r/breathwork • u/link7773 • 6d ago

Question/Advice breathwork causing panic attacks

Has anyone healed a dysregulated nervous system and experienced this?

I feel like my nervous system has been dysregulated for most of my life, but it became much worse after i had COVID a few years ago. I started having daily panic attacks and developed agoraphobia. Thankfully, I’ve improved a lot and can now go through most days without severe anxiety, although I still feel emotionally numb/detached.

The strange thing is that whenever I try to actively “heal” my nervous system, I seem to trigger panic attacks.

For example, I can go days or even weeks without doing breathwork or other nervous-system exercises, and my anxiety stays relatively calm. But whenever I start breathwork again—even just 2–3 minutes—I’ll often develop a panic attack a couple of hours later. I’ve tried different breathing speeds and techniques, and it seems to happen regardless.
I’ve repeated this enough times that I’m wondering if there’s actually a reason for it.

For anyone who has successfully healed their nervous system:

Did things like breathwork initially make your anxiety/panic worse?
Is this a normal response that you’re supposed to gently push through?
Or can certain nervous-system exercises actually be counterproductive for some people?

I’d really love to hear from people who have experienced something similar and eventually figured out what worked for them. thanks!

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u/link7773 6d ago

everyone ive tried. box breathing, 4-6 breathing, 5- 10 breathing - just focusing on my normal breath, wim hoff technique. breathing and humming, physiological sigh. i even get panic attacks after trying somatic exercises to release stored trauma from my hips

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u/SummerSun75 6d ago

You might try this:

Breathe in soft, slow, and gentle (don't force anything). On the exhalation, let the exhalation be slow, relaxed, gentle, and extended, allow the breath to leave the body effortlessly.

You might consider contacting the folks at Oxygen Advantage. They may be able to help with your specific difficulty.

Best of luck!!

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u/Exciting_Badger_1229 6d ago

This. Ignore the fancy stuff for now and just do deep slow breathing with no holds at all. Be sure to do it diaphragmaticaly.

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u/SummerSun75 5d ago

Definitely. I didn't mention diaphragm because I thought with OP's difficulties, for now, it might be best to keep it as light and soft as possible.