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> To reduce stress: > Exercise regularly. Cardio and strength training reduce stress levels and keep you mission ready. > Get good sleep. Poor sleep or not en

by voisin 3y ago

> To reduce stress: > Exercise regularly. Cardio and strength training reduce stress levels and keep you mission ready. > Get good sleep. Poor sleep or not enough sleep has a significant negative impact on wellbeing. > Eat healthy. A good diet helps keep your body and mind in shape. > Participate in relaxing activities. Breathing-based meditation and yoga, for example, can improve symptoms and reduce anxiety. > Stay connected. The support of friends and family improves psychological health when facing stress

wslh 3y ago
Seems like you are missing important parts such as: > Calming physical reactions to stress. Use regular, slow breathing from your diaphragm and progressive muscle relaxation. This reduces your heart rate and anxiety. Only from the above you can search more stuff such as [1]. [1] https://www.google.com/search?q=box+breathing+site%3Amil https://www.google.com/search?q=box+breathing+site%3Amil
- toomuchtodo 3y ago
  Also can help you fall asleep if unable to. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6361823/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6361823/ ("Self-Regulation of Breathing as an Adjunctive Treatment of Insomnia")
- throwaway290 3y ago
  This. Everything in the top level comment is platitudes but this is life changer whenever I remember to do it. I guess life itself is high stress operations for me
- wenc 3y ago
  Surprised they didn't call out box-breathing. It works for me. It's so simple: 1. inhale 4 seconds. 2. hold breath for 4 seconds. 3. exhale 4 seconds. 4. hold breath for 4 seconds. (repeat) I do this when I encounter any stressful situation (like public speaking, etc.). It seems to work for me.
  - cmehdy 3y ago
    Generalized anxiety disorder here. It stresses me out to be so square about breathing, as if I'm not allowed to do it when I feel the need to do it. Almost feeling like I'm strangling myself if I keep it up for more than a cycle or two. Funny how humans work that this can be experienced so differently I guess!
    - actionfromafar 3y ago
      I can relate. A softer approach is to slowly breathe in for a certain amount of time, then breathe out the same amount of time. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/proper-breathing-brings-better-health/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/proper-breathing-...
    - lloeki 3y ago
      > I'm not allowed to do it when I feel the need to do it. Almost feeling like I'm strangling myself if I keep it up for more than a cycle or two. I can relate. Maybe I can offer a suggestion? Coarsely there are two fundamental ways to approach relaxation breathing: # The "anything goes" way Comfortable pose, breathe at the rhythm and location your body feels like it wants to. Lay a hand whereever you feel the breathing happening. Observe the breathing, its location, rhythm, airflow. There is no reference point so anxiety usually pop up with questions like "Am I doing this right? Was that inhale too fast/slow?", answer that with: there is no right or wrong way, there is just what is, right now. Maybe it's faster than last time, maybe it's slower; maybe it happens higher or lower. Doesn't matter, all that does is that you realise it doesn't matter, observe while noting then letting go of parasite thoughts, and go through with the exercise. This distances judgemental thoughts away. # The structured way 4s box breathing and 4-7-8 breathing fall into that category. Comfortable pose, one hand on chest - which aims to stay still - and one hand on abs - which aims to move -, the purported goal being to aim for diaphragmatic breathing. It is also about being observant, it does not really matter if you miss the mark, or if your chest moves. The structure aims to provide a guiding pace, like a tow boat. Anxiety kicks in in two ways: a) Since there's a structure to follow, there's a reference point, and when you inevitably veer off, thoughts like "I'm doing it wrong" or "I can't do this". b) Holding breath triggers physical fight-or-flight response, which the anxious mind is prone to listen to, and thus abort, which makes same mind think "I can't do this, I fail" in a vicious feedback loop. Again, in both cases it's about being observant and not judgemental, essentially taking a moment to breathe is all that matters, even if it's a few seconds, so really the only way to "fail" is to not do it. Anxiety is some internal compass being off, triggering all sorts of fight-or-flight responses; by learning to be observant, anxiety is not eliminated, instead it takes a backseat, breaking the runaway feedback loop. It's like you sprained an ankle, were incapacitated for a while, and then when the tissue damage is fixed you can't stand in balance on just that leg. That's normal, of course your ankle is weak, your sensations are off and fuzzy, your muscles can't react, what else to expect! That's where physiotherapy helps, relearning how to stand, move, walk, and it's uneasy at first, and it gets better over time. Personally I had a very hard time even breathing in then holding my breath for 3~4s (heart pounding, growing panic state), so I found that "anything goes" helped me a lot in achieving 4-7-8, and in turn 4-7-8 helped me a lot in achieving 4s box breathing.

by voisin 3y ago

wslh 3y ago

Seems like you are missing important parts such as: > Calming physical reactions to stress. Use regular, slow breathing from your diaphragm and progressive muscle relaxation. This reduces your heart rate and anxiety. Only from the above you can search more stuff such as [1]. [1] https://www.google.com/search?q=box+breathing+site%3Amil https://www.google.com/search?q=box+breathing+site%3Amil

toomuchtodo 3y ago
Also can help you fall asleep if unable to. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6361823/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6361823/ ("Self-Regulation of Breathing as an Adjunctive Treatment of Insomnia")
throwaway290 3y ago
This. Everything in the top level comment is platitudes but this is life changer whenever I remember to do it. I guess life itself is high stress operations for me
wenc 3y ago
Surprised they didn't call out box-breathing. It works for me. It's so simple: 1. inhale 4 seconds. 2. hold breath for 4 seconds. 3. exhale 4 seconds. 4. hold breath for 4 seconds. (repeat) I do this when I encounter any stressful situation (like public speaking, etc.). It seems to work for me.
- cmehdy 3y ago
  Generalized anxiety disorder here. It stresses me out to be so square about breathing, as if I'm not allowed to do it when I feel the need to do it. Almost feeling like I'm strangling myself if I keep it up for more than a cycle or two. Funny how humans work that this can be experienced so differently I guess!
  - actionfromafar 3y ago
    I can relate. A softer approach is to slowly breathe in for a certain amount of time, then breathe out the same amount of time. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/proper-breathing-brings-better-health/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/proper-breathing-...
  - lloeki 3y ago
    > I'm not allowed to do it when I feel the need to do it. Almost feeling like I'm strangling myself if I keep it up for more than a cycle or two. I can relate. Maybe I can offer a suggestion? Coarsely there are two fundamental ways to approach relaxation breathing: # The "anything goes" way Comfortable pose, breathe at the rhythm and location your body feels like it wants to. Lay a hand whereever you feel the breathing happening. Observe the breathing, its location, rhythm, airflow. There is no reference point so anxiety usually pop up with questions like "Am I doing this right? Was that inhale too fast/slow?", answer that with: there is no right or wrong way, there is just what is, right now. Maybe it's faster than last time, maybe it's slower; maybe it happens higher or lower. Doesn't matter, all that does is that you realise it doesn't matter, observe while noting then letting go of parasite thoughts, and go through with the exercise. This distances judgemental thoughts away. # The structured way 4s box breathing and 4-7-8 breathing fall into that category. Comfortable pose, one hand on chest - which aims to stay still - and one hand on abs - which aims to move -, the purported goal being to aim for diaphragmatic breathing. It is also about being observant, it does not really matter if you miss the mark, or if your chest moves. The structure aims to provide a guiding pace, like a tow boat. Anxiety kicks in in two ways: a) Since there's a structure to follow, there's a reference point, and when you inevitably veer off, thoughts like "I'm doing it wrong" or "I can't do this". b) Holding breath triggers physical fight-or-flight response, which the anxious mind is prone to listen to, and thus abort, which makes same mind think "I can't do this, I fail" in a vicious feedback loop. Again, in both cases it's about being observant and not judgemental, essentially taking a moment to breathe is all that matters, even if it's a few seconds, so really the only way to "fail" is to not do it. Anxiety is some internal compass being off, triggering all sorts of fight-or-flight responses; by learning to be observant, anxiety is not eliminated, instead it takes a backseat, breaking the runaway feedback loop. It's like you sprained an ankle, were incapacitated for a while, and then when the tissue damage is fixed you can't stand in balance on just that leg. That's normal, of course your ankle is weak, your sensations are off and fuzzy, your muscles can't react, what else to expect! That's where physiotherapy helps, relearning how to stand, move, walk, and it's uneasy at first, and it gets better over time. Personally I had a very hard time even breathing in then holding my breath for 3~4s (heart pounding, growing panic state), so I found that "anything goes" helped me a lot in achieving 4-7-8, and in turn 4-7-8 helped me a lot in achieving 4s box breathing.