For as long as I can remember, I had a tendency to clench onto my breath whenever I felt anxiety or overwhelming panic. This wasn’t something I realized at the time, but it’s a coping mechanism I had developed unconsciously—one that prevented me from dealing with my feelings in a healthy way. Every tight breath I took buried the anxiety deeper within my body, making it harder to release. It was like my own body was holding onto something that needed to be let go.
I had no idea that something as simple as deep breathing could be the key to releasing all the emotional tension I had been carrying for so long. Over the years, I struggled with anxiety without realizing that my body was giving me signals to pause and simply breathe. I told myself time and time again that it was okay to breathe—but I never truly understood the impact of that simple statement until I started using it intentionally.
Growing up in a home where I felt unheard and unsupported, especially by my stepmom, I learned to minimize myself. I was taught to keep quiet and not draw attention to my needs. The less noise I made, the less I would feel like a target. I was taught to hide my own self-care and, in doing so, I carried around a constant weight of unspoken stress. It wasn’t until therapy that I began to realize how much this habit of holding my breath was a result of trying to silence my emotions and bury my feelings.
When I finally became aware of this pattern, I started using deep breathing as a way to ground myself. At first, it felt uncomfortable. I was waking up to an overwhelming surge of energy through my body, which felt chaotic. But this discomfort was the beginning of my body learning how to regulate itself. The simple act of taking deep, intentional breaths slowly became the key to returning to a calm center.
Breathing wasn’t just a physical act—it was an emotional release, a reminder that it’s okay to care about yourself. It was my golden ticket to understanding how to take control of my own emotional well-being, and for the first time, I was able to truly release the anxiety I had been holding onto.
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