When you suffer from chronic anxiety, the first thing your doctors will likely want to do is prescribe medication for your condition. It seems that every doctor in the world thinks those with anxiety need to be on at least one medication for it. While medications work well for some people, they are definitely not for everyone. Many medications for anxiety are addictive and come with annoying side effects.

The good news is that you don’t have to be on medication to control your anxiety. Keep in mind however that if your anxiety is severe, you likely will feel relief from the medications. But, if your anxiety is relatively mild and you only have anxiety attacks once a month or so, you may want to try a more natural approach to treating it. Breathing techniques are a great tool to have in your possession.

You can learn breathing techniques from a book or from your therapist. They pretty much help you calm down and regulate your breathing when you feel a panic attack coming on or after it is in full swing. Many of the symptoms people get during an anxiety attack are due to their breathing being too quick and shallow. So, deep breathing will help the person avoid feeling light headed, short of breath, and many other breathing related things.

Instead of rushing to the doctor for mild anxiety, try coping with breathing techniques first to see if you can handle it on your own. Again, medications are great for some people, but not necessarily intended for those with only mild anxiety.