Having the appropriate perception can sure help us remain calm. So let us go back to humanity's humble beginnings when humans first inhabited the Earth. Back then, no zoos or cages, no restrictions whatsoever from any potential predators. And that is where the notion of the survival of the fittest comes from: Humans had to be fit to escape the claws of a saber-tooth tiger or grizzly bear.

In the face of perceived danger, we humans have encoded in our DNA to either run or fight off the imminent danger with a massive influx of hormones. We don't just react with our minds. We also respond with a burst of glucose, adrenaline, cortisol, and insulin. Fortunately for us, the average human no longer has to run from threats. However, our evolutionary response has not changed much from our human ancestors.

When we encounter a situation that we perceive as a threat, such as a heated argument or something so simple as being stuck in traffic, our flight-fight response kicks in. Our cortisol, adrenaline, and glucose levels spike in anticipation of dealing with the stressor or potentially dangerous situation.

But this potentially, over time, becomes problematic because, unlike our ancestors, we rarely exhaust the influx of cortisol, adrenaline, or glucose released into our bodies. The threat is seldom real, so in short, we silence or numb our response, but our perception and our anxiety remain. When this cycle continues to occur repeatedly, we end up with an out-of-proportion or misdirected anxiety response. Physiologically and emotionally, we respond with dire consequences to our health.

So how do we return to our baseline? How do we reset the level of anxiety and stress? Well, science tells us that our breathing regulates our oxygen demand. What is more, when we consciously breathe, our diaphragm stimulates our vagus nerve, among many other things.

Think of the vagus nerve as a nerve with many functions that affect hiccups, nausea, and even our heart rate, and it is one of the longest and most peripheral cranial nerves in the body.

In my days as an ER nurse, I dealt with some true emergencies. One, in particular, is supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), in which the heart rate suddenly jumps to a very rapid rate.

At this rapid pace, a human heart is unable to sustain life for long. One quick technique that may help slow down the dangerously fast heart rate is having a patient bear down, as in straining. It is the most appropriate technique for any ER nurse to decrease the heart rate temporarily. This technique is called the Valsalva maneuver, which can be done by deep breathing and bearing down, which stimulates the vagus nerve, increases coronary blood flow to the heart muscle, and may help slow down the SVT.

I frequently observed how a simple action, such as taking deep breaths and assimilating blowing out air through a straw, helped calm my patients. In some instances, it decreased the life-threatening condition. I would have the patient repeat the same thing over and over as if it was a mantra "slow and deep breaths." I often found it helpful to keep reminding my patients to take deep and slow breaths and then bear down. It gave me time to gather up the crash cart and prepare to administer Adenosine.

So going back to the topic of stress and anxiety. How do you change something in your mind that feels so realistic and causes your anxiety and stress? Slow and deep breaths are the answer. Breathing calmly and consciously reduces your blood pressure, heart rate as it dilates your blood vessels. Conscious breathing changes your perspective and decreases the urge to react. An excellent example of this is Heart-Focused breathing, as in HeartMath Institute.

Regardless of whatever is causing you anxiety, stress, or fear, take deep and slow breaths and proceed to focus on what is real at any given moment. Get to the bottom of your anxious thoughts, and develop a deep-breathing practice technique that keeps you grounded and focused in the present moment. Try it, and you'll see.

"Controlling the breath is a prerequisite to controlling the mind and the body"
– Swami Rama