Sitting with Anxiety: Breathing Through Emotions to Restore Calm

Written By Stacey Kamp

Learn how sitting with anxiety and practicing mindful breathing can calm the nervous system, reduce panic, and build long-term resilience. Backed by research in mindfulness, neuroscience, and psychotherapy.

Introduction

Anxiety is among the most common mental health concerns worldwide, often experienced as restlessness, worry, or physical tension. While many attempt to avoid or suppress these feelings, research shows that resisting anxiety can intensify symptoms (Borkovec et al., 2004). A more effective approach is to sit with anxiety—remaining present and breathing through the discomfort until it subsides. This practice draws upon principles of mindfulness and acceptance-based therapies, helping individuals regulate physiological arousal and cultivate emotional resilience.

Why Sitting with Anxiety Reduces Distress

The Fight-or-Flight Response

Anxiety activates the sympathetic nervous system, triggering the fight-or-flight response. This survival mechanism prepares the body for danger, increasing heart rate, muscle tension, and rapid breathing (LeDoux, 2015). While adaptive in true emergencies, these responses are often disproportionate in everyday anxiety.

Acceptance vs. Avoidance

Cognitive-behavioral and mindfulness-based research suggests that avoidance strategies—such as distraction, suppression, or self-criticism—may inadvertently reinforce anxiety (Hayes et al., 2006). In contrast, acceptance and mindful observation reduce physiological arousal and facilitate emotional regulation (Roemer & Orsillo, 2009). By sitting with anxiety, individuals learn that distressing sensations are temporary and tolerable.

The Role of Breathing in Calming the Nervous System

Breathing provides a direct mechanism for regulating the body’s stress response. Slow, intentional breathing stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which counterbalances fight-or-flight arousal (Jerath et al., 2006). Specific benefits include:

  • Lowered heart rate and blood pressure.

  • Increased vagal tone, supporting resilience and recovery (Porges, 2011).

  • Reduced hyperventilation, which can worsen dizziness, tingling, or chest tightness.

  • Improved attentional focus, anchoring the mind in the present.

Practices such as diaphragmatic breathing, box breathing, and paced respiration have been shown to decrease anxiety symptoms across clinical and non-clinical populations (Zope & Zope, 2013).

How to Practice Sitting with Anxiety

Step 1: Pause and Name the Experience

Recognize the anxious moment by silently labeling it (“This is anxiety”). Naming emotions reduces amygdala activity and increases prefrontal regulation (Lieberman et al., 2007).

Step 2: Focus on Breath

Bring attention to the natural rhythm of inhalation and exhalation. Placing a hand on the abdomen encourages diaphragmatic breathing, which calms the nervous system.

Step 3: Allow Sensations

Instead of resisting, allow physical sensations (tightness, racing heart, restlessness) to rise and fall naturally. Visualization techniques—such as imagining emotions as passing clouds—can facilitate nonjudgmental awareness.

Step 4: Remain Curious

Reflect gently: “What is this anxiety trying to communicate?” Often, anxiety signals a perceived threat rather than a real danger.

Step 5: Build Consistency

Over time, regularly practicing this approach rewires the brain toward tolerance and flexibility. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs show significant long-term reductions in anxiety symptoms (Kabat-Zinn, 1990; Hofmann et al., 2010).

Building Resilience Through Practice

Sitting with anxiety does not eliminate difficult emotions, but it transforms the relationship to them. By choosing to breathe through discomfort, individuals cultivate self-acceptance, emotional regulation, and greater capacity to manage stress. These skills extend beyond moments of anxiety, fostering resilience in daily life and enhancing overall well-being.

Conclusion

The practice of sitting with anxiety, supported by mindful breathing, is both an ancient contemplative technique and a modern evidence-based intervention. Research confirms that allowing, observing, and breathing through anxious states helps deactivate the body’s alarm system, reduce distress, and strengthen emotional resilience. Integrating this practice into daily life offers a sustainable pathway toward self-acceptance and calm.

References

  • Borkovec, T. D., Alcaine, O. M., & Behar, E. (2004). Avoidance theory of worry and generalized anxiety disorder. In R. G. Heimberg, C. L. Turk, & D. S. Mennin (Eds.), Generalized anxiety disorder: Advances in research and practice (pp. 77–108). Guilford Press.

  • Hayes, S. C., Luoma, J. B., Bond, F. W., Masuda, A., & Lillis, J. (2006). Acceptance and commitment therapy: Model, processes and outcomes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2005.06.006

  • Hofmann, S. G., Sawyer, A. T., Witt, A. A., & Oh, D. (2010). The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 78(2), 169–183. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018555

  • Jerath, R., Edry, J. W., Barnes, V. A., & Jerath, V. (2006). Physiology of long pranayamic breathing: Neural respiratory elements may provide a mechanism that explains how slow deep breathing shifts the autonomic nervous system. Medical Hypotheses, 67(3), 566–571. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2006.02.042

  • Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. Delacorte.

  • LeDoux, J. (2015). Anxious: Using the brain to understand and treat fear and anxiety. Viking.

  • Lieberman, M. D., Eisenberger, N. I., Crockett, M. J., Tom, S. M., Pfeifer, J. H., & Way, B. M. (2007). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychological Science, 18(5), 421–428. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01916.x

  • Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.

  • Roemer, L., & Orsillo, S. M. (2009). Mindfulness- and acceptance-based behavioral therapies in practice. Guilford Press.

  • Zope, S. A., & Zope, R. A. (2013). Sudarshan Kriya Yoga: Breathing for health. International Journal of Yoga, 6(1), 4–10. https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-6131.105935

Stacey Kamp
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