any hints on what to do when breathing excercises stress you out?

[fiddlewheel]

I used to be able to take a deep breath to relax in any situation, but for the last ten or so years, even yawning doesnt do anything but stress me out.

I dont know why, I guess I expect to get relaxed by it, but it doesnt relax me o it stresses me out.

Please, can anyone recognize and maybe help with this? I need this ability back in my life.

[jessed03]

This happens quite frequently, yet, read any anxiety self-help book and all you seem to hear about are breathing exercises. Very little on the other wealth of relaxation exercises out there.

First, if these exercises are stressing you out, stop doing them. At least for now. Too many people persist thinking the exercises will be helpful, even though they're being counter-productive.

Second, replace them with something equally as relaxing that doesn't involve the breath. My two personal favourites are progressive muscle relaxation and yoga nidra. There are a ton of resources and guided exercises online. If you wanted to, you could even try mantra meditation.

[fiddlewheel]

I checked out Yoga Nidra, it stressed me out!

"Lay down like this and DONT MOVE", Take DEEP BREATHS!", dont let YOUR BODY TOUCH!".

Jeeze, it was nothing but stressful!

[jessed03]

I checked out Yoga Nidra, it stressed me out!

"Lay down like this and DONT MOVE", Take DEEP BREATHS!", dont let YOUR BODY TOUCH!".

Jeeze, it was nothing but stressful!

That's too bad.

Try progressive muscle relaxation. That's something I still do to this day to keep tension out of my body.

If you don't like a particular recording, don't be afraid to record you're own. It takes a few minutes, but you can keep what you like and remove what you don't. With progressive muscle relaxation you can even memorize the steps meaning you can go as gently as you like.

EDIT: Some recordings will talk about the breath. You can ignore those particular instructions if you want. The goal, ultimately, is to drift off into relaxation, not follow a magic script. :)