It feels weird to say but I hate them. I don't know if I Would describe them as painful, but they're definitely uncomfortable. It does not feel right in my chest or my throat. And I hate how irregular the rate at which I inhale/exhale air is when I try to do it slowly. And I can't breathe in/out for as long as I've been instructed to. Ok when I write all that out it kind of sounds like I have a medical problem. But to my knowledge my breathing is fine I passed the test with that thing doctors wear around their neck the stegosaur or whatevr
I find it very helpful, for managing stress, anxiety, fear.
But like, just because I find it helpful, doesn't mean it's going to work for you. Different people find different coping mechanisms helpful, and I think part of learning to manage neurodivergance and mental illness is building up a suite of things that work for you be they coping mechanisms, medicine or treatments, or whatever.
Same. I use different breathing exercises when trying to calm my heart rate, calm my anxiety, deal with a meltdown, meditate, etc. But it took me my entire life of slowly finding which ways were effective for me.