Anxiety Relief

A friendly voice to help you when you are experiencing anxiety. Offers kindness, perspective, understanding, guidance and encouragement that has been proven effective. When you are caught up in struggling and feeling so alone, this is a helpful reminder that you are intrinsic to life, both precious and powerful.

Transcript

If you're caught up in the tight tangle of anxiety,

Know this,

You are not alone,

And these feelings will pass.

But for right now,

Anxiety is here.

It's a palpable presence and we're not going to pretend it isn't happening.

It is.

But we'll walk through this experience together.

First,

We want to notice what else is here right now.

Sensations in the body.

Let's focus on them.

Where do you feel anxiety the strongest?

Focus on that area.

Maybe it's the heart.

Maybe the shoulders.

Maybe the jaw.

Maybe the stomach.

Wherever the sensation is the strongest,

Breathe into that area.

Just imagine your breath going into that area.

Feel the warmth of it softening and soothing.

Even if your breath feels tight and shallow,

It's still breath.

It's still powerful in its ability to soothe whatever is arising in your experience.

Breathing in,

Feel the support of the earth and all that went into making this air you are breathing.

It is offered freely,

Lovingly,

In support of all life,

Including you.

You are intrinsic to life,

Both precious and powerful,

Nurtured by life,

And a nurturer of life.

You are not separate,

Even though in this moment you may feel you are.

There is nothing wrong here,

Even though in this moment it may feel like there is.

The physical sensations,

The thoughts,

The emotions that are present in this moment are not you.

They arise and they pass away.

There's no need to make an enemy of them.

There's no need to fight them.

They are just passing through,

Arising and falling away,

Arising and falling away.

Let them come,

Let them go.

Notice how sensations shift and change.

When you keep your attention on the rising and falling of the breath,

You are creating more spaciousness,

So you can more easily see how sensations,

Emotions,

And thoughts are just passing through.

You don't have to get caught up in them.

They aren't you.

They don't signify anything about you.

When a thought,

Emotion,

Or sensation seems to be growing and taking over,

Breathe and cultivate more spaciousness.

See if you can fill that space with compassion,

Compassion for yourself,

And compassion for whatever is arising,

The sensation,

The thought,

The emotion.

You might notice fear arising.

Can you see it for what it is?

It's like a sad-eyed little puppy that just wants your love and attention.

It may bark,

It may snarl,

It may bite,

It may run around and stir up a lot of noise,

Filling all that space,

But really,

It just wants to be treated kindly.

Can you make space for fear to be present?

Can you gently stroke the soft fur of fear and let it settle in your lap?

Following the breath allows you to be present with life as it is in this moment.

Let the breath be however it is,

Deep or shallow,

Fast or slow.

Relax into this present moment,

Just as it is.

You can see the nature of your thoughts,

How they get caught up in the past,

Remembering every other time you've experienced these sensations and these emotions.

You can notice how they get caught up in the future,

Worrying about whether you will always be dealing with these thoughts,

Sensations,

And emotions,

And maybe worrying about some other things too.

And let the breath be your focus.

Come back to it again and again.

Remember that you are not alone and that you are a vital thread in the pattern of life,

Just as you are.

As the sensations and emotions shift and soften,

As they will over time if they haven't already,

And as you pay attention to the breath,

You open to an inner wisdom that is always there for you,

Whether you are aware of it or not.

And that inner wisdom is saying,

I love you.

I have always loved you.

I will always love you.

Can you let yourself feel that infinite,

Unconditional love?

You can speak your own wisdom to yourself right now.

I love you.

I have always loved you.

I will always love you.

That love is infinite in nature.

If you are not feeling it,

Invite it in with words like,

May I be well.

May I be at ease.

May I be peaceful.

May I be happy.

Let this loving sense of self-care grow within you.

It is infinite and as it grows it naturally wants to be shared.

So bring to mind someone you know who is in particular need of loving kindness right now.

If not an individual,

It might be a situation.

And you can say,

May you be well.

May you be at ease.

May you be peaceful.

May you be happy.

And then,

Because this loving kindness is infinite,

It grows and glows,

Expanding in all directions without dissipating,

Shining its radiant loving light into even the darkest places,

Encircling the whole earth and beyond and beyond and beyond.

Then we say,

May all beings be well.

May all beings be at ease.

May all beings be at peace.

May all beings be happy.

And then remember that all beings include you and that there are thousands,

Maybe millions of people around the world sending out loving kindness to all beings,

Including you.

Open and feel that love.

Feel the support.

Feel the sense of being an intrinsic part of all that is.

And keep breathing in that love and sending it to any sensation,

Emotion,

Or thought that you might be experiencing right now.

If this has been helpful,

I'm glad.

If you want it to continue longer,

Feel free to replay.

And if this is not quite enough to deal with all that is arising,

Please remember that there is a world of help for you.

You are not alone.

Reach out.

Let your family,

Friends,

And healthcare providers know what you are experiencing.

May you be well.

May you be at ease.

May you be peaceful.

May you be happy.

Reviews

This touched me deeply in a moment of distress. I was able to receive the love being sent in these words, and they helped me return to myself. Thank you, thank you. May all beings be well, happy, and peaceful.

Thanks, I needed this, this morning, feeling very anxious about my new job. Im feeling more compassionate and supported now!

Very nice, your meditation helped ease my anxiety this morning. Thank you.

May you be well, may you be at ease, may you be happy

Words cannot express how much I loved this meditation. It was the perfect one for me at this moment in my life, with my anxiety running out of control. Thank you so much, Stephanie.🙏🏻💚

Beautiful. I’m sitting on a bench listening to the birds singing while hearing how my inner wisdom loves me, and will continue to love me. It’s this sort of self compassion that I hope will support me through my twenties. Thank you

That was beautiful. Thank you for the loving, compassionate, helpful words of wisdom. This helped bring my anxiety down significantly.

Wow. That was wonderful. I felt supported and loved.

Beautiful. Thank you so much, I am soothed by a wave of loving calmness

Beautiful and profound 🙏🏼💕🌿🌸

This is beautiful. Thank you for sharing with us! 🕊🦋

Thank you. Your soothing, mature voice and wise words really helped me today. Thank you.

Very helpful, lovely voice.

This is so helpful when I wake in the middle of the night. Thank you Stephanie!

Your wisdom is matched by your compassion. And thank you for that furry puppy!

Thank you so much for this, I needed to hear that. I love the images you are painting with your words.

Really beautiful. I didn’t expect it to help me, but it did, and I am so grateful.

Beautiful and calming. Thank you

A beautiful practice and a gentle reminder. Thank you very much!

Wonderful thank you