“I hold my breath back because of an unconscious fear I have.”
If this resonates with you, what follows may help you see something about yourself. It is a real self-inquiry — one person’s inner dialogue on this question, unaltered except for readability.
Self-Observation on why I am holding my breath back
- I feel fear when I look at why I am holding my breath back
- I don’t know what I am afraid of.
- I see that my whole body is in a state of stress.
- I also feel some kind of shame I think.
- It is the exhalation that I don’t do. No problem with breathing in.
- I feel stuck. Do I feel stuck with my whole life?
Chain of thoughts coming when I am able to go deeper
- I am afraid of what would happen if I fully relaxed my breathing. What would happen if I let myself be fully relaxed?
- My view is that if I would fully exhale, something bad would happen. Something that would hurt me. I don’t dare to.
- I got used to this state. I can hardly imagine now how it would feel to have relaxed breathing.
- I do not dare to let my true Self come to the surface.
- It may have something to do with having a goal in life. I mean I think I would be more relaxed if I fully knew what I wanted.
What would come out of you if you let yourself fully exhale — and is it something you’re afraid to feel, or afraid to let go of?
If you want to sit with this question, SelfChatter’s journal is built for exactly this kind of inner work.