Why Breathing Is A "Supposedly" Great Technique Against Stressors... That Fails People All The Time

It is Advice that is as Old as Time.

Just Breathe.

It is Frequently given as Advice to Overcome Stressors.

When you Start to Feel Angry...

Just Breathe.

If the Stress is Getting To You...

Just Breathe.

Do Not Lose Control...

Just Breathe.

If you look at Psychophysiology, it is Easy to see Why this is given as Advice all the time.

Breathing is indeed a way to Alter our Nervous System into becoming Calmer.

When We Move into a Fight-Or-Flight State caused by Stressors, our Breathing Increases in Speed to Prepare the Body to Use Oxygen More Quickly...

In the Age of Survival, this was Great, so we could use Access more Energy (Mg-ATP) quickly to Fight or Run from a Threat to our Lives.

In today's world, though, we Rarely are Threated to that Degree.

Yet our Bodies Still "Access" this State when Stressors are Experienced.

What makes Breathing Techniques Great is that, In Theory, we are Unable to be in Fight-Or-Flight with Slow Breathing.

Fight-Or-Flight Requires Fast Breathing.

Slow Breathing Indicates Rest-And-Digest.

Seems like a Simple Solution to Our Problems...

Except...

Theory Does Not Match Reality.

The Real Problem we see is that Most People Do Not actually "Understand" how Psychophysiology works in Reality.

What we are seeing is a "Half-Truth" that is Completely False in Real Situations.

It is "True" that Slow Breathing and Fight-Or-Flight are not able to Exist Simultaneously.

The Problem that Exists is the "Rest" of Our Phsychophysiology in the Moments we "Need" this Technique to Work.

Specifically, we have to Understand the Stress Threshold and Habits.

As Humans, All Stress Adds.

What this means is that "Every" Stressor we Experience is Held in the Body and Combined Together.

Now, our Bodies are Designed to Handle a "Certain" Amount of Simultaneous Stressors, and we "Need" Stressors for Growth.

However, there is a "Point" where Our Bodies are Unable to Handle "More" Stressors.

That Point is the "Stress Threshold".

When we "Pass" this Threshold, it is Too Late.

Our Brain Functions become Dedicated to Survival, or Fight-Or-Flight Mode, Automatically.

You Cannot Consciously "Think" at that Point.

You React.

Your Brain is Unable to say "Slow Your Breathing" at that point.

It's Too Late.

Now, "How" the Body Reacts in that moment falls under Habits.

This is the "Default" Reaction Under Stressors.

Why?

Energy (Mg-ATP).

The Body has a Desire for Survival and Focuses on Using "As Little" Energy (Mg-ATP) as Possible to Survive.

Now, Habits exist as "Energy Superhighways".

We have Practiced these Actions for So Long, that our Bodies have Reduced the amount of Energy (Mg-ATP) Needed to Respond in that Way.

So, when we Move "Past" the Stress Threshold, Energy (Mg-ATP) "Automatically" takes the Path of Least Resistance.

Our Habits.

This is Also "Why" Breathing Techniques Regularly Fail.

When do we Usually "Practice" Breathing Techniques?

When we are Calm and are in more Relaxed Environments.

What does this Mean?

The "Habit" we are Training is to Slow Breathing Down When We are in a Calm and Relaxed Environment...

Which is Not Helpful under Stressors.

The Habit Under Stressors Remains the Same...

Increase Breathing Pace.

So, when we Pass the Stress Threshold, the Response is Still, Automatically, Increase Breathing Pace.

The Breathing Training is Not "Doing" Anything for Us under Stressors.

It "Might" Help us Calm Down "More" in a Relaxed Environment...

Except Most People are "Constantly" in Dis-Stress.

Today, we call this "Burnout".

Which Means...

The "Majority" of our Time is "Dedicated" to Breathing Quickly because we are "Constantly" Past the Stress Threshold.

So, we are simply Further Creating a Habit of Fast Breathing under Stressors.

Now, if you Trained a Habit to Breathe Slowly Right "Before" Crossing the Stress Threshold...

You "Could" Teach Your Body to Avoid Going "Past" the Stress Threshold by Initiating Breathing at That "Specific" Point.

But this is "Rarely" Done in Practice.

Which Makes Most Breathing Techniques Useless in Reality.

Plus, most people are Not Trained to "Know" when that Moment "Right Before" Crossing the Stress Threshold Occurs...

So they Cross the Threshold without Even Realizing It.

It happens Subconsciously for the Vast Majority of People.

So, even if the Breathing Techniques that are Taught have a "Theoretical" Use...

It Does Not Matter because they are Not Practiced to be Used as would be Required to Work in Reality.

To Reach our Potential, we Must Train our Bodies in the Psychophysiological Reality of our Lives.

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