Have you ever felt like you signed up for the disaster-of-the-week club and were even gifted bonus disasters?
This month felt like that.
My Oura ring, laptop, and phone all went on the blink. We had home electrical issues that involved me getting a shock when turning off a light switch. But even more shocking than the electrical switch incident was learning there was a warrant for my arrest.
The list goes on, but I’m sure you get the idea.
When Life Starts Piling On
There are seasons when life feels tender but manageable. And then there are seasons when it feels like every little bit of stability gets tested at once.
That was this month for me.
One thing after another kept asking for my attention, my time, my money, and my energy. Technology problems. House problems. Legal stress. The kind of things that can make your chest tighten before your mind even has time to catch up.
And the truth is, I had little control over all this chaos.
But the one thing I could and can control is my breath.
The First Thing I Noticed
As each mini disaster unfolded, I started paying attention to what was happening in my body.
My breath was often held without me realizing it. Or it became shallow and quick. Sometimes I felt that familiar rush of urgency that says, Fix it now. Panic first. Think later.
Maybe you know that feeling too.
When something goes wrong, especially when several things go wrong at once, the nervous system can move into protection mode fast. That doesn’t make you weak. It makes you human.
What mattered was noticing it.
What Helped Me Come Back to Myself
Instead of letting my body stay stuck there, I began gently shifting my breath.
Slow, deep belly breaths.
Nothing fancy. Nothing complicated. Just a conscious return.
I breathed in whatever the circumstances called for. Steadiness. Patience. Clarity. I breathed out what needed letting go. Fear. Tension. The urge to spiral. The story that I was powerless.
And little by little, breath by breath, I found that I could approach each issue with a calmer presence instead of impulsive action.
That doesn’t mean I did it perfectly.
No, I Didn’t Float Through It Calmly
Fear hit me every time I had to turn off that light switch after getting shocked.
And yes, I slipped into victim mode temporarily when I learned there was a misdemeanor warrant for my arrest.
I had moments of frustration. Moments of disbelief. Moments where I wanted to throw my hands up and ask, Really? On top of everything else?
But here’s what changed: I didn’t stay there.
By using breathwork and calming affirmations, I came back to balance in minutes or hours rather than the days, weeks, or months it would have taken me in the past.
That is real progress.
Not perfection. Not never getting activated. But returning sooner. Softer. With more support inside myself.
About That Warrant
And if you’re wondering about the warrant, I invested a day in court. There were lots of deep belly breaths that day.
It’s been dismissed.
Even writing that now, I can feel the exhale that came with it.
Sometimes the hardest part is not just the event itself, but what happens inside us while we’re moving through it. The racing thoughts. The stories. The shame. The fear of what this says about our life.
Breath gave me something steady to hold onto while the outer pieces were still unsettled.
The Proof Keeps Showing Up
And the proof keeps showing up in small, ordinary moments.
Last week I looked in the mirror and realized I’d somehow chipped a tooth. I didn’t even flinch.
And just a few minutes ago, while writing this very post, my draft accidentally erased and I had to start all over.
Same thing.
I responded instead of reacting.
That may sound simple, but if you’ve spent years living in overdrive, you know that responding with calm is no small thing.
It changes the whole experience.
You Don’t Get to Pick Your Disasters
You don’t get to pick your disasters.
You don’t get to control every phone call, diagnosis, broken appliance, surprise bill, difficult conversation, or unraveling plan.
But you do get to pick your breath.
You get to return to the one place that is with you in every hard moment.
You get to soften your body enough to think clearly.
You get to remind yourself, I can meet this without abandoning myself.
That’s what breath has given me this month.
Not a perfect life. Not immunity from stress. But a way back to myself, again and again.
The Breath That Got Me Through Mine
Here’s the one that got me through mine.
Show me the breath → link to YouTube video
If This Is the Kind of Support You Want More Of
This is exactly the work we do together every week inside BLOOM, my community for highly sensitive women who are done running on empty.
We meet live every Tuesday evening at 5:30pm PST for breathwork, connection, and tools like this one, so you’re never white-knuckling your way through your own disasters alone.
We’re celebrating three years of BLOOM, and your first month is just $1. Click through to see the special pricing we’re offering to celebrate.
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