Teach “box breathing” to patients with anxiety, panic, insomnia, or high stress levels

In my outpatient practice, I see over 90% of my patients for exactly 30 minutes. I believe very strongly in having a whole menu of brief non-medication interventions that can be done in the limited amount of time available—along with evaluating how the patient’s symptoms are doing, monitoring the medication, ordering laboratory tests, sending medication prescriptions electronically, and so on.

Box breathing—also called 4X4 breathing or square breathing—is a specific breathing technique that we should be teaching to our patients who have anxiety, panic attacks, difficulty sleeping, or high stress levels.