Overbreathing (hyperventilation) is breathing at a rate or depth greater than your body's metabolic needs require. It depletes CO2 from your bloodstream, creating alkalosis—a state of excessive alkalinity in your blood. This triggers anxiety symptoms: dizziness, tingling, chest tightness, sense of unreality. Overbreathing creates anxiety, which triggers more overbreathing, creating a vicious cycle.
Overbreathing is incredibly common in anxious populations. Anxiety triggers rapid breathing, which depletes CO2, which triggers more anxiety. Many people are caught in this cycle and don't realize it. They think their anxiety is psychological when it's partially driven by breathing physiology. The solution is deceptively simple: slow your breathing and return CO2 to normal levels.
Addressing overbreathing involves conscious practice of slower, deeper breathing—typically 5-6 breaths per minute rather than the anxious 15-20+. Coherence breathing and paced breathing retraining gradually normalize CO2 and break the overbreathing-anxiety cycle. Most people see anxiety reduction within days to weeks as their CO2 levels normalize.