Do You Hear Your Heart Racing?
Do you hear your heart racing?
Sudden rapid heartbeats, sweaty palms, the feeling that you can’t quite catch your breath… It all describes the unpredictable nature of anxiety, doesn’t it? Yet its unpredictability doesn’t change the fact that it can be managed. When anxiety is present, breathing is disrupted. When breathing is disrupted, anxiety is present. But you can relearn it.
To cope with something, you must first understand it. You cannot handle what you don’t understand. Anxiety is not a trait that defines you; it is not your identity. Anxiety is the name of an experience you are going through. Shall we start with the question, “Do you hear your heart racing?” Isn’t that also about your distress being heard?
Breathing, The Body, And The Beginning Of Anxiety
The most natural flow of breathing can be remembered by imagining a baby’s heartbeat—feeling that rhythm. When we are born, everything is as it should be. Breathing comes from the diaphragm; a ready-made system organized outside of you. From the moment you enter the world, this system runs and, in fact, socialization begins right from the first moment.
Communication with the world and with others begins… which also means new events and networks of memory.
Is your familiarity with anxiety like this? Out of nowhere, your heart starts to pound, you feel like you can’t breathe, as if you’re choking… Your palms sweat, your thoughts become tangled. Perhaps you’re in a business meeting, maybe walking down the street, or just about to fall asleep… This feeling is both familiar and deeply disturbing. At that stage, anxiety—worry—is with you in full force.
So, shall we listen to what this common, familiar state is trying to tell you?
Why Anxiety Exists
Anxiety is a natural response in humans. It is even necessary; it allows us to detect danger. From an evolutionary perspective, anxiety is an emotional mechanism that helps us survive. In a moment of real danger, it triggers the body’s alarm: speeding up heartbeats, tensing muscles, sharpening attention, and setting off the “fight or flight” response. Without it, what would help you stay alive?
But this system is meant to function during concrete danger, along with the feeling of fear.
Today’s threats, however, are often abstract: traffic, work stress, social media notifications, or worries about the future. When anxiety gets out of control, it can seriously lower your quality of life and functioning. Constant vigilance exhausts both body and mind. If stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline remain high all the time, your immune system becomes suppressed, sleep patterns are disturbed, and digestive problems begin.
In the long term, this sets the stage for chronic fatigue, depression, and even autoimmune conditions, directly affecting mental health.
The Brain And The Anxiety Cycle
Why does this mechanism go off balance?
The answer lies in both biological and psychological factors. Certain brain regions—especially the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus—play key roles in anxiety. The amygdala detects threats and triggers the alarm. The prefrontal cortex allows for rational thinking, but when anxiety rises, this area is “silenced,” making it hard to think clearly.
So the panic you feel during anxiety is actually your brain trying to protect you. But sometimes this protection works overtime, perceiving non-threats as threats. That’s when anxiety becomes a problem. The key here is balance—its continuity and intensity.
But now we must ask: Can this process be managed?
Learning To Manage Anxiety
Yes, anxiety can be managed. We can retrain our body’s and mind’s alarm system.
One of the most basic methods is to relearn proper breathing. During anxiety, we typically breathe shallowly and rapidly, sending a “danger” signal to the brain. Deep, slow diaphragmatic breathing instead sends the nervous system a “you’re safe” message. Just a few minutes of daily breathing exercises can gradually lower the brain’s anxiety threshold.
In addition, regular physical activity boosts “feel-good” chemicals in the brain such as serotonin and dopamine. Likewise, sleep is a cornerstone of mental health. Poor sleep markedly raises anxiety levels. Nutrition also should not be neglected. You can think of all these as self-applied lifestyle interventions.
Psychological Support And Therapy
Cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBT), which focus on thought patterns, help people recognize and change the thinking styles that fuel anxiety. Automatic thoughts like “What if I fail?” or “Everyone is judging me” are often unrealistic. Becoming aware of these thoughts, questioning them, and restructuring them is very effective in managing anxiety.
If trauma is part of the story, working with the network of traumatic memories is invaluable. Here, we know that EMDR therapy can be very effective when addressing trauma.
Building A New Relationship With Anxiety
It is important to remember that the goal is not to eliminate anxiety but to build a positive relationship with it. Suppressing or ignoring it doesn’t work. On the contrary, anxiety returns stronger when suppressed. It is necessary to talk to it, to receive its message:
“I’m anxious right now, but this is temporary.”
“This is just a feeling, not a threat.”
At this point, seeking support from a professional can help you manage the process more effectively. Anxiety is an emotion everyone carries. What matters is learning to manage it and not letting it manage you.
Do you hear your heart racing… your distress as well… and now you know: once you receive its message, you will be the one in control.