"Breathing cured my anxiety!"

When every corner of Jennifer Bauer's life was overtaken with worry and stress, it was nearly impossible to concentrate or sleep. After years of living with constant panic, painful regrets and disturbing thoughts that swirled in her mind, she decided something had to change. Then she discovered the key that unlocked joyful calm

- Gina Roberts-Grey

Jennifer Bauer, 45, was mortified-yet again—when a friend realized she wasn't paying attention to their lunch conversation. "I'm so sorry, what did you say?" Jennifer apologetically asked, trying to focus on what her friend was saying. But relentless anxiety, which often led to sleepless nights, left Jennifer foggy and distracted. Her thoughts would cycle through future scenarios and potential problems that might never even pop up. Why can't I just live fully in the moment? she despaired.

Living with chronic anxiety left Jennifer feeling tightly wound, constantly tense, short-tempered and always expecting the worst to happen. The resulting daytime tiredness made it harder for Jennifer to control her emotions, so she'd often have angry or crying outbursts over the slightest inconvenience.

Since childhood, Jennifer carried the responsibility of having to care for younger siblings, excel in school and be perfect at everything she tried. But it was her mother's death by suicide when Jennifer was only 25 that had supercharged her anxiety. Jennifer would lie awake at night wondering, Could I have helped my mom, could I have saved her if I had done better...been better?

Jennifer's anxiety was later amplified by job layoffs and being defrauded by a friend that resulted in bankruptcy and foreclosing on her home. At that point, she doubled down on her beliefs that horrible catastrophes were waiting for her.

If only I spent more time analyzing everyone and predicting everything, she'd tell herself several times a day, worrying that a potential pitfall lurked around every corner.

Searching for a cure