Sometimes we feel it as an enemy: that lump in our throat, the pressure in our chest, the shortness of breath, the racing heart. We wonder what's wrong with us, why our bodies "behave this way" just when we most need to be calm. And then we become afraid of our own bodies.

But what if we told you that your body isn't betraying you, but trying to help you ?

Anxiety is an automatic protective response. It's the body's way of saying, "I'm on alert, I want you to be safe." It doesn't do it out of cruelty; it does it because it learned—at some point in your life—that certain signals were cause for concern. It's just that now, perhaps, that alarm is going off when it shouldn't.

The body doesn't distinguish between a real threat and a catastrophic thought. For it, they can be the same thing. That's why it activates. But instead of seeing it as punishment, you can start seeing it as a signal: something needs attention, affection, calm .

Embrace that response with compassion. Be grateful that you have a body that wants to take care of you, even if it sometimes makes mistakes in how it does so. Help it with breathing, with rest, with kind words. Don't fight against it… team up with it.

Your body is not the enemy. It is your most loyal ally. It just needs you to teach it that, now, not everything is dangerous.

"A peaceful heart is the life of the body..."
Proverbs 14:30