This episode dives into the importance of taking small, intentional pauses to help ease anxiety and find a moment of calm in our busy lives. I get it; life can feel overwhelming, and we often carry the weight of expectations and responsibilities. Here, we’re creating a space where you don’t have to be perfect—just be yourself. I’ll guide you through simple breathing exercises that can help ground you, even when your mind feels chaotic. Our goal is to offer practical tips and gentle reminders that you’re not alone in this journey, and that taking a moment to breathe can truly make a difference.

So, let’s settle in and start this journey toward feeling a little lighter together.

1. FREE ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠High-functioning Anxiety Survival Guide⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
2. Check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠High-functioning Anxiety Blueprint
3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ask me your anxiety-related questions⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a future episode.
4. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠1:1 Reset & Reclaim Hypnotherapy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Program. A 4-week journey to help you gently break down the Eldest Daughter conditioning that’s been running your life, and reclaim your voice, your needs, and your sense of self.
5. Subscribe and Leave a Review

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠DISCLAIMER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: All content here is for informational purposes only. This content does not replace the professional judgment of your own mental health provider. Please consult a licensed mental health professional for all individual questions and issues.

You're listening to the Peace with Anxiety Podcast.

I am your host Irene Evangelo, Anxiety counselor and clinical hypnotherapist.

I'll be coming to you every week to share actionable tips, simple strategies and useful resources to help you break free from high function anxiety.

We'll be covering how to recognize and understand your anxiety, strategies to change your thoughts and feelings, ways to implement long lasting change if you are trying to overcome people pleasing behaviors, navigate anxiety, living in self doubt or something else keeping you stuck, then you are in the right place.

I know that you are ready to get to the next level of your life feeling free, calm, confident and in control.

So let's get started.

Welcome to Peace with Anxiety.

It is so good to be here after taking some much needed time to navigate a challenging pregnancy and the early months and later months of postpartum, something that I'm thinking about sharing with you in a later episode.

It feels really good to be back, to connect with you again in a different way though acquired a slower rhythm and to offer a little space in your day where you don't have to be on or doing it all perfectly.

If you're listening right now, I already know something about you.

You care too much, probably more than anyone even realizes.

And even when you're showing up, achieving, smiling, be there for everybody inside, it can feel loud, tense, exhausting and sometimes incredibly lonely.

I'm Irene and I am a mom now, navigating this big, beautiful, exhausting transition just like so many of you are navigating your own busy, overwhelming lives.

Being away for a little while gave me a little perspective on something that I've always known from my work, and that is that we all crave a moment to breathe.

A space that doesn't demand more of us and support that actually fits into our real messy, complicated lives.

And that's why this season of Peace with Anxiety is going to be different.

Short, simple, gentle, practical.

Each episode is going to be about five to 10 minutes, enough to give your mind a pause, a moment of grounding that you can take anywhere with you.

It could be while rocking your baby, sitting in the car before work, or lying awake at night when your thoughts feel impossible to switch off.

This space is for the woman who feels anxious, over, responsible and exhausted for being the strong one.

You don't have to be perfect here.

You don't have to do anything.

You don't have to have all the answers.

You just get to arrive exactly as you are and leave hopefully feeling a little lighter, a little calmer, a little more connected to yourself.

So for today, let's start very simply.

If you're comfortable, I'm gonna invite you to take one slow, deep breath with me right now.

In through the nose, hold it for a moment, and out slowly through your mouth.

Notice how that simple pause can soften some of the tension you have been holding.

And let's do it one more time.

In through the nose, hold it for a moment, and out slowly through your mouth.

And even a single breath can remind your body that it's okay to slow down, it's okay to let go, even just a little bit.

And I know you might be thinking, I really don't have time for this, or my mind never stops or that never works, and that's okay.

This space is exactly for those moments.

Little moments like these aren't about fixing everything or doing everything perfectly.

They're about giving yourself a chance to stop, to reset, to ground yourself, to feel present, even for just a moment or two.

And I promise you, over time, these small, intentional pauses help you feel calmer, more clear, and more connected to who you truly are.

Beneath all the expectations, the responsibilities, the stress, the anxiety.

So in this season, some episodes will share practical tips from the High Function Anxiety Survival Guide, and I will include the link in the notes if you want to have the written version.

Others will be simple reminders that you don't have to carry it all alone, or that you are not alone.

You will find practices, reflections, and tools you can use anytime you need to step out of the spiral of anxiety and step back into yourself, even just briefly.

So thank you.

Thank you for being here, for showing up for yourself in this small way.

Breathe with me.

Listen.

Let yourself soften just a little.

You are not alone.

Every single breath, every single pause, every single practice matters.

I'm really, really glad you're here.

Until next time, take care and be kind to yourselves.

Thank you for listening to the Peace With Anxiety podcast.

If you found any value in today, I would really appreciate if you would leave me a review and share this episode on your Instagram story tagging me at Irene the anxietytherapist.

Also, make sure you subscribe to this channel podcast so you don't miss an episode.

All the links are found below in the show notes.

Thank you for listening and I look forward to seeing you the next episode.