I Can't Let This Go - A Guided Meditation to Release Negative Anchors

If there's a memory, a grudge, or a person you keep replaying in your mind, even though it hurts every single time, today is for letting go of what no longer serves you. This isn't about pretending it didn't happen. It's about finally releasing what's weighing you down so that you can carry less and breathe more. Let's go with the past together, just for these 10 minutes.

Hi there, and welcome to Calming Anxiety, your daily sanctuary. I'm Martin Hewlett, clinical hypnotherapist and former frontline paramedic. Every single episode here is free. Every day, built around genuine relief from anxiety, panic and overwhelm.

Over 10 million of you have found your way here, many of you searching for help releasing emotional ties to things that hurt long after they happened. So find your quiet place now, somewhere relaxing to sit or lie down, and if it's safe, let your eyes close. Today isn't about finding an anchor, you already have one, your breath, today is about releasing the other kind of anchor, the ones you didn't choose, the grudge, the old hurt, the version of this story you've told yourself a hundred times, these are negative anchors and one of them is ready to lift today. So just breathe in, however feels natural, and as you breathe out, simply relax and let go, no counting, no effort, just relax and let go on the out breath.

In my years as a paramedic, I learn that the body holds on to what the mind refuses to release. Old hurt sits on those shoulders, the jaw and the chest, long after the event itself is over. The good news is, the reverse is also true, the body can release what the mind is ready to put down. So with this next breath in and the next breath out, relax and let go, breathe in gently and breathe out, slow at this time, without resistance, without judgment.

You don't need to fight the memory or argue with it, you only need to relax and let it move, let it move on the out breath. Imagine if you can, that whatever you're holding on to today, the grudge or a grudge, the old version of you that got hurt has a small amount of weight in it. Not all of this has to leave right now, just loosen your grip, just slightly, with this out breath, loosen, just a little more, breathe in once more and as you breathe out, picture that weight becoming a fraction lighter, like dropping that baggage that you've been carrying without realizing how heavy it has become. Relax, let go, that's all this breath needs to do.

Stay here for a few more breaths, finding that same rhythm, breathe in and on the way out, relax and let go. Now repeat these words after me, silently or softly out there, let each one loosen the grip a little further. I release what no longer serves me. Everything doesn't mean forgetting, it means you no longer have to carry it to prove it mattered.

I am not anchored to my past pain. The past has had its moment, the moment belongs to you now, not to it. I let go of the crutches and the fears that weigh me down.

Each one you set down makes room for something lighter to take its place. I am free to grow beyond old stories.

You are allowed to outgrow a story that you used to be true about you. I choose peace over the weight I've been carrying.

Peace is available to you right now, within this exact breath, whether or not the old story is finished. Now those words to settle, the way a held breath settles once it's finally released.

I release what no longer serves me. I am not anchored to my past. I let go of the crutches and fears that weigh me down.

I am free to grow beyond old stories.

I choose peace over the weight I've been carrying.

Relax now, ever deeper, drifting, finding the meaning of those words, entwine themselves into the fabric of your soul. To carry this with you, here are today's three daily carrying tips. One, name the anchor. You can't release what you haven't named.

Today, simply identify one specific grudge, hurt or old story you're ready to let go of.

Naming it out loud takes away some of its grip. Two, the release ritual. Write the thing down on paper, just one sentence is enough. Then physically put it aside, fold it or place it in a drawer.

This small, physical act tells your nervous system the holding can stop now. And three, loosen the grip. And force the drop, letting go really happens all at once and that's all right. Each time the thought returns today, you don't have to drop it instantly, just loosen your grip on it a little more than yesterday.

Now unwind. Give yourself a spiritual hug. You've come so far. Don't give up.

Now gently wiggle your fingers and toes and bring your awareness back into the room around you. Take a deep breath in and then as you exhale, stretch out the arms overhead and then when you're ready, slowly open your eye. Thank you. Some years ago I went through a very dark period and letting go of the hurt and the trauma was one of the hardest things I've ever achieved.

I used a technique that every time I reminded myself of the pain of the hurt, of the just unforgivable injustice of it all, I made myself think of something positive. It takes time. It's like training a muscle. We need to work on it.

And that's why this is here. And that's why you've subscribed and my hope is one day. You will leave this. You won't need calming anxiety anymore.

You'll become your own beacon of hope and positivity. Cruel. So have a fantastic day my friend. Whatever you're going through, there is light, there is always hope.

Don't give up. I am proof of that. And you will be too. Be care.

Smile often. Go on. Practice it. Positivity, especially when you see your reflection.

And then in every thought, word and deed. Be kind.