BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS
Behavioral
detective work is essential. It is
important to learn about the history of learned breathing behavior along with
the factors that may be sustaining it. If
overbreathing is a reinforced operant behavior, simply
teaching your client the “right” mechanics may be both irrelevant and
misleading. Practicing
“good” mechanics may mean nothing more than repetitive exercises that attest to
your good breathing abilities. If learning
history is overlooked, training will fail.
The factors that trigger overbreathing will continue to do so. Breathing behavior remains the means to
dissociating from traumatic memories, feelings, and pain. Self-defeating breathing mechanics remain behaviors
that yield powerful reinforcements.
Classical, operant,
cognitive, and state dependent learning may all weave
together to configure a tough and recalcitrant behavioral coping pattern. Asthma-based vicious-circle learning is an
example of applied behavioral analysis, as follows:
● Anticipation of difficulty in breathing
leads to worry about getting enough air.
● Fear is classically conditioned to
transition between breaths.
● Intentional breathing is introduced and
where accessory muscles get involved.
● Aborting the
exhale is reinforced with fear reduction.
● Aborting the
exhale makes deep breathing seem impossible.
● Fear about “getting enough air” increases.
● Breathing rate
increases.
● More accessory
muscles get involved.
● Breathing becomes a struggle.
●
Fear about air, poor mechanics
and intentionality lead to overbreathing.
● Overbreathing leads to airway (local)
hypocapnia.
● Airway hypocapnia increases air way
resistance
●
Airway resistance increases difficulty
in breathing and likelihood of symptoms.
● Struggle
to breathe increases apprehension, worry, and fear.
●
Overbreathing and
its associated effects worsen.
● Cerebral (brain) hypocapnia exacerbates
emotionality, disorientation, and physical symptoms.
● The resulting
symptoms confirm beliefs about breathing and asthma
●
The resulting symptoms are falsely attributed
to “asthma.”
● Emotionality and effortfulness
result in “trying harder,” failure, and sense of helplessness.
● Cerebral hypocapnia
results in dissociation and sets the stage for state-dependent learning.
●
Defendedness and learned
helplessness become state-dependent behaviors.
● Secondary gain for overbreathing perpetuates
dysfunctional breathing.
● Overbreathing may generalize as a
coping style for meeting other life challenges.
BEHAVIORAL DETECTIVE WORK PROVIDES THE BASIS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF A
LEARNING PLAN.
Copyrighted by
Behavioral Physiology Institute,