"I'm A Wreck" (Managing Stress & Unhelpful Thoughts)

This guided meditation encourages practitioners to examine limiting beliefs that lead to stress and replace negative thought patterns with helpful ones that support greater happiness. It encourages self-compassion and cultivates positive emotions.

Transcript

Welcome to the I'm a Wreck meditation. If you find yourself pacing nervously, Wringing your hands not sure what to do, If you're feeling stressed out, Worried, Or anxious, You're in the right place. It may be that there is a particular challenge that you're facing or general anxiety, So we're going to explore that a little bit deeper. So to begin, I'm going to ask you to either sit comfortably with your hands resting in your lap, Or you might lie down with your hands at your side. Your eyes can be open or closed. So we take a moment to imagine a safe space around you. So we're putting the world aside, And in that space, We create it however we need to. For some people, It's a little bubble or color of light or some kind of imaginary protective circle. For some people, It might be asking for a guide or the universe for support, For protection. Whatever you need to feel comfortable and safe in this space. Let me take a few deep breaths. Inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the nose. If you find that your breath is choppy, Take a deep inhale, Open your mouth, Drop your jaw and just sigh it out. You need to do it again. For the rest of this practice, We're inhaling and exhaling through the nose. If you ever need to slough off any tension, Let out a deep sigh through your mouth and return to your practice. Draw your awareness to your breath, Noticing the inhalation and the exhalation. Take a moment to notice what's going on in your body. Physical sensations, Emotions. You don't even have to label the emotion. Just notice what you're feeling. So thoughts are tricky because they lead to feelings and your body will respond to them. Your body will follow your mind. And whatever you're thinking, Your mind will actively seek evidence to support it in the external world, Which is why choosing our thoughts wisely is so important. So taking an honest look of how you're feeling in this moment, I will use the example, I'm a wreck. Many of us have said this to themselves. I'm a wreck. I'm a mess. I'm a fill in the blank for yourself in this moment. It's okay, We're going to work with it. So just this once. Or how about this one? Life is a blank. When I'm stressed, I might say life is a disaster in this moment, Just for now. If you're feeling that way, Life is a blank, Fill in the blank. As a thought experiment, Think, In what way are you a blank? In what way is life a blank? So for example, In what way are you a wreck? In what way is your life a disaster? This is your opportunity to dig up whatever you need to dig up, Reminding yourself that you are in a safe space. And you can come out of this meditation anytime you need to, Or simply return to your breath. Now I'd like you to return to your breath before we move on to the next part of this mindfulness activity. And I want you to ask yourself, Is this true? What else might be true? Could it be that you failed at something in this moment, But that doesn't make you a failure? Could it be that you made a mistake? What else might be true? Now if you're going through a particularly challenging time where there's an event and there's nothing you can do, Your mind might be going to the worst case scenario, Or you might be feeling as if this moment is a forever moment. This is the time to remind yourself what else might be true. And remind yourself this is not forever. Return to your breath. Return to noticing that safety bubble around you, Or whatever safe space you've created in your mind. And I'd like you to call to mind a time in your life where things were not a wreck. In fact, Life was pretty awesome. You are very proud of yourself. Call to mind an example of a time when you were at your best, The happiest, Feeling your best. What were you doing, And who were you with? I'm going to be quiet for a few moments. Your body and emotions follow your mind. So choose your thoughts and focus wisely. And with practice, You can catch yourself making these broad, I am a wreck thoughts and change them. So now that you've recalled a time when you were at your best, How did you feel in those moments? Take a moment to cultivate those positive feelings and sit with them. And last, Ask yourself, How can I invite more of those moments in my life? When we look at ourselves as perfect and unbroken, And understand that we are perfectly human and do human things, Sometimes makes it a little easier to roll with those feelings when we feel that we're emotionally not where we'd like to be. So we remind ourselves we are perfectly human. Now gently return to your breath, Letting those thoughts float by. When you're ready, Gently bring yourself back into the room and open your eyes. Thank you for joining me.

Reviews

A deep dive into how I feel about myself and the narrative I tell myself. Excellent grounding for a perfectionist. My 11 yo son also liked this. Gave us space to be human and mess up without being a mess. Thank you!