When stress sets in breath is often the first thing to go. Racing thoughts keep your brain in anxiety mode, which tells your body to follow suit. When you trigger the fight or flight physiological response by reacting, instead of responding to stress, your body automatically becomes primed to either attack or run from a situation. As a result, you get a surge of hormones like cortisol and adrenaline and your respiratory rate increases, causing shallow breath. Breathing at a r