Sasha sighs. Say that five times fast. She doesn’t sigh as much as I do, but she sighs nonetheless. Gus, our dog, sighs more than any being on the planet, methinks. His is boredom and unrequited love, I’m quite certain of this. But Gus has a chronic condition, common to males of most species: he is in love with tail.
But – what makes us sigh on a physiological level, this is what I’m wondering. I mean, is it a sign of something you need to be tested for in an outpatient clinic; a symptom? I looked it up, albeit with shortness of attention span and three or four sighs, and looked through only two pages of Google answers, but here’s what I found, in short:
“Sighing is a spontaneous deep inhalation and exhalation. It serves to boost blood oxygen levels and fully reinflate the lung tissue. Sighing is not contagious in the same way as yawning, which suggests that its primary function is to do with respiration rather than communication of any state of mind. But it's also associated with certain moods, and laboratory rats have been shown to sigh with relief.” Ask.com
“1.a. To exhale audibly in a long deep breath, as in weariness or relief.; b. To emit a similar sound: willows sighing in the wind; 2. To feel longing or grief; yearn: sighing for their lost youth.v.tr.; 1. To express with or as if with an audible exhalation.; 2. Archaic To lament.n.” Dictionary.com
“Objectively, all that was found was an irregularity of respiratory depth and rate together with frequent (Type I) sighing; the heart and lungs were normal. Breathing became abnormal with the slightest emotional stimuli. Extreme yawning often accompanied the sighing, and this commonly caused temporary relief of the sense of respiratory oppression. Nowadays, we would consider these patients as having a chronic anxiety state, with or without panic, with a predisposition to overbreathe in response to stress. Sighing (Type I) may occur at rates of up to 25/min! We have no clear-cut neurophysiogical basis for this breathing behaviour, now called a ‘hyperventilation disorder’. However, we do know that breathing can be ‘driven’ by activation of the amygdaloid nucleus within the limbic system — a complex brain area concerned with feeling and emotions.” Some English Person’s Extremely Dull Paper [a C- no doubt]
Can I interject something here – just to appease your potential boredom? The meter reader just came by – he’s wearing a kilt and eyeliner. Okay, and no one will give ME a job! I could read a meter in spike heels and a low neck sweater, no problem, okay?! Sigh.
I love the word lament - it's so...ethnic. I lament, you lament, we experience therefore we perform lamentation. I'm Jewish and I know that we have lamented and sighed far longer than any Christian or Muslim and with much more exuberance. But this kind of sighing is sorrowful, and I'm not thinking that mine is strictly related to sorrow.
Although - I do miss my mom again, and this I go through regularly when I feel lost. Please see former post "Feminism" to understand just how much I could miss someone with the conviction of her decisions. I just wish I knew what to do next. Maybe I'll try burning my bra in the backyard, just to conjure up some of that Margie spirit. When in doubt, burn your undergarments...? I'm sure I can find an old beige one somewhere.
Anxiety's another sigh culprit. But screw anxiety. That's a normal state of being for me, even (almost especially) when I'm happy.
I guess I do have "longing and yearning." Sigh. See - there it goes again! Not necessarily for my "youth" as the boring guy above says - I wouldn't relive my youth for anything and I truly believe I'm the best I've ever been in most areas - but maybe more for the expression of that: being at my best.
But HOW?! Arrrrrrggghhh!
Stay tuned.
Today I'm still grateful to be me, even if I am not fond of my present breathing performance.
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