BREATHE….

When I retired from my partnership I was given an Apple watch as a gift, I guess the modern equivalent of the carriage clock. One of the things I was intrigued by was it’s occasional reminder for me to BREATHE followed by a minute of inhale / exhale vibration and images. Surely I was breathing? I was alive, wasn’t I? It was measuring my pulse so surely it knew that.

But it’s there to remind me to stop, be calm and think about breathing. Mindfulness.

We don’t think about breathing much unless we are reminded to focus on it, or we are struggling to get our breath.

Sadly over the past years we have all had to consider our breathing in different and difficult ways.

‘I can’t breathe’ the call of George Floyd reminding us tragically of continued racism and inequality in this world.

‘I can’t breathe’ the call of many with severe Covid infections.

‘I struggle to breathe’ the statement of many wearing masks.

‘If you become breathless’ 111 or 999 and ask for advice.

One of the hardest things over the years as a GP has been supporting those whose health conditions gradually or suddenly cause them to struggle to breathe.

(Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Emphysema, the end stage of smoking damage. Those with heart failure, chronic ill health and many others.)

Yet despite the severe end of the spectrum we have probably all had times when we have struggled to breathe, swimming, choking on something, an awful cough, it can be very scary and disturbing. We may for a few moments, days, months consider the fragility of life, be fearful, anxious or just thoughtful.

There is another context of taking a breath and breathing. It’s when we take a break, maybe go on holiday, or like my Apple watch stop for a minute.

I suspect that many like me have struggled over the past 2 years to come up for breath and breathe. Many frontline workers have struggled on. Most of us have not had holidays. When swimming, like I did today, you have to come up for breath. When you do you can often see other swimmers with heads down, it is rare to come up at the same time and swimming really doesn’t lend itself to chatting as you go along.

Over the years my work as a Dr has felt like this, working in isolation, occasionally coming up for breath, occasionally catching a colleague and having a brief chat. But then head down and carry on. I suspect it’s been much worse over the past 2 years.

For me over the years I have relied on times when I was able to really breathe. Mountain hikes, skiing, walks by the coast, sunshine rests, the company of like minded people and long and happy conversations. So much of this has been missing. Having left my partnership I have found other avenues of catching my breath, running, walks, even some books (I’m not a great reader).

What about you?

Are you struggling to ‘Breathe’?

What would help you catch your breath?

How can we support each other to ‘breathe’?

What tips do you have that help you ‘breathe’?