Today I caught myself slipping back into an old pattern, quietly pulling away when things felt overwhelming.
For a moment, my chest tightened and my breath went shallow… the familiar “I need to disappear” response.
Instead of judging it this time, I placed a hand on my heart and just stayed with the feeling.
No fixing, no forcing, just noticing.
It didn’t magically dissolve or turn into peace, but it softened.
And that softness felt like progress.
I’m learning that healing isn’t always a breakthrough.
Sometimes it’s simply choosing presence over autopilot, even for a few seconds.
If anyone else has had a small shift like that recently, I’d love to hear.