Sitting in my living room, playing a video game, suddenly anxiety hits. Nothing I do grants relief. My heart races, I feel closed in. Can't breathe, can't relax. What's the cause? Nothing, yet everything. A rush of a million thoughts shattering my brain. No rest, I keep saying I am tired and I can't handle one thing. Not one but here are thousands all at once knocking on my heart's door. My chest feels weak. Breath gone in a moment. Then I realize, I'm holding my breath, but why? There's no answer, no response from my mind. I feel cluttered, I feel surrounded like There's no way out. Frantic, I search for calm. The above sentences are an accurate moment by moment representation of an actual episode I just had. When I realized that I was holding my breath subconsciously, I took a deep one and brought it fully into my stomach. Then I closed my eyes so I saw nothing. And there, in my darkness, I was in rest. Relaxation found me. Sometimes, we feel a panic and we forget to just close our eyes and breathe. If we can muster the strength and ability to catch our breath and control it, and shut out the things surrounding us, we can begin to control the panic. My episode was brought on by nothing in this moment yet there everything was, attacking me. Let's collectively breathe deeply into our souls and rest fully in ourselves, not the things around us. Remembering that inside us, is where true freedom and peace reside. By Sita Devraj Kaur
