Paced Breathing For Calming The Nervous System (DBT)

Try the practice of paced breathing to slow down an overactive nervous system. This breathing technique is from the Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). By slowing down the exhale part of the breath, the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is engaged, which can bring a soothing, calming response and help you feel more grounded, aware, and less distressed.

Transcript

Welcome.

This practice is called Paced Breathing,

Which is a distress tolerance skill from dialectical behavioral therapy,

Also called DBT.

This is a helpful skill for slowing down an overactive nervous system,

And we do that by tuning into the breathing.

If you are really distressed right now,

You might notice that your breathing is quick and shallow.

That's what happens when our nervous systems get really worked up and get really amped up.

It's actually a survival thing that we do.

So now what we're going to do is a few minutes of just trying to slow that down a little bit so that you can get a little bit of relaxation,

Maybe a little bit of soothing.

Start with noticing your breathing in and your breathing out,

Your inhale and your exhale.

And it's okay if it's really fast or ragged.

We'd actually expect that during a time of stress.

And from here,

Start to slow the exhale.

When you breathe in,

It can be at just a normal,

Regular pace,

Just whatever it is.

When you breathe out,

Slow the exhale down.

So breathe in,

Hold the breath just for a little bit,

And then breathe out really slowly,

Almost like you're letting air out of a balloon as slowly as you can.

And then again,

Breathing in,

Hold just a bit at the top of the breath,

And then exhale slowly,

Letting the air come out.

And again,

Breathing in,

Holding at the top,

And then a long,

Slow breath out.

Breathing in,

Hold,

And then letting the air out slowly.

Continue to do this at your pace.

It's okay if it takes a little bit of time for the breath in.

Continue to have a normal breath in,

Whatever normal is for you,

And then an extended breath out.

And as you're breathing,

Notice if you're doing any clenching right now,

Maybe the fists or maybe the shoulders are up by the ears,

Maybe the face is scowling.

Those are things that happen when stress is up too.

So as you're breathing out next time,

Let the hands relax even just a little bit,

Let the shoulders come down,

Let the face release.

Just imagine you're letting gravity do its thing.

The next round of breath,

Just a normal breath in,

And hold,

A long,

Extended breath out.

And continue to do this at your own pace.

You can be counting while you do this.

And whatever numbers you come up with are fine.

You just want to have a bigger number for the breath out.

So maybe you breathe in for three and you breathe out for six,

For example.

Notice if there are any changes from about five minutes of doing this practice.

Do you feel any different?

Do you notice any physical changes in your body?

Observe whatever might be the same or whatever might be different,

Whatever your experience is.

What we understand about this practice and how our bodies react to it is it can take at least two minutes to really slow down the nervous system at a time of high distress by doing this breathing.

So just remember that as you move forward that you want to give it at least a couple minutes.

And this is a skill that can be done anytime,

Anywhere.

All you have to do is slow the exhale as you're breathing out.

Continue to breathe.

I wish you well.

Reviews

Great way to self soothe & calm yourself nervous system !! Thank you!!

Thank you - that was calming and a good tool to have!

Quick and effective practice for in between therapy clients and beyond. Thank you!
💛☮️💛

Great breathing exercise. I especially like that the instructions are fairly’loose’: breathing at your own pace (no counting, unless you want to) and that there’s no pressure to have a result. “If you’re more relaxed, fine - if you’re not, that’s fine too.”

Very helpful. Thank you.

This is a great short breathing exercise. Thank you very much. I will come back to it often. I have also shared it. Thank you so much.

Great short way to calm you mind and body!!

Very clear instructions. Thanks!

this was absolutely beautiful and exactly what i needed. thank you 💗

Another excellent DBT distress tolerance TIPP exercise

Megan! So wonderful!

Very effective in just a few minutes. Thank you! I'll come back to this.

Really enjoyed this, helped me a lot. Thank you 🙏🏻💕💕

Helped me in the middle of work. Thank you.

Very nice breathing practice for slowing down your breathing. It really does help you feel calmer. And, as Megan says, you can do it any time. Thank you 🙏

Very calming and centering, thank you!!

Great no nonsense practical instruction. Thank you!