Break In Case Of Emergency | Mental Health First Aid ~ 4 Min

Anxiety and panic attacks are no joke. Break out of fight or flight mode with this short 4-minute grounding meditation. This recording can be used in the moment during an attack, or periodically during the day to help avoid them.

Transcript

The following is a short guided grounding meditation, Particularly useful in moments where you might be feeling panic or overwhelming feelings, And just giving you an option to kind of reground and resettle yourself. So finding yourself in a comfortable seat, And again, Just sitting in a way that allows you to breathe comfortably and remain alert, Not stiff or overly formal. And before you do much here, Just taking a look around the room, And maybe picking out a few objects that are familiar, Noticing any textures or surfaces that feel neutral, Noticing the proximity of your body to the other objects in the room, Bringing your attention a little further inward, Noticing the feeling of being in a body or having a body, And just noticing any sensations that come to the forefront of your attention, Noticing any tension or pressure, Tingling, Or even lack of sensation. Notice the feeling of your body in the chair and your feet on the floor, And trying to get very granular, Just noticing the very point where your skin touches the chair or the floor, Just noticing the boundary there, And maybe even conceptually just noticing the other side of your skin, Like a little further inward, The feeling of muscle. Get very still, Maybe even noticing a heartbeat or the pulse of blood moving through your body. You might close your eyes and bring your awareness to the sounds of the room and the smells, Just noticing that you're safe and you're in a familiar setting, And you're here in this moment. What does it feel like to be in this moment? Gently bringing your awareness also to your breath, Just notice what is your breathing doing in this moment. Is it fast or slow, Shallow or deep? Whatever it's doing, That's just fine just as it is. But you may ask yourself the question, What would be most nourishing? Maybe a deeper breath, Maybe letting out a soft sigh as you exhale. Just letting the sensations or feelings or moods run their course, Just noticing again, Checking in, And what it feels like to have a body as you breathe, Noticing the weight of your body, And those contact points with the chair, That point where your feet touch the floor, And broadening out your awareness to objects in the room, And even with eyes closed, Noticing the proximity of your body to the desk or the wall or the window. And again, Just bringing your awareness to the room around you, Noticing any objects or textures or surfaces that are familiar. And whenever you're ready, Returning your awareness back to this present moment. And if you have your eyes closed, Opening, And just checking in on a scale of 1 to 10, How present in this moment are you now? Thank you.