobia this technique is not recommended until after the symptoms of panic disorder are history. This is because breathing techniques require internal focusing which is not recommended for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia sufferers. For them external relaxation techniques are recommended--see the resource box. In response to stress, it is normal that our breathing is immediately affected. It becomes shallow and upper chest which is actually part of the defense mechanism. Even that a sigh is usually a tense upper chest unhealthy breadth. We generally make three basic mistakes in breathing: • We’re so consumed with our appearance that we learn to hold in our stomachs which greatly limits our breathing to the upper chest. • Then when we do take a deep breadth, we force our lungs to expand against our chest putting chest muscles in spasm. This can create chest and back pain. • Some of us lift our shoulders to take in that deep breadth. It's called "clavicle breathing" and it contributes to neck and headache. Life is about stress and as we adapt to higher and higher levels of stress from one year to the next, our normal breathing becomes tense. Even as we sleep, we may breathe in a tense manner. The tense breathing also starves the body of much needed oxygen, affects our posture, and blocks our Chakras--the natural flow of energy through our bodies. Yet, the number one of stress techniques is deep breathing. No matter what the physical health problem--headaches, neckaches, muscle pain, and so on (all direct effects of stress that styme any personal improvement plan), or disease such as cancer, heart disease, and the like, it's important to address breathing (except for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia as previously noted). The problem is that no one makes any money from deep breathing. No drugs are required so you will not hear an announcement on the radio, "Remember to do the number one of all stress techniques--deep breathing!" Look for times during the day when you are feeling stressed, under pressure, in a rush, defensive, tense, and so on. It's during these times that instead of tensing as you normally would, that you instead remember to do the number one of all stress techniques—your deep breathing. And all you have to do to engage your first defense against stress is to consciously become aware of your breathing. Then shift from your upper chest tense breathing consciously to an abdominal breath. How to take an abdominal breadth—the first and foremost of all stress techniques: • Let your stomach and abdomen relax. • Breathe down through your chest into your stomach. • Let your stomach expand outward. • Let your chest expand slightly at the end of the breadth. As you exhale: • Pull your stomach inward. • Expel all the air up through your chest. If you can hear yourself breathe, you are breathing too fast. Ten to twelve breaths per minute is fine. If you feel your shoulders lifting as you inhale, it is a tense breadth. Just let your shoulders be loose and limp as you inhale and exhale. Let your arms hang from your shoulder like rope. If you have the time, take a class in Yoga breathing to get in some serious breathing. Yoga will provide many healthful benefits. When to do your deep breathing: Make a list of times during the day when it would be appropriate to take advantage of the formost of all stress techniques such as: • Whenever you're at a red light. • As you’re waiting for your computer to load a program or shut down. • Before answering the phone or making a phone call. • As you listen to someone conversing with you. • Before eating or drinking. • Before entering a building or an office. • Whenever you notice yourself feeling stressed. • Whenever you can remember to take a deep breadth. Do this and you can then focus realistically on your personal improvement plan to achieve your goals in life. Remember, no one makes money on deep breathing so you will not hear an announcer on the radio reminding you, “Time to engage the first step of all stress techniques—your deep breadth to manage stress. Several deep breathing exercises are available one one inexpensive CD to manage stress, live longer, and even eliminate hyperventilation. Practicing the exercises produces real results. Richard Kuhns B.S.Ch.E., NGH certified has been writing for the internet for over four years. He has best selling self help mp3 downloads for various stress techniques for your personal improvement plan at http://www.DstressDoc.com and how to deal with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia at http://www.Panicbusters.com
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stress strategies, panic disorder with agoraphobia, panic disorder, agoraphobia, personal improvement, personal improvement plan,
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