In a previous article, we discussed what the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) is and what it does. Basically, the PSNS is the rest and digest response. It soothes us when we are stressed out. Many medical and mental health professionals will not tell you about the parasympathetic nervous system much less how to activate it. It’s not that they have ill intent. They would just rather prescribe you an anti-anxiety medicine.
The body wants to be calm and well. The PSNS returns our bodily functions to homeostasis so we can feel better and recover when we are stressed. There are ways we can intervene for ourselves and activate the parasympathetic nervous system. In my practice, I teach my clients some of these ways. Not every way works for everyone. I encourage folks to try each of these interventions and assure them that there are more. I ask them to be patient and give each at least three chances to see if they work.
If not, I encourage them to move on to the next tool and we can figure out what works for them and adjust accordingly. Now this is not a comprehensive list of PSNS interventions by any means. These are just ways I’ve found throughout my personal and professional lives to help not only myself but others.
The VOO
For a demonstration on how to do this, check out the following YouTube link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYOKFi4m-ic. The VOO is a vocal technique from somatic therapy. Somatic therapy, in a nutshell, is a way to get more in touch with your body and get out of your head. It can be very helpful in stimulating your anti-anxiety responses.
To do the VOO, you breathe out in a long inhale. As you do, you intone the word VOO. Your body sort of tunes itself to a calming frequency as you do this. It can really help you connect to your breath and use your voice to self-soothe.
Breathwork
The VOO encourages you to use your breathe and your voice to soothe. Connecting to your breath can be a great way to activate the parasympathetic nervous system. I encourage people to try a few different breathing techniques and find the one that works for them.
As you may or may not have noticed, when we are stressed, our breathing seems to get more shallow. During a panic attack, which is an extreme stress response that happens to those who are prone to anxiety disorders, such as myself, we often struggle to catch a full breath. This can lead to more stress and deepen the attack.
I encourage people to try and catch their breath on the ramp up. It’s very hard to activate the PSNS when we are too stressed. At some point, the brain becomes like a lit up pinball machine and it’s so hard to calm it down. Identifying your triggers is important and beginning to intervene for yourself early on the process can make quite a difference.
In yogic modalities, the breath, or prana, is very important. I love the deep belly breath. I learned it in Vinyasa yoga classes and use it as part of my restorative yoga practice. Vinyasa and Restorative Yoga are gentle, meditative forms of yoga with a deep emphasis on soothing. If you are prone to stress or anxiety, I highly recommend trying them out.
The deep belly breath requires that you take a deep inhale, as full as is possible. You should feel the diaphragm go up as you breathe in. As you exhale, you will release air until you feel the diaphragm return to its normal position. I often recommend that you repeat the process three times in a row. Three is relatively easy to remember and, I have noticed in my own practice, that it seems to really help soothe when you do these interventions in repetition of some sort.
I use the concept of three when I teach someone about box breathing. Box breathing can get very complicated. Some instructors encourage you to inhale for varying counts. I find that can be hard to do when you’re stressed out. I simplify it by asking my clients to inhale for a count of three, hold for a count of three and then exhale for a count of three. I ask them to repeat the activity three times in a row. Three, three, three, three completes a box of breathing.
The final breathing technique I encourage folks to try is referred to as the Ujayii breath, aka Lion’s Breath. You can watch a tutorial here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIfWjHuBCrI
I often do this in the car. I am a very anxious driver and I find it helps me to cope when I feel stressed, especially in traffic. I do recommend that you wait to do this until you are at a light because it does take a little bit of concentration.
How do you perform the Ujayyi breath:
- Take a solid, strong inhale.
- Release the air slowly, making a guttural sound as you do.
- Feel the air release from your lungs and the heat of the sound soothe you.
- Repeat as often as needed.
The Half-Smile
This skill comes to us from Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, aka DBT. (Yes – we, in the mental health field love acronyms.) Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is skills-based training, that works well especially for those who have impulse control disorders like bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, I find that many of the skills I’ve learned in DBT as a patient and as a practitioner can help just about anyone.
I love the half-smile because it’s simple and effective. You perform this action by taking your tongue and placing it to the roof of your mouth. Let it sit there for about 30 seconds to 1 minute – you don’t have to count it out. Just use your best guess. After that time, you should notice that you break into a full smile or may outright laugh. The interesting thing is that this throws anxiety off it’s game because it’s hard to hold humor and anxiety in the same space.
This is often why I tell people to try and laugh for 15-20 minutes a day as a way to strengthen their parasympathetic nervous system. You don’t have to laugh continuously. Watching a comedy special, a sitcom or listening to a funny podcast or reading jokes or checking out silly videos on Instagram and TikTok can do the trick.
Lip tapping
The nerve endings on your lips are directly connected to and stimulate the vagus nerve, which you may or may not remember from my article on the PSNS, is the central part of the system. Lip tapping is pretty simple. All you have to do is take two fingers and lightly tap on your lips. It shouldn’t take long for you to feel a release of tension in the neck and shoulders. You may also sigh or take a breath. I find it very soothing although it doesn’t work for everyone. I guess I’m just sensitized to it after engaging in the practice for years.
The Brain Hold
Finally, I encourage people to try the brain hold. This is a relatively new addition to my arsenal of PSNS intervention tools. I learned it from my therapist who is working on her certification in Somatic Therapy. This helped me recently when I was going through a manic period – I have bipolar disorder as well as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). It’s really simple. You put one palm at the base of your neck behind your head and under your hair. You want to make skin to skin contact if you can. You then take the other hand and place the palm on your forehead. Apply gentle pressure (light squeeze) and voila you have a surefire way to calm the nervous system.
I hope you find at least one or two of these PSNS interventions helpful for you as you attempt to self-soothe. If you’d like to book a session with me, I’d be happy to teach you more about these methods and help you figure out your anxiety triggers.
Deanna Goodson 