For me, self-abandonment didn’t start with one big moment. It started subtly—saying “no problem” when it was kind of a problem, agreeing when my intuition was like “nope,” and stacking little yeses for everyone else until I realized those were all nos to me. And when I finally looked up, there was this hidden layer of grief underneath it all—the grief of the self I’ve been leaving behind. Not just sadness about what happened, but grief about what never got to happen: the moments I could’ve said no, the times I could’ve taken up space, the opportunities I missed because I didn’t feel at home in my body. In this video I talk about how self-abandonment is slow—it’s an erosion. And once you’re aware of it but you keep doing it anyway, that’s where it can get heavy: grief, and even resentment toward yourself. I also share why I believe grief lives in the lungs and the breath—like that dull coating in your chest that makes it hard to take a full deep inhale. The way I’ve learned to truly process it is to breathe into it, to expand and contract the lungs until that weight starts to lift. I invite you to share your story in the comments, and if you’re ready to break the cycle and find your way back “home,” DM or email me the word “return.” I’m creating a space for us to heal together—through breathwork, integrative practices, and the kind of accountability that helps you catch self-abandonment in real time.