Breathwork & Phobias

Let’s talk about phobias! Phobias are one of those things that, unless you have experience with them, it’s hard to really get your head around it. According to the American Psychiatric Association, a phobia is an irrational and excessive fear of an object or situation. In most cases, the phobia involves a sense of endangerment or a fear of harm. This is the intellectual description of phobia. But how does it feel?

A reaction to a phobia can be very, very intense. The symptoms are:

• Breathlessness 
• Dizziness & trembling
• Increased heart rate 
• Fear of dying
• Nausea 
• Preoccupation with the feared object 
• Panic 
• Sweating 
• A sense of unreality 

A person’s reaction to a phobia can be so extreme that they can have a full-on anxiety attack. Understandably, someone who suffers from this would likely go out of their way to avoid the triggers that create the internal reaction. This is especially the case if the triggers can happen in public (like when speaking in front of an audience, for example), in crowded places, or at various social situations where there is added pressure from other people’s opinions. 

• Genetics: Some people may inherit a tendency to develop anxiety disorders or phobias from their parents or other family members. This may be due to genetic variations that affect brain chemistry or nervous system functioning.
• Personality: Some people may have personality traits that make them more prone to developing phobias. For example, people who have neuroses, are introverted, or are sensitive may be more likely to experience fear and anxiety in response to certain stimuli.

This can sometimes lead to social anxiety disorder (SAD). A person who suffers from SAD may begin to isolate themselves, causing further difficulties in everyday life and maintaining healthy relationships. 

With this, you might wonder how something as simple as breathing can help you deal with the most common phobias. The answer is: quite a lot! 

We breathe approximately 23,000 times per day. The vast majority of this is unconscious breathing.

 Interestingly, regulated or ‘conscious breathing’ has been practiced for centuries. This means deliberately controlling the length, depth and frequency of your inhales and exhales. This can have incredible effects on your body, both physically and mentally. 

There are Tibetan monks known to raise their body temperature enough to be comfortable in snow and Tai Chi masters who can go several minutes without breathing. Originally, breathwork was used to improve energy flow in the body or ‘prana’. Luckily, modern science has shown more specifically that breathwork is proven to help us with:

• Stress
• Anxiety
• Relaxation
• Low energy
• Endurance 
• ADHD & Focus 
• Sleep & Insomnia 
• Sleep Apnea 
• Pain management 
• Cardiovascular health 
• Blood pressure 
• Heart rate variability 
• Detoxification 

Traditional treatments for phobias include exposure treatments, counter-conditioning and medication. In essence, each of these work by relaxing the sympathetic response (fight-or-flight) and subsequently reprogramming our beliefs about fear. 

Breathing does exactly this, only faster and more effective in terms of immediate relief. This occurs because many kinds of breathwork can activate the parasympathetic nervous system (rest & digest), stopping the flood of adrenaline and cortisol, lowering our heart rate, and relaxing our body. This relaxation response can be quickly and readily achieved with the proper breathing techniques. 

With that in mind, we spoke to Brad Reed at Repurpose You, who suggested some breathing exercises you can try next time you’re feeling anxious, stressed, or having an extreme reaction to a phobia. 

1-3 Breathing 

“This is one of my favorites because it is SO effective and simple,” says Brad. “All you need to do is inhale through the nose for 3 seconds, pause, then exhale through the mouth for 9 full seconds. That’s it! The key here is to take long inhales and extended exhales and repeat this for at least 6 rounds. Ideally, if your body and mind is in a stressed state, you can do this for up to 20 rounds. This can be done anywhere, anytime. This also helps us sleep.”

• Genetics: Some people may inherit a tendency to develop anxiety disorders or phobias from their parents or other family members. This may be due to genetic variations that affect brain chemistry or nervous system functioning.
• Personality: Some people may have personality traits that make them more prone to developing phobias. For example, people who have neuroses, are introverted, or are sensitive may be more likely to experience fear and anxiety in response to certain stimuli.

Belly Breathing or Diaphragmatic Breathing

“When we are stressed, we breathe in a shallow way and through the chest,” he explains. “Shallow breathing can limit the diaphragm’s range of motion, which can make you feel short of breath or anxious. Shallow breathing can also push your nervous system into a “fight or flight” response, making you tense and anxious, further compounding any negative feelings or reactions you are having.”

Diaphragmatic breathing is easy to practice. Brad outlined the following steps.

1. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach. Begin by breathing in through the nose. The point is to make sure your stomach (diaphragm) is expanding first as opposed to your chest. 
2. Your inhale should be easy and light. There should be a natural rise in the chest, all the way up to the clavicle bones as you continue to bring in air into your lungs. 
3. Once your chest is ‘full’ slowly breathe out, exhaling from the diaphragm again. You should be feeling minimal movement in the chest and deliberately using your diaphragm to exhale the air from your body.”

Yogic Breathing

Yogic breathing is also referred to as pranayama breathing. According to Brad, “this is a powerful and ancient breathing technique best practiced over time. Like the 1-3 breath, pranayama is a consciously controlled breath cycle that increases the time between inhalation and exhalation.” 

He suggests a great beginner sequence for pranayama:

1. Breathe in for 4 seconds.
2. Pause for 4 seconds. 
3. Breathe out for 6 seconds.
4. Pause for 2 seconds.

“Repeat this daily for 15-20 minutes and as often as you can throughout the day. It’s a great way to improve physical and mental health and help your body learn to be in a more relaxed state more often.”

Wrapping Up

In summary, phobias can be difficult to manage. Our nervous system often reacts before we have time to process what is happening consciously. Our mind will then try all kinds of things to get us ‘away’ from the danger and relieve our dread. 

Breathwork is a fantastic way to relax our stress response and our body, while minimizing the negative reactivity we have towards our fears and phobias.