The Just Breathe tattoo is a tattoo that has been becoming more popular with the universal acceptance of mental illness being a real issue in the world.
For many years there was such a stigma around the subject of mental health that people rarely talked about it. We are now in an era where it is acceptable to admit something may not be right.
We’re also realizing that many more people than we thought were dealing with the same issues we were. The Just Breathe tattoo is a reminder to slow down and take a breath when things feel like they’re spinning out of control.
In this article, we are going to explore the meaning behind the phrase, “just breathe” and where it originated. This is not a phrase but could be considered a way of life. We hope that by the time you read through this article, you will have a better understanding of the phrase and why so many people are living by the credo and getting it tattooed on their bodies.
I’m sure you’ve felt the same way as I have in the past. That feeling when you’re facing a daunting task or something you are nervous about. The feeling when the walls feel like you closing in and it gets hard to breathe. You get that panicky feeling where you start sweating and feeling stressed… just breathe.
This was the phrase that I’ve been told in the past when I’ve felt scared, stressed, panicked or frustrated. Feeling like this can actually be quite harmful and affect your body, behavior and feelings. When stress is not dealt with in a timely manner it can cause high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and heart disease. This can lead to a lifetime of issues and potentially even worse.
In addition to the stress we’re feeling in the moment, we’re also creating more issues for ourselves down the road. So, what can we do to help alleviate this problem? Take slow, mindful and deep breaths through the nose. Exhale for almost twice as long as it took you to take a breath.
This technique helps to reduce anxiety and stress. It can also help to ground us in the moment to get us out of those overwhelming feelings. This is what is meant when you’re told to just breathe. The idea behind it is to forget about everything going on and focus on your breathing. By doing this, you will start to come out of your own head and focus on the moment or getting grounded.
Just breathe. What a simple concept. However simple this may seem, humans are so consumed with everything around them that it’s hard to remember this simple credo.
We’re worried about paying the bills, our love lives, our kids and coincidentally, our health. If a simple reminder to just breathe can potentially snap you out of the funk you’re in, then it is no surprise people would get this tattooed on their bodies. Just taking a look at that phrase could be the reminder you need to make it through the day and that should be the goal.
If you are feeling scared, just breathe. Take a second and look at the situation. Take a deep and slow breath to regain your bearings. Reassess the situation and go for it.
If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed, just breathe. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Push all the external factors out of your mind and once you start to feel calmer, open your eyes.
If you start to feel worried, just breathe. Try to forget about the worries you are dealing with. Forget about everything that needs to get done or things you didn’t do. Focus on your breathing.
This is not to say that breathing is the only answer to one’s problems. Sometimes the issue at hand is much more serious and might require medical attention or medication. However, by breathing you can determine if that is going to work for you. It’s not easy to forget about everything going on and just start breathing slowly. However, once you practice this technique for a while, you will be surprised at how well it works. This technique is also backed up by medical theory.
Our body has two peripheral nervous systems. They could be compared to the gas and brake pedal. Slowing down and speeding up parts of your body like heart rate and digestion.
The body is always trying to create equality between the two systems. When you breathe in, blood is taken from the heart into the lungs. What this does is create a deficit of blood in the rest of the body. The heart will compensate for this by increasing the heart rate and putting more blood out to the rest of your body.
During the time you exhale, the blood returns to the body from your lungs and your heart rate slows down. This process is known as arrhythmia and points to a healthy heart.
By slowing down your breathing and taking deep, long breaths, you are encouraging the process of the “gas/brake” activity of the heart. This shows us that when the heart rate is high, there is no better immediate remedy than to slow down your breathing or, “just breathe”.
In this post, we’ve gone over some of the reasons people might want to just breathe. If a person is dealing with stress, anxiety and worry, one of the best things you can do is slow everything down and take a nice long deep breath. It’s proven to help slow the heart rate and, in turn, become more grounded in the moment.
When getting a Just Breathe tattoo, make sure you are comfortable with your artist and shop. Getting a tattoo, no matter how small, is a big decision. The last thing we want someone getting a Just Breathe tattoo is to feel stressed out about getting it when the reason for doing it is to calm themselves.
We hope that by reading this post and looking at the example tattoos below, you’ll have a better idea of what you’re looking for and where you might want to get it. If you still have questions after going through this, please reach out to us. We’d love to help you find a tattoo artist to work with.