Mexican-American actor Danny Trejo has utilized a signature breathing technique to keep calm during "anxiety attacks."
The 80-year-old appeared on the latest episode of the Michael Rosenbaum-hosted podcast Inside of You, where he discussed becoming comfortable with rebreathing to stabilize hyperventilation episodes.
When asked about how he's learned to "conquer" anxiety, around the 47-minute mark of the video below, Trejo explained that he has anxiety attacks often.
"I have anxiety attacks, you know, a lot, but I blow into a bag. That always helps me," Trejo told Rosenbaum.
Trejo has also learned how to us gratitude as a mindfulness technique to ease his worries.
"There's an attitude of gratitude that we have to keep. You know what I mean? It's like, man, I don't know how to say it," he continued. "I'm so grateful. “I'm so grateful that I'm on the green side of the grass."
The remedies of steady breathing and showing gratitude have kept Trejo stable months after the actor and his friend, Mario Castillo, were attacked during an alleged xenophobic incident on July 4. The brawl took place during a Fourth of July parade in Los Angeles, when Castillo was badly beaten by a group, and Trejo alleged that a balloon filled with acid was thrown on him. The last update given about the incident was that it was being investigated as a hate crime.
But these days, Trejo is inspired to keep his life positive following the death of a good friend, whom he told Rosenbaum was a "beautiful guy."
"It’s like, wait a minute, man. He's got me here for some reason. I know it's not to do bad, so I gotta do good every day," Trejo said. "Gotta help somebody every — I don't care what it is. I don't care if you go to a neighbor. Just knock on the door. ‘Hey, are you okay?’ ‘Yeah. I'm fine, Dan. Could you help me take out the trash?'"
Elsewhere, he added, "That's the way I wanna live my life. And I think that's one of the reasons I got to be 80."