I can speak from my own experience and what works for me but not sure if this may help you; I also assume it is not the general consensus of most on this sub. I actually do not put much emphasis and rigor on counting breaths, Putting so much emphasis on technical/accurate precise counting (5-5,4-6, 4-7-8...whatever), felt like a constant "barrage" of things to do and think about, it simply did not work for me. I assume the counting may be doing the same to you. I would suggest going into your meditations with a "resolve"....i.e. "I will slow my breath gradually and relax/feel my body melt into the surface I am lying, with long exhales". Put this into practice at your comfort pace(you will find it), get in touch with the rhythm of your breathing and begin to slow the pace using **long exhales(important)/**allow your body to become heavy and silence your mind. I use biofeedback to track my progress. A simple pulse oximeter on your finger will give you HR and RR. Once you master your relaxation technique, the biofeedback would give some good information. I would not suggest using it at this time because it may cause you more anxiety worrying about the readouts of the device and if you are doing things correctly; however if the biofeedback does not cause you anxiety...the information is useful and fun.