De-Stress Yourself FAST

Nick passed on this excellent and very simple method of helping to combat stress while appearing on BBC local radio and on Radio 5Live in August 2010.

7/11 Breathing

If you ever feel stressed, anxious or fearful you can use this deep breathing technique to help you to relax.

You can use 7/11 breathing behind the wheel of your car, in the office, on board a 'plane or anytime you are suffering from stress and want a quick way to calm you down. It can even help you to get to sleep at night.

This is a powerful technique which is taught to members of the armed forces and the emergency services to help them gain control of their stress levels in the difficult situations they have to face from time-to-time.

It works on the principle that breathing in introduces stress to the body while breathing out does the opposite. So, if you can breathe out for longer than you breathe in you are removing stress and introducing relaxation to your body.

And when your body is relaxed your mind cannot help but follow.

When we are stressed or anxious or panicky we tend to breathe at the top of our chest, taking shallow breaths and making us feel tense and light-headed. To calm our breathing down we need to do what is called “diaphragmatic breathing” – or breathing from our stomach.

The best way to learn this is to sit comfortably with your hands on your stomach so that the tips of the fingers are just interlaced. As you breathe in the aim is to inflate your stomach like a balloon so that the fingers move apart.

Once you have mastered this you can learn the technique of “7:11 Breathing” – so-called because of the counting you do during the process.

Breathe in slowly and gently through your nose for the count of seven.
Pause for a brief moment.
Then breathe out through your mouth for the count of eleven.
As you breathe out purse your lips as if you were blowing through a straw or blosing on a spoonfull of hot soup.
Continue to focus on your counting as you breathe.
Repeat this until you feel calm and relaxed.
If you find counting 7 and 11 tricky then change the number to one that suits you (I find 5 and 8 works best for me). The most important thing is to focus on breathing deeply and calmly, counting as you do so, and breathing out for longer than you breathe in.

This technique works best when you use it regularly but you normally only need to practice it a few times before it begins to work really effectively.

If you need more help with stress and anxiety, fears of phobias and with self-esteem and confidence issues there are many other techniques that you can be taught. Please contact me for more details.

A free consultation is available on request.

Nick Brunger - Hypnotherapist

0115 8541708 / 07752 438901