Most Useful Anti-Anxiety Hack I’ve Ever Found

I’ve had anxiety since my earliest age, likely due to a childhood of abuse and trauma.

And mostly I’ve had it managed; in fact, it helps me get a lot done and be a bit of an overachiever my whole life.

But when I go through extremely stressful periods in my life, circumstances can occasionally swamp my ability to live with my anxiety for months or even years at a time, which also sometimes impacts my sleep.

It’s important for your health to manage anxiety for a well-ordered neurological system.

And it’s important for your health to get enough sleep.

Something I’ve been doing for 3 months has more ability to calm anxiety than anything I’ve ever tried. The really great news is, it’s totally free.

Have you heard of box breathing? Navy Seals trained to go into highly stressful situations are taught box breathing.

When I wake up in the morning, I do this for quite some time, while also meditating.

In fact, doing this breathing technique assists meditating, because you are focusing on your breath, so your mind is far less likely to suffer from chattery “monkey-brain.”

You breathe in for 4 counts, hold at the top for 4 counts, exhale for 4 counts, and hold at the bottom for 4 counts.

I had recently read about how even though we were taught as kids that carbon dioxide is our enemy, though plants need it and give us oxygen back–the fact is that your body needs carbon dioxide, or needs to be trained to deal with carbon dioxide in balance.

So what has made my “box breathing” even better, since researching that, is to hold at the bottom for 8 counts, instead of 4.

You don’t do this a few times. You do it for 5 or 10 minutes, or even longer.

You eventually get so trained in it, that you may have to remind yourself that you can stop, and can return to normal in-and-out slow breathing.

I notice every single time I do box breathing, that within about five minutes, I feel very calm and the wave of anxiety has passed. (Which otherwise might last hours, for me.)

So again, breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts, breathe out for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts. (Or consider maybe 8 counts, before you repeat with an inhale.)

I hope this technique is as helpful for you or someone you love who struggles with anxiety as it has been for me.

If you’d like to see this article in video form, here it is: