Hi! 

I read TLBTLD and have a question about breathing. TLBTLD states that one should control their breathing as to take even breaths lasting 2 - 4 seconds. In this sense, it seems that one should control their breathing from the initial moment one is hooked up to the machine all the way until you are unhooked. Can one not be conscious of their breathing and only alter their breathing pattern during control questions? In other words, does one really have to be conscious of their breathing throughout the whole time they hooked up? I am concerned that I will not be able to control my breathing in a manner that will not raise any suspicion from the examiner. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks

Be aware that whether or not you are consciously controlling your breathing, or just breathing normally, the polygraph examiner may tell you that you’re are breathing too slow, fast, abnormally, etc… The first couple of polygraphs I took (which I passed legitimately) the examiner told me I was breathing too slow and implied I was doing it on purpose.  However, I was just breathing normally.  This is just a ploy to try to get you to admit to using countermeasures.

On the last poly I took, I made the mistake of admitting that I was controlling my breathing.  Now, I honestly thought the guy wanted "regular" breathing, for that is what he told me to do.  The polygrapher may have been rusing me, or he may actually have had the machine on in accusing me- I don't know.  (The reason I don't know is my probation officer asked me later if the guy ran the test on me, implying he may not have or in any case did not tell him the results).

IMHO, I would have to say that breathing CM's, unless you can really convolute them and do patterns within patterns, etc, are less desirable than mental CM's.  I don't want to step on George's toes on this one, but it seems logical.

The polygrapher can always accuse you, whether he thinks you are using CM's or not.  Also, if you totally control your breathing (which I did), I would have to give the interrogator the benefit that he can make out a single-layer pattern (like a consistent amplitude -and- frequency, which I did) or a diminishing amplitude pattern followed by apnea.  Certainly, I think, he could make out a decreasing or increasing frequency pattern.  Since breathing is controllable, and the ploy (oops, poly) guy knows this, I would suggest going with something mental or otherwise invisible (which I will do).  I wouldn't take the risk of getting made.

Now, this is my sophomoric opinion and my own plan of action.  I have read TLBTLD twice, the DODPI manual, and most of this site, and that's it.  George and many of the more experienced posters here have more authority on this than do I, and if they disagree, I would defer to their views in a second...

SadderbutWiser wrote on Feb 1^st, 2006 at 11:16pm:


I think it's likely that employing mental countermeasures will naturally result in an accompanying breathing reaction without the examinee having to think about it. However, one should nonetheless be mindful of one's breathing to avoid breathing too slowly or too quickly, or taking deep breaths, any of which may be interpreted by a polygrapher as (admittedly unsophisticated) countermeasure attempts.