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Start by doing this exercise when you are sitting comfortably and when you are not particularly anxious. Practise it a few times and take note of how it feels and how it affects your body. This is so that you can learn to trust this type of breathing. You need to know that it won’t make you feel any worse.
Take a normal breath in.
When you breathe out, try to make that breath last longer than the breath in.
Do this for several breaths, rhythmically.
Take a break.
    If you find it hard to establish a rhythm with this new kind of breathing, try counting in your head.
Breathe in to a count of 4.
Breathe out to a count of 8.
Do this for several breaths.
Take a break.
    If these counts are too long for you, then choose your own numbers. If you can manage longer counts, then do so. The slower and calmer your breathing becomes, the better.
    Once you feel comfortable breathing like this, you can do it as often as you like. It won’t hurt you, in fact it will help you. In particular, use it when you are in a situation that is difficult for you, where you might panic or become very anxious. Start the breathing as early as possible, so that you go into the situation calmly.

    GROUP MEMBERS TALK ABOUT BREATHING
    ‘I don’t work on my breathing, I find that really difficult. Just thinking about it makes it go haywire.’
A NDREA
    ‘I have worked on my breathing – it’s the most important thing for me. I use a computer programme that monitors heart rhythms and it shows you the importance of regular even breathing for coherence. The speed of breathing isn’t important; what helps me is the awareness of the rhythm of my breathing.’
A NDREW
    ‘I know that I breathe badly when I’m tense, I need to work on that.’
B RIDGET
    ‘I learnt how to control my breathing and I’ve found this really helpful. I tried various techniques and the one that was easiest for me was to breathe in to a count of 4, hold my breath for 4 and breathe out to a count of 6. Now that I’m so used to it I don’t need to count, and I just breathe slowly and evenly through the nose and from the abdomen, breathing out for slightly longer than I breathe in.’
J ULIE
    ‘I was told it was best to breathe 10–12 times a minute and I had to learn to slow down by timing myself with a stopwatch. I still monitor my breathing on bad days and now it’s much slower!’
P EN
    ‘I’ve worked on my breathing – the hospital taught me to blow bubbles. It forces my breathing to slow down and makes me concentrate, which reduces the anxiety.’
S ARAH
    ‘I breathe in for four and out for four, I do it when I’m getting anxious.’
W ENDY

9
Taking Exercise to Help Anxiety
    Remember to check with your doctor before starting an exercise programme.
    As well as daily relaxation, you will need to take exercise as part of your recovery programme – but the good news is, you won’t have to run a marathon! Exercise is helpful in several ways:
    • It helps burn off muscle tension.
    • It helps healthy breathing.
    • It produces beneficial chemicals in your brain.
    • It helps convince you that your body is strong enough to cope with your Anxiety symptoms.
    The most useful kind of exercise is aerobic exercise – that is, something that gets you out of breath. You need to do it for at least 20 minutes before the chemicals are released. This means that you get most benefit from taking exercise three times a week for at least 20 minutes each time.
    Many Anxiety sufferers lose the habit of taking exercise, and some become extremely inactive. Some forms of Anxiety, such as compulsive behaviours, are very time consuming, and other types of Anxiety can leave the sufferer feeling too exhausted to contemplate taking exercise. This is a vicious circle, because the less you use your body, the less you feel like using it.
    And your body was designed to be used – this means doing exercise that is appropriate for each individual. Even people with physical health problems can