Welcome to this meltdown meditation,
A neurodivergent friendly meditation for moments of overwhelm and dysregulation.
I'm Amy Peters,
A neurodivergent therapist.
No need to lie down,
Close your eyes,
Or sit in a particular position.
Do whatever you need.
And if your thoughts start to drift away,
That's okay.
Just bring your focus gently back here whenever you can.
If you're here because things feel too much right now,
That's okay.
First,
Let's just acknowledge what's going on.
Maybe this is a meltdown.
Maybe it's overwhelm.
For a moment when the world and your body just feels too much.
You don't need to explain it.
You don't need to hide or mask it.
Right now,
All you need is space and kindness.
It's okay to feel this,
Even if it's messy,
Even if it doesn't make sense.
It's okay to be upset,
To cry,
To shake,
To scream,
To go silent.
If you can,
Either out loud or in your head,
Tell yourself it's okay to feel this.
I'm allowed to feel deeply.
There's nothing wrong with me.
It's okay to feel this.
You're overwhelmed.
This response makes sense.
It's understandable.
Your body is doing what it needs to protect you.
You are not broken.
You are not too much.
If there's a part of you that's panicking or frozen or shutting down,
Speak to it softly now.
Let it know that you're here.
You can say,
I'm here.
You're safe.
You're not alone in this.
I'm here.
You're safe.
You're not alone in this.
Give yourself permission to do what you need.
You might want to curl up.
You can wrap yourself in a blanket.
You don't have to be still.
You might want to move.
You don't have to be quiet.
You might want to stim.
Let this moment be what it is.
If it feels okay,
You can draw your attention to your breath now.
Just notice.
Don't try to change.
You might notice short,
Quick breaths.
You might have slow breaths that are hard to hear.
Just notice for a while.
Notice the feeling of the air as you breathe in and as you breathe out.
If it helps now,
You can start to make the breath a little longer now.
A little deeper.
Slowly.
Gently.
And dropping your shoulders if you can.
And another.
Breathe in.
And then breathe out,
Unclenching your jaw.
If none of that's possible right now,
It's okay too.
Just stay here and listen.
There's no right way to do this.
You're already doing enough.
You might now begin to notice the air on your skin,
Your feet on the ground,
Or your body where it touches the chair.
And now if it feels possible,
Let your eyes begin to scan the space around you.
Slowly.
Now can you see something red?
Name it in your head.
Now can you spot something green?
And now find something soft.
And if it feels okay,
You can find something soft you can sit with.
Maybe a blanket.
Your sleeve.
Cushion.
Teddy.
And just focus on what that feels like.
How your skin feels against that softness.
And now if you can,
Close your eyes gently and tune into the sounds around you.
Just let them be.
What can you hear?
Remember,
It's okay to feel this.
There's no need to snap out of it.
Or make yourself better.
This is a wave and it will pass.
Being overwhelmed isn't wrong.
Meltdowns aren't wrong.
They're just signals that things have been too much,
Too long.
That doesn't make you weak.
It doesn't make you broken.
You feel deeply because you care deeply.
Now you can stay here as long as you need.
When you're ready,
And only when you're ready,
You can begin to come back at your own pace.
Give yourself time to recover now.
Go gently and give yourself kindness.
