You Are OK, You Are Safe: Finding Your Way Out Of Distress

I want to invite you into a bit of a meditation,

Kind of a guided meditation if you will,

For when you are feeling in distress,

When you might be feeling highly anxious on the verge of panic,

Or if you're in panic.

It's always good to have something that you can turn to.

And I hope that if you listen to this a couple of times,

You'll be able to bring it up in your own mind when you start to feel distress or circling the wormhole.

So for today's distress meditation,

We're going to find our way out of the distress by simply coming home to ourselves.

Let's begin by getting into the best possible seated position that you can.

Standing is fine and lying down is great,

Especially if you need to go to sleep.

And remind yourself,

You are okay.

Next we want to focus just for a moment on our breathing.

We want to have the breath be normal.

Normal inhale,

Just let it be what it is.

Even if you were breathing shallow or if you were breathing quickly,

Just let it be what it is right now.

No need to change it or fix it.

Take a couple of those,

Just the way you were breathing.

Again,

No changes.

Just let it be there,

Noticing it.

Bringing your awareness to it so you can actually see what it is.

And now with your next breath,

Begin to take a slight slowing down of the exhale.

Just a little bit slower and a little bit longer on the exhale.

And then let the inhale take care of itself.

It always does.

Begin to bring your attention to your eyes.

And if you're in a safe place,

You can soften your eyes or close them.

Let the eyes become heavy and restful.

And again,

If you're in a safe place,

Soften them or close them altogether.

It will feel good to just let that be.

What we want to do is begin to feel the body from a new viewpoint.

Begin of not trying to fix or change anything,

But to simply be aware of what your body is feeling.

What is the body feeling?

We're not going to guide through a body scan,

But we're going to just be with what each of you are feeling individually.

Or what is your mind thinking?

The mind thinks and the body feels.

What is your mind thinking?

Can you see it?

Again,

No need or desire to fix or change the sensations in the body or the thoughts in the mind.

Let's take a pause here and notice.

Notice what it is.

What is the body feeling?

Where?

Where can you feel it?

When you bring your attention there,

Does it change?

Does it move?

Take your attention there and see.

Just a little exploration.

Nothing needs to be fixed or changed right now.

We're just spending some time with it,

Seeing what's in there,

Seeing what the body is up to,

Seeing what the mind is up to,

And looking at it,

Looking at it from a new perspective,

And remembering that you are safe.

When we feel physical distress or we have intrusive thoughts,

We tend to feel as though we are those thoughts or we are those feelings and sensations.

I want you to use the next few breaths to see all of your thoughts or feelings and sensations as simply moving through you,

But not you as a whole.

Just see those thoughts,

Feelings,

Sensations as moving through the body and the mind.

Just spend a moment there.

See if you can see this from this new perspective.

Remember that you are okay.

Remember that you are the one watching from this new perspective and that you are fully aware that while the physical sensations and symptoms may be uncomfortable and definitely unwanted,

That these thoughts,

Feelings,

And sensations cannot harm you.

They are simply moving through you.

They're not who you are.

They're definitely not here forever.

Everything changes and they cannot harm you.

Remember that you are safe.

Taking another couple of breaths here,

Remembering to let the inhale take care of itself and let the exhale go out just a little slower and just a little longer.

Begin to come back into the space of the room you're in.

Begin to notice if any muscles feel more tense or less tense.

Are your thoughts racing as quickly or have they slowed down?

Has your breathing shifted from our time of a few breaths together with slowing our exhale?

Can you notice any changes in pain or sensation?

How about the general feeling of anxiety and stress?

Just taking these kinds of few moments for yourself.

It's like following breadcrumbs back home again.

Eventually you don't need the breadcrumbs.

Eventually your body knows that you are safe,

That you're okay,

And it will just shift naturally into the parasympathetic rest and digest mode.

But right now you may need some help,

Some training,

So follow the breadcrumbs.

Take time to do small short meditations like this or breathing moments.

Just little bits of time for yourself to be able to go home to your breath,

To yourself from this new and higher perspective versus attaching yourself to the pain,

To the sensations,

To the unwanted thoughts,

The unwanted feelings.

They will pass through.

They always do.

And they do so more easily when we remember that we are not those thoughts,

Feelings,

And sensations,

But that we are watching them as they move through.

Now bring yourself fully into the room.

Maybe wiggle your fingers and toes.

Open your eyes if they were closed.

And give yourself a smile.

Give yourself a congratulations for spending a few precious moments shifting how you can look at your thoughts,

Feelings,

And sensations.

I hope this has been helpful for you,

And I hope you'll come back to it if you need it again.

It's here for you.

And I appreciate you as a listener,

And I want you to remember that you are okay and that you are safe.