You don't need a guru. You don't need an app. You just need your lungs. Breath deeper, slower, longer. One breath at the time - that's enough.
Anxiety feels like your chest is a collapsing tent and your brain is a screaming alarm. You swear you're about to pass out.
Newsflash: you are not broken. You are just breathing like a scared rabbit.
Here is how to take a steering wheel back:
Sit down. Drop your shoulders. Your body's already acting like it's mid-fight scene. Show it you're not in the war.
Put one hand on your belly. Not your chest. Your belly. That's where the breath should move. If your hand doesn't rise, you are faking it.
Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds. Fill up your stomach like you're inflating a balloon. Not your chest - your stomach.
Hold it for 4 seconds. Don't clench, don't panic. Just count slow in your head.
Exhale through your mouth for 6-8 seconds. Like you are blowing out a stubborn candle. Controlled. Steady.
Pause 2 seconds. Let the quiet in.
Repeat 5-10 times. That's it. No app. No crystals. Just you proving to your body that you're not in danger.
Why it works: slow breathing tells your nervous system to stop hitting the panic button. It flips the switch from "fight or flight" to "chill the f*** out."
It won't erase your anxiety forever. But it gives you a way out of the spiral when your chest feels like concrete. One breath at a time.
