--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I feel like I’m holding my breath all the…" description: "\"“I feel like I’m holding my breath all the time, never knowing when my lungs will just give up. The air we’re supposed to breathe is up above – I can f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/frances-hardinge-1417_breath_i-feel-like-i-m-holding-my-breath-all-th_1049544.jpg" --- # I feel like I’m holding my breath all the time, never… ![“I feel like I’m holding my breath all the time, never knowing when my lungs will just give up. The air we’re supposed to breathe is up above – I can feel it.” quote by Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/frances-hardinge-1417_breath_i-feel-like-i-m-holding-my-breath-all-th_1049544.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/frances-hardinge-1417_breath_i-feel-like-i-m-holding-my-breath-all-th_1049544.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/frances-hardinge-1417_breath_i-feel-like-i-m-holding-my-breath-all-th_1049544.jpg) > ““I feel like I’m holding my breath all the time, never knowing when my lungs will just give up. The air we’re supposed to breathe is up above – I can feel it.”” [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Anxiety feels like a constant, suffocating pressure, fearing sudden collapse. **In simple terms:** Living with chronic anxiety and fear of breakdown. Key Takeaway Learn coping strategies for anxiety. Themes anxiety vulnerability resilience Mood anxious hopeful Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - daily stress - health crises - creative work - relationships Key Concepts mental health fear management Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your breathlessness? - How can you create safe spaces for breathing? A Different Perspective Anxiety can be managed with support and techniques, not just endured. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breath/) ## Related quotes > [“I know it won’t stay this way. I know there will be days when this view is covered with grey and gloomy clouds. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-montes/i-know-it-won-t-stay-this-way-i-know-there-will-be-days-when-this/) [E.L. Montes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-montes/) > [Our Land is alive, Esperanza...This whole valley breathes and lives...He picked up a handful of earth and studied it. Did you know that when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-mu-oz-ryan/our-land-is-alive-esperanza-this-whole-valley-breathes-and-lives-he/) [Pam Muñoz Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-mu-oz-ryan/) > [Hold your breath. Try holding your breath for just thirty seconds. That’s all it takes. Try it right now while you are looking at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/hold-your-breath-try-holding-your-breath-for-just-thirty-seconds-that/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [Think of the sound you make when you let go after holding your breath for a very, very long time. Think of the gladdest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-d-schmidt/think-of-the-sound-you-make-when-you-let-go-after-holding-your-breath/) [Gary D. Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-d-schmidt/) > [“Being able to be myself was like being able to exhale for the first time after holding my breath for years. It’s only when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/404-ink/being-able-to-be-myself-was-like-being-able-to-exhale-for-the-first/) 404 Ink > [Nothing can be delicious when you are holding your breath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/nothing-can-be-delicious-when-you-are-holding-your-breath/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Our marriage lasted a few months. Once you left, what remained faded faster than the ink on the license. And what's left..well, it could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-milan/our-marriage-lasted-a-few-months-once-you-left-what-remained-faded/) [Courtney Milan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-milan/) > [What if the world is holding its breath - waiting for you to take the place that only you can fill?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/what-if-the-world-is-holding-its-breath-waiting-for-you-to-take-the/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [If you're throwing punches or exerting energy but you're not breathing, you're holding your breath. That actually saps your strength, it saps your stamina.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-jr/if-you-re-throwing-punches-or-exerting-energy-but-you-re-not/) [Chris Eubank Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-jr/) > [There are moments when I love you so much that my chest tightens and I can hardly breathe; and others when I feel so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemis-khan/there-are-moments-when-i-love-you-so-much-that-my-chest-tightens-and/) [Kemis Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemis-khan/) > [Live. Breathe in. Feel the air. Reach for the stars. Make somebody smile. Express yourself. Take a chance. Breathe out. Live. It's the small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/live-breathe-in-feel-the-air-reach-for-the-stars-make-somebody-smile/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Why, what is to live? Not to eat and drink and breathe,—but to feel the life in you down all the fibres of being,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/why-what-is-to-live-not-to-eat-and-drink-and-breathe-but-to-feel-the/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [You know when you'll feel the true love? When you close your eyes, take a deep breathe, feel your heart, calm your mind, join…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-when-you-ll-feel-the-true-love-when-you-close-your-eyes-take/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you get into your car, shut the door and be there for just half a minute. Breathe, feel the energy inside your body,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-get-into-your-car-shut-the-door-and-be-there-for-just-half-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Dream it. Live it. Breathe it. Feel it. Let it take control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dream-it-live-it-breathe-it-feel-it-let-it-take-control/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Frances Hardinge > [“It is dangerous to lock oneself away and lose track of what is happening outside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/it-is-dangerous-to-lock-oneself-away-and-lose-track-of-what-is/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Clent, however, suppressed any sense of pity without the slightest difficulty. His brain was busy with the icy clockwork of calculation. If only this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/clent-however-suppressed-any-sense-of-pity-without-the-slightest/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“I swam across the torrent of my madness, and pulled myself upon the shore of a new and better sanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/i-swam-across-the-torrent-of-my-madness-and-pulled-myself-upon-the/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Before her escort could react, she sprinted out from their little pool of lantern-light into the darkness, her feet pounding the soft, treacherous clods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/before-her-escort-could-react-she-sprinted-out-from-their-little-pool/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“She was not undamaged, however, and she knew it. No food or drink had passed her lips, but she had drunk deep of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/she-was-not-undamaged-however-and-she-knew-it-no-food-or-drink-had/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“All her life, Neverfell had suffered the dull, embarrassed ache of the knowledge that she was always the maddest person in the room. Funnily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/all-her-life-neverfell-had-suffered-the-dull-embarrassed-ache-of-the/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Well, if you are to help me with my work, you had better get used to stories without endings. True stories seldom have endings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/well-if-you-are-to-help-me-with-my-work-you-had-better-get-used-to/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“And you may comfort yourself with the thought that you have been the caltrop under her satin shoe every step of the way. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/and-you-may-comfort-yourself-with-the-thought-that-you-have-been-the/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“The little pedlar, it seemed, fancied that he had the tools to fix the wheel. The footmen were glad to hear this, and agreed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/the-little-pedlar-it-seemed-fancied-that-he-had-the-tools-to-fix-the/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“For a second, she could almost see Caverna as the Kleptomancer did, a murky, monstrous beauty, smiling her fine-fanged smile as she prepared to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/for-a-second-she-could-almost-see-caverna-as-the-kleptomancer-did-a/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Has it ever occurred to you that maybe you’re sane? That you’ve always been sane? That perhaps you’re the sanest person in the city?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/has-it-ever-occurred-to-you-that-maybe-you-re-sane-that-you-ve-always/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Thank you," she whispered. "I promise I will not interfere in Court business again." "Oh yes, you will." Zouelle looked up to see her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/thank-you-she-whispered-i-promise-i-will-not-interfere-in-court/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“People's personalities took up space, he sometimes thought. When they were trapped in a house or a job or a school together, they rubbed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/people-s-personalities-took-up-space-he-sometimes-thought-when-they/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [Revenge is a dish best served unexpectedly and from a distance - like a thrown trifle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/revenge-is-a-dish-best-served-unexpectedly-and-from-a-distance-like-a/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Little god, you see the world through such black eyes." "Got no choice. My father give ’em to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/little-god-you-see-the-world-through-such-black-eyes-got-no-choice-my/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) [Explore all 244 Frances Hardinge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) ## More Breath quotes > [“The days may last forever, but the years pass by in a blink; the secret to survival is actually remembering to take a deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/the-days-may-last-forever-but-the-years-pass-by-in-a-blink-the-secret/) [Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [Take a deep breath. It,s just a bad day not a bad life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/take-a-deep-breath-it-s-just-a-bad-day-not-a-bad-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I stopped loving you today, But OMG..., Seeing your Body takes my breath away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becka-miller/i-stopped-loving-you-today-but-omg-seeing-your-body-takes-my-breath/) [Becka Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becka-miller/) > [So we must do our very best Whatever life may bring And look beyond the winter chill To smell the breath of spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-we-must-do-our-very-best-whatever-life-may-bring-and-look-beyond/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Poetry should be vital--either stirring our blood by its divine movements or snatching our breath by its divine perfection. To do both is supreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/poetry-should-be-vital-either-stirring-our-blood-by-its-divine/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [“The first step in awareness is to be watchful of your body. Slowly,slowly one becomes alert about each gesture,each movement. And as you become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/the-first-step-in-awareness-is-to-be-watchful-of-your-body-slowly/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [Tic Tacs are the maracas of breath mints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/tic-tacs-are-the-maracas-of-breath-mints/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [“To control your life, control your mind. To control your mind, control your breath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/to-control-your-life-control-your-mind-to-control-your-mind-control/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [“He’s sitting so close, I can feel his breath on my cheek. My stomach flip-flops again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-s-sitting-so-close-i-can-feel-his-breath-on-my-cheek-my-stomach/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“My life to yours. My breath beecome yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/my-life-to-yours-my-breath-beecome-yours/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“My heart is your heart," she whispers, and wow that takes my breath away, this line from my childhood that she always used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annabel-pitcher/my-heart-is-your-heart-she-whispers-and-wow-that-takes-my-breath-away/) [Annabel Pitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annabel-pitcher/) > [Good manners and bad breath will get you nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-costello/good-manners-and-bad-breath-will-get-you-nowhere/) [Elvis Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-costello/) > [“Being able to be myself was like being able to exhale for the first time after holding my breath for years. It’s only when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/404-ink/being-able-to-be-myself-was-like-being-able-to-exhale-for-the-first/) 404 Ink [Browse all 1,839 Breath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breath/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I feel like I’m holding my breath all the time, never knowing when my lungs will just give up. 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