It is very common to feel overwhelmed with many thoughts when you have been diagnosed with melanoma or skin cancer. Try the Square Breathing technique to help settle your nervous system.

Thoughts such as What might happen to me? How will I cope? What will happen to my loved ones? While understandable and normal, worrying about a future we cannot control can keep us in a stress response ‘loop’.
However, you can activate the settle and rest part of your nervous system via Square Breathing. Controlling your breathing is the fastest way to help settle a stress response.

MSCAN speaks with Dr. Eleanor De Ath-Miller, a wellbeing consultant psychologist and clinical neuropsychologist, on how to activate the settle and rest part of your nervous system via Square Breathing. Controlling your breathing is the fastest way to help settle a stress response.

Use the Square Breathing method when you notice signs of fight and flight

Fight or flight signs could include racing heart, shallow breathing, racing thoughts, and so on. If there is a problem right in front of you that you need to solve, this breathing can help steady you. Importantly, also use this strategy when you have a worry or problem that you cannot solve immediately.

• Take a moment now to get comfortable wherever you are sitting or standing.
• You might notice that your breath is shallow, or fast.
• The key is to breathe into the area around your belly button and the bottom of your rib cage (not the top section of your chest) and slow things right down when you breathe out.
• Push your feet into the floor, notice the contact points with your body and the chair.
• Breathe deeply and slowly into your abdomen through your nose for a count of 4, hold your breath for a count of 4, breathe out through your nose for a count of 4.
• Repeat 5 times.

It’s okay if your mind stays busy and your body doesn’t completely relax – this exercise is still helping in the moment to remind your nervous system it can take the accelerator off, even just a bit.