N A F A S

A breath for when you are overstimulated

when the world gets too loud, lower the input first, then let your out-breath run a little longer.

some days the world just gets too loud. not always loud in the literal sense, though sometimes it's that too. it's the open-plan office and the group chat and the seventeen tabs and the person talking while a notification buzzes and the lights that are somehow too bright. your skin feels prickly. you can't finish a thought. you might feel snappy, or close to tears, or like you just need everyone to stop for one second.

if that's you right now, you're not being dramatic and you're not broken. sensory overwhelm is a real thing your nervous system does when there's more coming in than it can sort through. the input piles up faster than you can process it, and your body shifts into a kind of on-edge, defensive mode. it makes sense. it's also uncomfortable, and there are gentle ways to turn the volume down a notch.

first, less input

before any breathing, the kindest thing you can usually do is reduce what's coming in. this isn't avoidance, it's giving your system a chance to catch up.

if you can, step away for a minute. a quiet hallway, a bathroom, outside, even just turning your chair to face a wall. close your eyes, or soften your gaze to one neutral spot. take the headphones off, or put them on if silence isn't available and you need to block the room out. let your shoulders drop. you don't have to fix anything yet. you're just lowering the flood a little.

When the world gets too loud, turn down the input before you change the breath.

then, a longer exhale

once the input is down, breathing can help your body register that the emergency is passing. the part that tends to matter most here is a slow, extended exhale. when you breathe out for longer than you breathe in, it gently nudges the calming side of your nervous system, and for many people that shows up as a slightly slower heart rate and a looser feeling in the chest. it's not magic and it won't erase a stressful environment, but it can take the edge off enough to think again.

try this, soft and unhurried:

• breathe in through your nose for a count of about four
• breathe out, slowly, for a count of about six, like you're letting a long sigh go
• small pause, then again

do it maybe five or six times. if counting feels like one more thing to track, drop the numbers and just make each out-breath a bit longer than the in-breath. that's the whole idea. if four-in feels like too much, go smaller. shorter and comfortable beats long and forced.

some people find it helps to breathe out through slightly pursed lips, like cooling soup, so the exhale naturally stretches. others like resting a hand on the belly so there's something steady to feel. use whatever makes this easier, skip whatever doesn't.

a couple of gentle notes: do this sitting or still, not while you're driving, and if you ever feel lightheaded just let your breathing go back to normal — that feeling passes quickly, and there's no need to push. slow, easy breathing like this suits most people, but it isn't a treatment, and if overwhelm is a regular thing or you're really struggling, it's worth talking to a doctor or someone you trust.

after

you might feel a small settling, or you might just feel a touch less frantic. both are fine. overwhelm rarely vanishes in one go, and you may need to keep your environment quieter for a while afterward. be patient with yourself. you took in a lot.

if you'd like to try one breath right now, the extended-exhale or the long-exhale is a gentle place to start. just a few slow ones, no pressure to feel any particular way.

if nafas gives you something, you can support it →

not medical care — in crisis, you're not alone: findahelpline.com.

N A F A S