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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
John Crace

‘I feel totally seen’: John Crace on how guided breathing soothed a lifetime of anxiety

John Crace: ‘I found a missing piece of the jigsaw.’
John Crace: ‘I found a missing piece of the jigsaw.’ Photograph: Alecsandra Raluca Dragoi/The Guardian

I’d agreed to go along to a breathing workshop thinking no more than it couldn’t do any harm and that it might make for a fun article. I left with the possibility that I had found a missing piece of the jigsaw. Something that might just make my depression and anxiety bearable. Shame it had taken me 65 years to get there.

Even now, several days later, I am struggling to understand quite what happened to me. All I can do is offer up my best impressions based on what I remember, as well as on what I don’t, as thankfully I left my audio recorder running throughout the session. Together they may approximate to what for me was a remarkable truth.

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