April 10, 2025 • 11 mins
Here we are with Episode 2 of Regain Control, the guide to taking your life back, getting back out there, while helping you feel well, beat pain and more!
This time, My Social Support Network's very own Paula Billig takes us through how to beat pain, and it's partly about learning how to breath. Most people find that hard to believe, but scientific pain management uses breathing as a key way to cope with pain - and here's your first level access pass!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:01):
Hello and welcome to the My Social Support Network podcast,
a series to guide you along the path to recovery
while on workers compensation. In this series, we will answer
questions from you and provide information from experts and people
with lived experience currently going through worker's compensation and those
who have made their way to the other side. Through
these interactions, we'll be giving you tools, advice, but most importantly,
(00:24):
encouragement on what can be a stressful time when you're
also recovering from an injury sustained in your workplace.
S2 (00:31):
How many of you loved that old song Take My
Breath Away? When my son was little, he would sing it,
and then he would take a deep breath as if
his breath had been taken away. Now, as a parent,
that was pretty funny. But if you are having a
troubled time at the moment, if you were in a
worker's comp claim and you are feeling that your breath
is constantly being taken away by silly forms, that the
(00:54):
insurers write by emails that come in and your heart
rate comes up and you go like that, then this
is the episode for you because we are going to
talk all about breathing and how breathing can lessen your pain,
how it can reduce the stress when the emails come in.
Paula is back with part two of our Regain Control
series to talk about how breathing underpins life and what
(01:19):
we can do. That's free to take that control back.
Why let those insurers and that this scheme take our
control away? Bring it back? I say, let's get started.
S3 (01:29):
Hello, I am Paula, I run the Regain Control Part
one sessions with my social support network. And today I
want to tell you a little bit about our session.
Number one, shift your pain. This is a session all
about our relaxation strategies. And I want to leave you
with three top relaxation technique tips. We teach strategies like
(01:55):
breathing techniques. Muscle relaxation techniques, meditation or mindfulness practices. And
there's actual science behind relaxation strategies, helping decrease experiences of
pain and distress. For one thing, deeper breathing increases oxygen
levels in your blood. Shallow and fast breathing causes hyperventilation.
(02:17):
This decreases oxygen levels to the muscles and the brain.
It increases our stress response, and it decreases our ability
for our brain and our body to act or react
because of lack of oxygen, lack of fuel. And we
usually teach breathing through the nose because this is going
to help filter air from dust and pollen and bacteria
(02:39):
and particulates. It's going to humidify the air that's coming
into your lungs. It's going to warm the air if
you're in a cold environment. And it also slows your
breathing and gives you a lot more time for oxygen
and carbon dioxide exchange. So my first tip is to
practice the simplest of all breathing exercises. Three counts in,
(03:03):
three counts out. It's just a slow breathing technique which
over time trains you to naturally reflexively take slower, deeper
breaths so that you get more oxygen so that you
have less stress and tension. All that good stuff. This
leads into my top tip number two, which is to practice.
(03:27):
We should be good at breathing. We've made it this far.
Doing it. We're not that good at it actually. We
need to practice breathing techniques so that we can retrain ourselves.
When we're stressed. We breathe more shallowly and we breathe
more quickly than is actually good for us. And we
spend a lot of time stressed, so that becomes our default.
(03:51):
We actually have to practice Slowing our breath and being
aware of our breath to be able to get good
at it again. Remembering to turn to relaxation techniques like
a breathing practice when you're in a stressful situation or
a high stakes situation is great. Breathing strategies. Breathing techniques
(04:11):
help lower your heart rate. They engage your parasympathetic nervous
system to move you out of fight or flight. They
distract you a bit to give you distance, perspective, a
chance to depersonalize the situation and take the time to
make conscious choices. We're not, however, necessarily used to what
(04:31):
it feels like to be relaxed. So only turning to
breathing practices when you need them means that at least
part of you is going to be checking in with
yourself and observing to try and determine if you're doing
it right, or if you're doing it well, or if
you're doing it okay. To think about counting the breaths,
to look for feedback and feelings in your body if
(04:54):
you actually practice. If you take the time daily to
do 20 or 30s of slow breathing, for example, you'll
become familiar with what it feels like. You'll know what
relaxed feels like already, and then you'll already know what
this relaxation technique you're using is supposed to feel like,
(05:18):
and what it's supposed to do for you so that
you can spend all of your brain space, all of
your capacity on the technique and letting it help you
instead of checking in and questioning your execution of it.
Top tip number three any relaxation technique you use breathing practices,
physical or muscle relaxation techniques, meditation practices, mindfulness practices. Any
(05:43):
technique you use is going to be helpful. You don't
have to commit to an hour long practice three times
a day to get benefits. You can take mindfulness moments
as they become available during your day. You can use
what's called habit stacking to add mindfulness moments to activities
you're already doing. Practice while you're waiting for the kettle
(06:07):
to boil or your shower to heat up. Practice while
you're at a traffic light or in lines at a shop.
Turn your coffee or tea, making time into mini rituals,
or when you're doing the dishes, or wiping the counter
or sweeping the floor. You can practice a bit of
art in nature, sketch a shell or relief. Make up
(06:27):
a poem about a flower. Invent a story about the
travels of a cloud and what it's seen on its journey.
Keep a list of your favorite mantras, things that sound
good and feel good to you when you hear them,
and when you say them. And when you stop to
take a deep breath or a sigh or a yawn.
Repeat it to yourself. Practicing relaxation techniques, which are just
(06:51):
simply types of mindfulness practices anyway, doesn't have to be
a huge investment of time or resources for it to
be effective. Make them micro-moments. Build them into your regular
life and they'll become habits and second nature, and you'll
find yourself walking around with more oxygen, less tension, and
(07:13):
more self-awareness, which is all mindfulness is really. Let's practice
that slow breathing technique. The first thing I want you
to do is close your eyes, because that cuts out
the visual component to what your nervous system is reacting to.
So when you close your eyes and you stop taking
(07:34):
in visual stimuli, it lets your nervous system calm down.
If you're doing something that's not safe to close your eyes,
don't close your eyes. If it's not comfortable, don't close
your eyes. But if you want to try it, go
for it. Close your eyes. Try breathing through your nose.
And when that's not comfortable, supplement with a mouth breath.
(07:55):
Be comfortable with this. All we're going to do is
breathe in and out for three seconds each. We're going
to breathe in. Two. Three. Out. Two, three. In. Two. Three. Out. Two. Three.
Keep going like that. I want you to feel the
(08:17):
air sliding past the edges of your nostrils. I want
you to see how far into your head you can feel.
That air moving. Feel your chest expanding and your ribs expanding.
And your shoulder blades moving. When you breathe in. And
when you breathe out. Feel the opposite of this. Feel
(08:41):
your ribs contracting. Feel your collarbone dropping down. Feel your
shoulder blades relaxing. See if you can start to pick
up where in your sinuses you can feel the air
on the way out as it exits past the edges
of your nostrils. Pay attention to the temperature of the
(09:06):
air as it comes in, and the different temperature as
it goes out. See if you can feel any difference
in the humidity of that air. If you're in an
environment that has air conditioning or heat running, the air
that's going in is going to be drier than the
(09:27):
air coming out. See if you can feel the difference
and just take one more breath in and one more
breath out. And then slowly blink your eyes open and
come back. That right there is a micro mindfulness moment.
You took a pause. You focused your brain and all
(09:48):
of its frenetic energy on some sensations, and that let
you hopefully step away from the chatter, from the clutter
happening between your ears for just about a minute and
a half. That's all mindfulness needs to be to start
being helpful. Thank you for listening.
S2 (10:07):
We hope that you enjoyed that amazing episode. Brought to
you all the way from the United States and my
social support network, Australia on Breathing as part two of
the Regain Control program. But next week, get ready. And
this is probably a big shout out to all those
people that work in the scheme. We're going to be
talking about the biopsychosocial model. Now our scheme in New
(10:30):
South Wales loves the biopsychosocial model, but I can guarantee
that very few people understand it. Biological. Psychological. Social. There
is no mushing of the term, and unless we have
balance physically, emotionally and socially, we can't feel well. So
(10:50):
next week we're going to talk about how we can
put all of those pieces independently into play, so that
they start to make you feel like you're coming to
a place of wellness. I'm so excited already, and we'll
see you next time, so don't go anywhere.
S1 (11:08):
If any of the content in today's episode resonated with you,
then you might be interested in my social support networks.
Regain control. It isn't just another recovery program, it's an
eight week reset for your mind and body. If pain, stress,
and self doubt have been running the show, this program
gives you the tools to take back the driver's seat
so you can move forward with confidence, one small step
(11:29):
at a time. Go to MSN. Com.au. That's me. Com.au
to register and become part of this program to help
you regain control.
Hello and welcome to the My Social Support Network podcast,
a series to guide you along the path to recovery
while on workers compensation. In this series, we will answer
questions from you and provide information from experts and people
with lived experience currently going through worker's compensation and those
who have made their way to the other side. Through
these interactions, we'll be giving you tools, advice, but most importantly,
(00:24):
encouragement on what can be a stressful time when you're
also recovering from an injury sustained in your workplace.
S2 (00:31):
How many of you loved that old song Take My
Breath Away? When my son was little, he would sing it,
and then he would take a deep breath as if
his breath had been taken away. Now, as a parent,
that was pretty funny. But if you are having a
troubled time at the moment, if you were in a
worker's comp claim and you are feeling that your breath
is constantly being taken away by silly forms, that the
(00:54):
insurers write by emails that come in and your heart
rate comes up and you go like that, then this
is the episode for you because we are going to
talk all about breathing and how breathing can lessen your pain,
how it can reduce the stress when the emails come in.
Paula is back with part two of our Regain Control
series to talk about how breathing underpins life and what
(01:19):
we can do. That's free to take that control back.
Why let those insurers and that this scheme take our
control away? Bring it back? I say, let's get started.
S3 (01:29):
Hello, I am Paula, I run the Regain Control Part
one sessions with my social support network. And today I
want to tell you a little bit about our session.
Number one, shift your pain. This is a session all
about our relaxation strategies. And I want to leave you
with three top relaxation technique tips. We teach strategies like
(01:55):
breathing techniques. Muscle relaxation techniques, meditation or mindfulness practices. And
there's actual science behind relaxation strategies, helping decrease experiences of
pain and distress. For one thing, deeper breathing increases oxygen
levels in your blood. Shallow and fast breathing causes hyperventilation.
(02:17):
This decreases oxygen levels to the muscles and the brain.
It increases our stress response, and it decreases our ability
for our brain and our body to act or react
because of lack of oxygen, lack of fuel. And we
usually teach breathing through the nose because this is going
to help filter air from dust and pollen and bacteria
(02:39):
and particulates. It's going to humidify the air that's coming
into your lungs. It's going to warm the air if
you're in a cold environment. And it also slows your
breathing and gives you a lot more time for oxygen
and carbon dioxide exchange. So my first tip is to
practice the simplest of all breathing exercises. Three counts in,
(03:03):
three counts out. It's just a slow breathing technique which
over time trains you to naturally reflexively take slower, deeper
breaths so that you get more oxygen so that you
have less stress and tension. All that good stuff. This
leads into my top tip number two, which is to practice.
(03:27):
We should be good at breathing. We've made it this far.
Doing it. We're not that good at it actually. We
need to practice breathing techniques so that we can retrain ourselves.
When we're stressed. We breathe more shallowly and we breathe
more quickly than is actually good for us. And we
spend a lot of time stressed, so that becomes our default.
(03:51):
We actually have to practice Slowing our breath and being
aware of our breath to be able to get good
at it again. Remembering to turn to relaxation techniques like
a breathing practice when you're in a stressful situation or
a high stakes situation is great. Breathing strategies. Breathing techniques
(04:11):
help lower your heart rate. They engage your parasympathetic nervous
system to move you out of fight or flight. They
distract you a bit to give you distance, perspective, a
chance to depersonalize the situation and take the time to
make conscious choices. We're not, however, necessarily used to what
(04:31):
it feels like to be relaxed. So only turning to
breathing practices when you need them means that at least
part of you is going to be checking in with
yourself and observing to try and determine if you're doing
it right, or if you're doing it well, or if
you're doing it okay. To think about counting the breaths,
to look for feedback and feelings in your body if
(04:54):
you actually practice. If you take the time daily to
do 20 or 30s of slow breathing, for example, you'll
become familiar with what it feels like. You'll know what
relaxed feels like already, and then you'll already know what
this relaxation technique you're using is supposed to feel like,
(05:18):
and what it's supposed to do for you so that
you can spend all of your brain space, all of
your capacity on the technique and letting it help you
instead of checking in and questioning your execution of it.
Top tip number three any relaxation technique you use breathing practices,
physical or muscle relaxation techniques, meditation practices, mindfulness practices. Any
(05:43):
technique you use is going to be helpful. You don't
have to commit to an hour long practice three times
a day to get benefits. You can take mindfulness moments
as they become available during your day. You can use
what's called habit stacking to add mindfulness moments to activities
you're already doing. Practice while you're waiting for the kettle
(06:07):
to boil or your shower to heat up. Practice while
you're at a traffic light or in lines at a shop.
Turn your coffee or tea, making time into mini rituals,
or when you're doing the dishes, or wiping the counter
or sweeping the floor. You can practice a bit of
art in nature, sketch a shell or relief. Make up
(06:27):
a poem about a flower. Invent a story about the
travels of a cloud and what it's seen on its journey.
Keep a list of your favorite mantras, things that sound
good and feel good to you when you hear them,
and when you say them. And when you stop to
take a deep breath or a sigh or a yawn.
Repeat it to yourself. Practicing relaxation techniques, which are just
(06:51):
simply types of mindfulness practices anyway, doesn't have to be
a huge investment of time or resources for it to
be effective. Make them micro-moments. Build them into your regular
life and they'll become habits and second nature, and you'll
find yourself walking around with more oxygen, less tension, and
(07:13):
more self-awareness, which is all mindfulness is really. Let's practice
that slow breathing technique. The first thing I want you
to do is close your eyes, because that cuts out
the visual component to what your nervous system is reacting to.
So when you close your eyes and you stop taking
(07:34):
in visual stimuli, it lets your nervous system calm down.
If you're doing something that's not safe to close your eyes,
don't close your eyes. If it's not comfortable, don't close
your eyes. But if you want to try it, go
for it. Close your eyes. Try breathing through your nose.
And when that's not comfortable, supplement with a mouth breath.
(07:55):
Be comfortable with this. All we're going to do is
breathe in and out for three seconds each. We're going
to breathe in. Two. Three. Out. Two, three. In. Two. Three. Out. Two. Three.
Keep going like that. I want you to feel the
(08:17):
air sliding past the edges of your nostrils. I want
you to see how far into your head you can feel.
That air moving. Feel your chest expanding and your ribs expanding.
And your shoulder blades moving. When you breathe in. And
when you breathe out. Feel the opposite of this. Feel
(08:41):
your ribs contracting. Feel your collarbone dropping down. Feel your
shoulder blades relaxing. See if you can start to pick
up where in your sinuses you can feel the air
on the way out as it exits past the edges
of your nostrils. Pay attention to the temperature of the
(09:06):
air as it comes in, and the different temperature as
it goes out. See if you can feel any difference
in the humidity of that air. If you're in an
environment that has air conditioning or heat running, the air
that's going in is going to be drier than the
(09:27):
air coming out. See if you can feel the difference
and just take one more breath in and one more
breath out. And then slowly blink your eyes open and
come back. That right there is a micro mindfulness moment.
You took a pause. You focused your brain and all
(09:48):
of its frenetic energy on some sensations, and that let
you hopefully step away from the chatter, from the clutter
happening between your ears for just about a minute and
a half. That's all mindfulness needs to be to start
being helpful. Thank you for listening.
S2 (10:07):
We hope that you enjoyed that amazing episode. Brought to
you all the way from the United States and my
social support network, Australia on Breathing as part two of
the Regain Control program. But next week, get ready. And
this is probably a big shout out to all those
people that work in the scheme. We're going to be
talking about the biopsychosocial model. Now our scheme in New
(10:30):
South Wales loves the biopsychosocial model, but I can guarantee
that very few people understand it. Biological. Psychological. Social. There
is no mushing of the term, and unless we have
balance physically, emotionally and socially, we can't feel well. So
(10:50):
next week we're going to talk about how we can
put all of those pieces independently into play, so that
they start to make you feel like you're coming to
a place of wellness. I'm so excited already, and we'll
see you next time, so don't go anywhere.
S1 (11:08):
If any of the content in today's episode resonated with you,
then you might be interested in my social support networks.
Regain control. It isn't just another recovery program, it's an
eight week reset for your mind and body. If pain, stress,
and self doubt have been running the show, this program
gives you the tools to take back the driver's seat
so you can move forward with confidence, one small step
(11:29):
at a time. Go to MSN. Com.au. That's me. Com.au
to register and become part of this program to help
you regain control.
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