How Anxiety Gives Birth to Anxiety
- Brainz Magazine
- 2 days ago
- 9 min read
Written by Remington Steele, Intuitive Breath Practitioner, Emotional Wellness Coach & Philanthropist
Remington Steele is an Intuitive Breath Practitioner, Emotional Wellness Coach, and the visionary founder of Breathe With Rem and We Are The Village – Teen Moms. A philanthropist and author of Breathe With Me, Remington’s work is rooted in healing, empowerment, and generational transformation.
Anxiety isn’t just a personal struggle, it’s a legacy we can unknowingly pass on before a child even takes their first breath. Research shows that elevated maternal stress hormones during pregnancy and the early postpartum period can fire an infant’s nervous system toward heightened reactivity, setting the stage for a lifetime of anxiety. As a seasoned breath coach and conscious parenting advocate, I’ve seen how a mother’s unregulated fear can cascade through the womb and into a newborn’s neurobiology, teaching them to live in a state of alert before they even learn to crawl. It’s time for therapists, educators, and mental health professionals to recognize this intergenerational transmission, not only to support parents in managing their own anxiety but to break the cycle and give every child a calmer start in life.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is the body’s natural alarm system, a coordinated cascade of physiological, neurological, and biochemical responses designed to protect us from perceived threats. At its core is the “fight-or-flight” mechanism orchestrated by the amygdala and the hypothalamic, pituitary, adrenal (HPA) axis. When we sense danger, whether real or anticipated, the amygdala signals the hypothalamus to release corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), which in turn prompts the pituitary gland to secrete adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), culminating in an adrenal surge of cortisol and adrenaline. These stress hormones increase heart rate, sharpen the senses, and divert energy to muscles, preparing us to respond quickly. In healthy doses, this response is adaptive, it heightens alertness and improves performance under pressure. But when the alarm system is triggered too frequently or remains activated long after the threat has passed, it leads to chronic anxiety, marked by persistent worry, restlessness, and physical symptoms like muscle tension, gastrointestinal upset, and insomnia.
Anxiety emerges from a complex interplay of genetics, early life experiences, and learned behavior. Some individuals inherit a heightened sensitivity in the HPA axis or variations in neurotransmitter systems (such as serotonin and GABA) that predispose them to stronger stress reactions. Early childhood adversity, such as instability, neglect, or exposure to traumatic events, can “train” the brain to view the world as dangerous, rewiring neural pathways toward vigilance and fear. Environmental triggers, from social pressure to workplace demands, reinforce this wiring, creating feedback loops where anxious thoughts fuel physical symptoms and vice versa. Cognitive patterns, like catastrophic thinking or perfectionism, further feed the cycle, as do cultural factors that stigmatize emotional expression and discourage healthy coping. Understanding anxiety as both a biological survival mechanism and a learned pattern is the first step in reclaiming calm, it reveals that anxiety is neither a personal failing nor an unchangeable fate, but a dynamic system that can be reshaped with intentional practices such as breath regulation, mindfulness, and supportive therapy.
What we consume is fed to children
During pregnancy and early parenthood, the emotional “diet” of thoughts and feelings becomes a biochemical menu shared between mother and child. When a mother’s mind is steeped in worry, fear, or negativity, her central nervous system ramps up the HPA axis, flooding her bloodstream with cortisol and adrenaline. These stress hormones cross the placental barrier in utero, and later are passed through breastmilk or even the mother’s embodied presence during skin-to-skin contact, teaching the baby that the world is unsafe. Because breath patterns are the primary vehicle of this biochemical messaging, the baby begins to mirror the mother’s rapid, shallow inhalations and tense exhalations as its own default rhythm. In this way, anxiety becomes a generational trait, wired into the child’s nervous system before they even take their first independent breath. Understanding this transmission is crucial, it means that by shifting our own breath and mindset, we can break the cycle and offer our children a foundation of calm and resilience instead.
What happens to the pregnant parent and baby when bathed in anxiety for months in utero?
Chronic maternal anxiety during pregnancy keeps the HPA axis in overdrive, exposing both parent and fetus to persistently high cortisol and adrenaline levels. In the pregnant parent, this relentless stress response suppresses immune function, lowering white blood cell activity and increasing systemic inflammation, which raises the risk of gestational diabetes through cortisol-driven insulin resistance. Prolonged cortisol exposure also disrupts thyroid function and can trigger or worsen autoimmune conditions such as lupus, where the body attacks its own tissues.
For the developing baby, these stress hormones cross the placenta and alter immune system programming at a critical time. The fetal thymus and bone marrow, where immune cells mature, become sensitized to inflammatory signaling, predisposing the child to autoimmune disorders like type 1 diabetes or lupus later in life. Early-life immune dysregulation can also manifest in conditions such as vitiligo, where localized autoimmune attacks depigment the skin, or other chronic inflammatory diseases. In essence, living in a biochemical “bath” of anxiety in utero imprints a hyper-reactive stress-immune profile that can echo through the child’s health decades after birth.
How anxiety can be a generational health pattern
Anxiety doesn’t just live in the mind, it can become a biological inheritance, passed from parent to child through both behavior and biochemistry. When a pregnant individual endures chronic stress, elevated cortisol and adrenaline reshape the developing fetus’s HPA axis and epigenetic markers, effectively “programming” heightened vigilance and a lowered stress threshold. After birth, infants learn to mirror their caregiver’s inhalations and exhalations, breathing in the very tension that shaped their in-womb environment, solidifying anxious patterns in their nervous system. Over time, these dual legacies of wiring and mimicry foster a generational cycle of hyper-reactivity, immune dysregulation, and vulnerability to chronic illness. Recognizing anxiety as a health pattern that spans lifetimes is the first courageous step toward breaking the chain and cultivating resilience for the next generation.
Breaking generational barriers creating anxiety in your family
The most powerful step you can take to interrupt lifelong cycles of anxiety is to introduce one simple, consistent ritual: a family “90-Second Reset.” Gather your household, even if it’s just you and your baby, and commit to two full inhalations and exhalations, followed by a 90-second pause of slow diaphragmatic breathing. During this pause, focus on lengthening each inhale and exhale, inviting your nervous system to shift into parasympathetic rest. By practicing this together, day after day, you send a new message through both behavior and biochemistry, that calm, not fear, is your family’s default. Over time, this shared breath ritual rewires stress pathways, reduces cortisol spikes, and builds a legacy of resilience rather than anxiety.
8 signs to identify anxiety early and 8 tools to counter them
Early identification and timely intervention are the keys to preventing anxiety from taking root in your life and your family’s well-being. Below you’ll find 8 early warning signs, subtle clues that anxiety is on the rise, and 8 practical tools you can use immediately to counteract those signals. By learning to spot anxiety’s first whispers and responding with targeted practices, you can halt its momentum and foster lasting calm.
1. Shallow, rapid breathing – 90-second diaphragmatic reset
When you catch yourself chest-breathing in quick, shallow gasps, even at rest, it’s an early alarm that your nervous system is on high alert. Stop and take two full diaphragmatic inhales and exhales, then hold slow, deep breaths for 90 seconds. This simple ritual shifts you into parasympathetic mode, lowers cortisol, and teaches your body what calm feels like.
2. Persistent digestive upset – Mindful body-scan breathing
Frequent stomachaches, bloating, or irregularity often stem from chronic cortisol disrupting gut function. Pair a two-minute body scan with deep inhales directed into your abdomen and slow exhales, breathe into any tense spots you discover. This not only soothes the digestive organs but also re-centers your mind away from worry.
3. Unexplained muscle tension – Guided progressive muscle release
If your shoulders, neck, or jaw feel persistently tight without a clear cause, your body is storing stress. Perform a progressive muscle release, clench each muscle group from feet to scalp, then exhale fully as you let it go. This paired contraction-release signals safety to your brain and instantly loosens chronic tension.
4. Sleep disturbances – Box breathing with extended exhale
Trouble falling or staying asleep often means your fight-or-flight system is still engaged at night. Lie in bed and inhale for four counts, pause for two, exhale for six, pause for two, repeat five cycles. The elongated exhale activates your relaxation response, helping you drift into deeper rest.
5. Heightened irritability – Soothing humming breath
When you notice impatience or snapping at small frustrations, stop and take a comfortable seat. Inhale deeply through your nose, then exhale on a soft, steady hum, lips gently closed, teeth slightly apart, feeling the vibration resonate through your skull and chest. Repeat this for 5-10 breaths, allowing the hum to tone the vocal cords, stimulate the vagus nerve, and dissolve tension. This gentle sonic breath not only grounds you in the present but also shifts your nervous system toward parasympathetic calm, turning irritability into ease with each resonant exhale.
6. Racing thoughts – Quad breathing on the back
A relentless loop of “what-ifs” can hijack your focus and fuel anxiety. Lie face down and divide your back body into four zones, upper-left, upper-right, lower-left, lower-right. Inhale into one quadrant at a time, pausing to feel it lift, then move to the next, this methodical mapping calms the mind and opens neglected lung tissues.
7. Emotional numbness – Peer or professional check-in
If you feel disconnected from joy or empathy, your system may have shut down to protect you. Reach out to a trusted friend, coach, or therapist and simply describe what you’re feeling. Verbalizing your numbness invites emotional regulation, reminds your brain you’re not alone, and re-engages your capacity to feel.
8. Avoidance behaviors – Trigger-linked breath exposure
When anxiety drives you to dodge situations “just in case,” you can retrain your nervous system by pairing mild exposure with a structured breathing pattern. Identify a low-stress version of a feared scenario, sending a text you’ve been avoiding, stepping into a crowded room, or speaking up in a small group, and practice a 4-count inhale followed by an 8-count exhale as you engage. This extended exhale keeps your parasympathetic response active, preventing overwhelm and reinforcing safety even in discomfort. Over repeated, coach-guided sessions, your breath becomes an anchor that lets you face triggers with calm confidence, dissolving avoidance and building resilience one intentional exhale at a time.
Your breath is your best anchor
Your breath is the most reliable anchor you’ll ever have, always with you, always accessible, and directly wired into your nervous system. Try box breathing: inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4, repeat six times to steady your heart rate, sharpen your focus, and balance your autonomic response. Or use the 4-7-8 extended exhale: inhale for 4, hold for 7, then exhale for 8, which floods your body with oxygen and signals safety through a prolonged release. These simple rhythms don’t just distract you from stress, they reset your biology, lower cortisol, and transform frantic energy into calm presence. No device, no waiting, your breath is the anchor that grounds you, calms you, and brings you home to yourself at any moment.
Seeking professional support for anxiety
Seeking professional support for anxiety doesn’t have to mean one-size-fits-all therapy, there are countless pathways to relief and resilience. Licensed therapists trained in CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) offer proven frameworks for reframing thoughts and regulating emotions, but you might also find powerful support in breath coaching, where tailored respiratory techniques interrupt stress at its source. Yoga styles such as trauma-sensitive, restorative, and yin work gently but deeply to release stored tension and cultivate safety in the body, while meditation and mindfulness practices train your mind to observe anxiety without judgment. Group formats, like support circles, peer-led workshops, or breath-and-movement classes, create community and accountability. Whether you choose one approach or blend several, the key is finding the right combination of tools and guides, be they therapists, coaches, or gentle movement instructors, to help you master your anxiety and reclaim calm.
Breath coaching and other forms of support
My breath coaching offers a truly unique journey into your body-mind ecosystem, teaching you to decode your health and emotions through the language of your breath. We begin by mapping your individual breathing patterns and their impact on stress, posture, and energy, then use tailored exercises to rewire those patterns, unlocking deeper physiological resilience and emotional balance. Alongside evidence-based therapies like CBT and DBT, and complementary practices such as trauma-sensitive, restorative, or Yin Yoga, this integrative approach guides you through profound self-exploration, healing old wounds, and rebuilding your nervous system’s safety response. The result? You don’t just learn to manage anxiety, you learn to thrive, rediscover joy, and live fully embodied in every moment.
Read more from Remington Steele
Remington Steele, Intuitive Breath Practitioner, Emotional Wellness Coach & Philanthropist
Remington Steele is an Intuitive Breath Practitioner, Emotional Wellness Coach, and the visionary founder of Breathe With Rem and We Are The Village – Teen Moms. A philanthropist and author of Breathe With Me, Remington’s work is rooted in healing, empowerment, and generational transformation. As a former teen mother herself, she has turned her personal journey into a mission to guide others through intentional breathing, holistic wellness, and community-centered care.
