This is the second part of a three-part series on the No Panic breathing exercise. In this series, we are focusing on when to do the breathing exercise. It’s all about the timing.
Anxiety can cause people to struggle to leave their homes , to go anywhere. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a small journey to a local shop, or a longer journey to a place far away. The thought of going out can be so overwhelming for some, that they simply stay at home. The longer they stay at home, the harder it is for them to go out.
There are also people whose anxiety intensifies when they go out. This can cause them to feel exhausted when they get home. They may even suffer panic attacks after they arrive home. It doesn’t matter if they went for a short walk or they went out with friends. Anxiety does its best to make them feel bad because they went out.
If the thought of going out is a trigger for your anxiety, you can use the breathing exercise to prevent anxiety either stopping you from going out, or punishing you for going out.
The first step is to plan the time when you’re going to go out. You could do that a few hours beforehand, the night before, or a few days in advance. Doing this means you will know when you are due to go out.
Usually when people go out, they aim to be ready in time for the moment they expect to set off. When you have anxiety as that moment draws nearer, your anxiety increases.
Aim to be ready at least 10 minutes before you go out. In those 10 minutes you have given yourself, do the breathing exercise until the moment you walk out of the front door. Although it is good to do the breathing exercise while sitting down, you can do the breathing exercise while you are walking towards the door to go out. Make sure setting off is the first thing you do after doing the breathing exercise. Don’t give anxiety enough time to return and undo your hard work.
You can do the breathing exercise when you’re out. If you allow yourself enough time, you can stop walking or driving for a few minutes to do the breathing exercise, before continuing your journey. It isn’t necessary to stop, so you can still do the breathing exercise if you haven’t allowed yourself enough time for stops.
If you’re spending time somewhere, you could do the breathing exercise when you arrive, before you go in. That is particularly useful if there are going to be lots of people there, or you are meeting up with others. While you’re not talking to others, there may be other opportunities to do the breathing exercise.
As you get good at doing the breathing exercise to ease your anxiety when you go out, knowing you can do the breathing exercise to keep your anxiety under control may give you confidence. Increased confidence can reduce anxiety. You could even become reassured enough while out, that you can reduce how often you do the breathing exercise.
Remember what I wrote about how anxiety punishes people for going out? You can stop anxiety punishing you. Simply sit down and do the breathing exercise for 10 minutes soon after you are home. You are home, so there is more time to do the breathing exercise.
Don’t let anxiety stop you or punish you for going out to relax. Don’t let anxiety stop you or punish you for going out to enjoy yourself. Do the breathing exercise before you go out, while you are out, and when you get home.
