Causes of failure of deep breathing exercises followed by heaviness in head in case of anxiety patients?

Question:

i have severe problem of anxiety.i have tried several breathing exercises but all respond for 2-3 days and afterwards they fail and cause heaviness in head.however i want to clarify that i have any breathing disorder like asthma,etc and iam using proper technique of breathing.but even then i feel heaviness or lightheadedness in head.

Answers:
You are hyperventilating, which causes in people with anxiety, a hyperawareness of it happening. So for someone without anxiety, they might say whoooo I feel a little funny, for you, it is 'heaviness' or a negative experience. You might try this, which I use with clients that have hyperawareness when it comes to deep breathing. Breathe slowly all the way in to full capacity. Hold it 2 seconds. Exhale half way. Hold it 2 seconds. Exhale all the way, hold it a second or two. Breathe halfway in again and hold for two seconds, and breathe totally normally for 2-4 breaths and start again.. The holds between the breathing prevent you from getting too much oxygen too fast. If you start to get light headed, then take a longer period of 'normal' breaths in between. Also, the heaviness of head may be muscle tension. I had this a lot when I had anxiety problems and it took awhile for me to figure it out.

Causes of failure of deep breathing exercises followed by heaviness in head in case of anxiety patients?

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