Sorry if there are other posts related to this but I can't find them. I am constantly being told and reading that I should be breathing deeply and that this will help me calm down. I had my first session with a therapist last week who was trying to teach me how to breath. She identified straight away that I hold my breath when feeling anxious which I know is not good.

However, I always find that these breathing techniques that are supposed to help have the opposite effect and just make me feel light headed which then makes me more anxious.

---------- Post added at 17:26 ---------- Previous post was at 16:23 ----------

just found the answer with a bit more searching, seems that I need to practice when calm and safe and persevere. Like many things that will help, it feels odd at first and takes time to be beneficial.