If you focus on self-care, healing will ensue over time . Only you possess the ability to heal, time offers you the space to do so . This part of the storm-chasing journey is about breath: learning how to slow down, listen to your body, and use breathing as a daily tool for anxiety, focus, and healing. My disclaimer : I am not a breathing expert. I am only sharing the tools and practices that have helped me through my own battles with anxiety. Please take what helps and leave the rest. And so it is : Part II of Becoming a Storm Chaser — Breathe Baby Breathe! The first tool I want to share is the same one we use to begin and end life here on earth : breath. Good breathing can support us in many ways. It may help lower stress hormones and blood pressure, sharpen focus, improve carbon dioxide tolerance, support sleep , and bring more emotional balance. There are so many benefits, and probably more we have not discovered yet . Breathing can b...
Becoming an Intrapersonal Storm Chaser – What is That? This article is about learning to notice fear, understand where it shows up, and approach it with support instead of shame. I am not writing as an expert or therapist. I am writing as someone who spent years avoiding certain storms and finally decided to study them instead of running from them. Never enter the eye of the storm until you have taken the time to know them, identified a team (therapist, trusted friends), and have tools to use for the different storms, similar to what a physical storm chaser would do before going into the eye of a tornado. What works for me may not work for you or my future self. We are always changing. For example, I used to hate running, now I love it. Ironically enough it became one of my most valuable tools. You might be asking, what is the eye of the storm? It is one of the calmest parts of a physical storm, but it can also be one of the most dangerous places to enter. From an intraperso...