Deliberate hyperventilation technique linked to mental break before police standoff

CHILLIWACK — A British Columbia man who began to deliberately hyperventilate himself daily before suffering a mental breakdown was sentenced to four years in prison last month after shooting at police in a 2023 standoff.

A psychological assessment found Daniel Hackl’s breakdown was likely triggered by “holotropic breathwork,” a therapeutic practice involving heavy, rapid breathing exercises that can exacerbate certain mental health conditions.

The sentencing ruling released this week says Hackl’s friends and family had worried about his mental health in the weeks leading up to the May 2023 confrontation with RCMP, in Chilliwack, B.C.

The ruling says an emergency response team went to Hackl’s home for a wellness check and surrounded the residence to try to coax him out, but Hackl fired three gunshots at two officers.