Breathing Expert Reveals How To Stay Calm in Any Situation No Matter How Stressful | Brian MacKenzie

He argues that breathing is one of the few processes we can voluntarily intercept even though it’s largely self-regulating, and that this makes it a foundational “lever” for self-regulation—emotionally, mechanically, and metabolically.

He says modern life pushes an “outside-in” default (phones, metrics, constant stimulus), while effective high performers shut out distractions and stay present; he frames breath as a fast way to return to the current environment and reduce physiological fallout.

He describes thinking he had broken his neck and being unable to move, then deliberately choosing controlled breathing instead of panic; he connects this to the “choice” between stimulus and response and says defaulting into calm avoided unnecessary emotional escalation.

Using the host’s open-water panic as an example, he attributes the spiral to emotion-driven “story” plus CO2 buildup from exertion; he says panic typically increases ventilation, blows off CO2, and worsens the stress loop.

He explains that oxygen use depends on adequate CO2, and frames chronic over-breathing as common; he links better CO2 tolerance to having more capacity to “shift state” (downshift or upshift) when needed.