Why Grief is so Exhausting
& How Breathwork Can Help Restore Your Energy
If you’ve been feeling wiped out, foggy, or like you just can’t catch up, I want you to know this: you’re not broken. Your body is processing deep emotional shifts, and exhaustion is one of the ways it asks for care.
But here’s the part no one tells you: grief changes your breath. And when we shift the breath, we shift how grief moves through us. I want to help you understand why grief is making you so tired—and how breathwork can gently bring back your energy.
The Science of Grief Fatigue: Why Loss Drains You
Grief is deeply physiological. When we experience loss (of a person, a relationship, a version of ourselves), our body perceives it as a threat to safety. This activates the nervous system, flooding the body with stress hormones.
🔥 Your nervous system in grief:
At first, your body surges with adrenaline and cortisol (fight-or-flight mode).
Over time, this burns out your energy reserves, leaving you feeling sluggish, foggy, and disconnected.
Many people slip into freeze mode, where the body literally slows everything down to cope with emotional overload.
And because grief lives in the lungs, it affects your breathing patterns in ways that reinforce exhaustion.
How Grief Changes Your Breath (And Why It Matters)
Take a moment right now and notice your breath. Is it shallow? Tight? Do you sigh a lot?
When we’re grieving, we subconsciously hold our breath or breathe in short, restricted patterns. This signals to the body: I’m not safe. And when the body doesn’t feel safe, it conserves energy, keeping you in a loop of fatigue, heaviness, and emotional depletion.
☁️ Breath-holding = low oxygen = low energy
💨 Shallow breathing = nervous system burnout
🔥 Breathwork = a gentle way to restore balance
A Simple Breathwork Practice to Recharge Your Energy
If you’re feeling depleted, I want to invite you to try this gentle breathwork practice. It’s designed to bring your nervous system back into balance, restore oxygen flow, and reawaken your life force—without forcing anything.
The Grief Release & Replenish Breath ✨
💛 Step 1: Close your eyes and place one hand on your heart, one on your belly.
💨 Step 2: Take a soft inhale through your nose for 4 seconds, feeling your belly rise.
💭 Step 3: Hold at the top for 4 seconds, letting the breath gently expand inside you.
🌊 Step 4: Exhale slowly through your mouth for 6 seconds, releasing tension.
🔄 Step 5: Repeat for 2-5 minutes, letting each breath soothe your system.
💡 Pro Tip: If you feel resistance, sigh it out on the exhale. Sound + breath = a deeper nervous system reset.
You Don’t Have to Push Through—You Get to Receive
If grief has been making you feel like you have to push through exhaustion, I want you to take a deep breath with me right now. You don’t have to force energy to come back. You get to receive it—with each breath, each moment of stillness, each gentle release.
Your breath is always here for you. It’s a bridge between what feels heavy and what wants to move. Today, let it be your medicine.
If this practice helped you, I’d love to hear how it felt.
🌀Next Steps for Your Grief Healing Journey🌀
If you’re ready to go deeper, my 7 Day Breathwork for Grief Guide is a free resource designed to help you access the healing powers of your breath in just 5 min a day for 7 Days.
If you want a more guided experience, sign up here for my Growing with Grief Breathwork Course, where I guide you through this healing process—step by step, breath by breath. Inside, you’ll find:
✅ Breathwork practices for releasing grief gently
✅ Guided audio sessions to restore energy & peace
✅ Tools + Journal Prompts to navigate loss with more ease, support & connection
