Welcome,
This exercise is for when worry won't let go and you feel utterly stuck in worst case scenarios,
Caught in endless what-ifs and unable to settle because your mind keeps trying to get certainty about what might happen.
Just notice that you are here.
Breathing,
Listening,
In this moment.
If comfortable,
Let your eyes gently close or soften your gaze to something in front of you.
You are here because your mind is racing ahead.
Trying to predict.
Trying to feel prepared.
Trying to work out what might happen.
Trying to make sure nothing is missed.
First,
Let's bring your attention to your breath.
Gently inhaling in,
Holding,
And gently exhaling,
Noticing that sensation of slowing down.
Slowing down.
Again,
Inhale in slowly,
Hold it,
And gently exhale.
Worry can feel like a fast-moving mental merry-go-round that keeps circling around what might happen,
What could go wrong,
What you should be ready for,
And what you may have missed.
And one reason it is so hard to step off is that worrying can feel responsible.
It can feel protective.
As though staying on the ride is the safest and right thing you can do.
But often,
The ride keeps going long after it has stopped being useful.
So ask yourself in a gentle,
Warm tone of voice.
Is there something I need to do right now?
Or am I trying to get certainty I cannot actually get?
And just notice what comes up.
If there is a real step to take,
A problem to solve,
You can take that step later.
And if there is not a step to take right now,
Try and let go of the need to solve the future.
Stay with me in this moment.
Begin by noticing your body.
Your feet resting on the floor.
Your back supported.
Your hands resting next to you.
Notice the contact points.
Notice how your body is supported.
And as you do,
Remind yourself.
Uncertainty is here and that is okay.
Again,
Uncertainty is here and that is okay.
You don't need to keep running ahead in order to be prepared.
And you don't need to work everything out before you let your body soften a little.
What may help more here isn't certainty.
But self-trust.
Not the kind that says everything will be fine.
Just the kind that says,
Whatever happens,
I will deal with it when it gets here.
I don't need the whole answer right now.
I only need this moment.
And the next step within it.
And let that be enough for this moment.
Just see if you can begin to trust your capacity a little more.
Your ability to respond.
To adapt.
To cope.
To ask for help if needed.
To handle uncertainty without solving it all in advance.
Take a slow breath in,
Hold it,
And a longer breath out.
And imagine as you breathe out,
That mental ride losing a little more speed.
Not because the uncertainty has disappeared.
But because you are no longer asking yourself to solve it all right now.
Another breath in,
Hold it,
And a slower breath out.
This is where self-trust begins.
A self-trust that says,
I can face what comes.
I can respond without having every answer in advance.
I can cope without rehearsing every possible future.
So if you need a phrase to return to,
Let it be one of these.
I can trust myself to meet what comes.
I am going to be okay.
And as we come to the end of this exercise.
Appreciate what you have done here.
You have not solved the whole future and you don't need to.
But you've slowed things down.
You've stepped back from the pull to keep worrying.
And you've practiced something deeply important.
Allowing some uncertainty to be here.
While also beginning to trust that you will be okay.
And that you can meet what comes.
