The Story I Told Myself… Became My Reality

A few years ago, when I was about to go through my separation, I lived one of the hardest seasons of my life. That’s when the panic attacks began.

They were intense. I remember how, as soon as I got into the car and turned on the engine, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. My heart would race, fear would paralyze me, and a dark certainty invaded me: “I’m going to die.”

My mind went into a loop: rapid breathing, sweating… and that terrifying sensation of losing control.

I tried to calm myself, but my body wouldn’t respond. My blood pressure would spike. And I was on the verge of despair.

On the outside, no one noticed. On the inside, I felt like I was breaking into pieces.

I’ve always been private about my personal life. That’s why the only one I ever told was my middle daughter. One day, I felt so bad that I told her: “I’ll see you at the hospital…” But in that very moment, something inside of me reacted. I thought: “I don’t want her to see me like this. I don’t want to take her there.”

At that time, I was carrying all the financial weight of the household, my ex-husband had gone back to drinking, and my youngest daughter was still in elementary school. The responsibilities and the life I had were suffocating me.

How did I get out of that abyss?

I had no tools.
I didn’t know breathing techniques.
I knew nothing about managing anxiety.

But something deep within me pushed me…

I started talking to myself—screaming at myself:

“Gabriela! You are going to live! You are going to tell of the great things the Creator has done with you!”

And I repeated over and over again the verse that became my anchor:
Psalm 118:17

I made it mine. I believed it. I declared it with such force and emotion… that it worked.

That moment revealed something powerful to me: the mind is like a genie in a lamp.
If you repeat stories of defeat, your mind will look for situations to confirm them.
But if you affirm words of life, it will also do the same.

The story you tell yourself has the power to open paths… or trap you in them.

I share this today because maybe you, like me back then, are facing a fear, a burden, or a pain that feels impossible to bear.

And I want to tell you—with all my heart:

You are not alone.
You are not weak.
You are not broken.

If you’ve ever felt palpitations, shortness of breath, or intense fear without an apparent reason…
If your body reacts as if you’re in danger, even when you don’t understand why…
It has a name. And you’re not crazy. It’s called a panic attack.

Unprocessed emotions don’t disappear… they find a way out.
And sometimes, the body screams what the soul keeps silent.

That’s why, when the storm feels overwhelming, start right there:
With a word.
With an affirmation.
With the new story you choose to tell yourself.

Today I can tell you with certainty: it came true.
I am alive. And yes… now I do tell of the great things the Creator has done in my life.

Because when you declare words of life, the universe itself responds.

Have you ever felt something like this?

Maybe today is the day to start telling yourself a different story…
A story where you are not a victim of fear, but the owner of your power.

If this resonated with you, I invite you to share it so that others may heal too.

I’m sending you a hug.