The COVID-19 pandemic has put mental health in the spotlight. With a 25% global increase in anxiety since 2020, and nearly 20% of young people around the world suffering from mental illness today – a new mental health epidemic has risen to the surface.But the reason mental health is on the rise and worsens over time for individuals is because of the way we’re often taught to deal with it. All too often, mental health conditions are met with an attempt to manage the symptoms – and not the actual root problem. We have feelings of anxiety, so we suppress it or take medication without trying to resolve what the anxiety is rooted in. That’s where breathwork comes in.Especially for anxiety and depression, you can hack your brain and turn your mood around. We spoke with Breathwork expert, Richard L. Blake (also known as "The Breath Geek") about the three top ways you can. use conscious connected breathing to improve your mental health. 1. Releasing suppressed emotions Suppressed emotions can have a devastating effect that manifests in many ways. They get trapped in the body and manifest themselves manifest themselves often in physical ailments, anxiety, depression, suicide and abuse.While many conditions can be helped with traditional talk-therapies, trying to resolve deeply rooted trauma isn’t always as effective. Because our prefrontal cortex does its job of protecting us from pain and blocks us from accessing the trauma.Due to this, we often adopt maladaptive emotion regulation strategies – like avoidance, blaming, or numbing your feelings. But using breathwork allows these memories and issues to come up and be processed in an easier way.It helps you avoid those maladaptive regulation strategies and gives you the space to sit with your issues, face them, regulate your emotions, come to an acceptance – and ultimately move on. 2. Mystical experiencesTranscendental experiences, mystical experiences, connecting to the Divine, connecting to ancestors, connecting to a universal oneness – whatever it may be – can actually be elicited from just your breath. Why is this good? Because outcomes in studies show that people who have some sort of mystical experience – whether it's from a near-death experience, a medically-controlled psychedelic experience, or through breathwork – have improved mental health outcomes and reduces the effects of PTSD, suicidality, depression as well as having physical benefits.3. Lymphatic drainage Our breath is actually our largest detox pathway. Deep diaphragmatic breathing that you do through conscious connected breathing has been shown to be an effective way to detox the body.It moves the lymphatic system and moves toxins out of our systems, making deep diaphragmatic breathing just another wonderful way to rejuvenate the body. One study has shown that people who did this conscious connected breathing had improved immunity. So they measured their immunoglobulin A before the breathwork and after the breath work – and those who did breathwork showed to have better markers of immunity. The reason they think that that happened was because when we suppress our emotions, we suppress other bodily functions. And that includes the immune system as well. In a world where mental health concerns have become increasingly prevalent, breathwork offers a holistic and transformative approach to addressing the root causes of our emotional ailments. By embracing breathwork as a tool for releasing suppressed emotions, experiencing mystical connections, and supporting our body's detoxification processes, we can cultivate a healthier and more balanced mental state.It’s time to start prioritising mental well-being and embracing the power of our breath to navigate the challenges of life with greater resilience and inner peace. If you want to learn more about how to incorporate this practice into your daily life, follow Richard L. Blake on Instagram @the_breath_geek.It can truly change your life for the better.