I Can't Stop Worrying About What Might Happen — A 10-Minute Meditation for Future Anxiety

You haven't even got there yet. Nothing has happened, not yet. And somehow your mind has already been there. It's imagine the conversation.

It's imagine what might go wrong. It's imagine the phone call, the appointment, the journey, the thing that you've got to do next week. And then another thought arrives. What is something goes wrong?

And before you know it, you're trying to solve a problem that doesn't even exist. If you know that feeling, that constant sense that you need to prepare for something, whatever might happen, stay with me. Because for the next 10 minutes, you don't have to prepare for tomorrow. You can simply be here.

This is calming anxiety. I'm Martin, clinical hypnotist, and I'm glad that you found me. Today's episode is sponsored by my own app, Anchored It has all the shows over 2,500. They're always there, but more than that, the instant calm.

On free or premium, signal or no, it's there to help you. Now find your quiet place. Somewhere comfy, where we won't be disturbed for a while. Let's start by giving your mind somewhere simple to rest.

You'll breathe with me gently in through the nose for a count of 4, pausing between the in and the out for 2, and then gently out through your mouth for 6. Ready my friend? Just in 2, 3, 4, home 2, release 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

There is nothing to force, nothing to achieve. Just learning the power of the out breath. Ready? Let's do that together once more.

Breathe in 2, 3, 4, hold 2, breathe out 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

And again, breathe in 2, 3, 4, hold 2, release 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Now if you can, keep that rhythm going all on its own, but as you exhale, feel the muscles and wind around your chest, your shoulders, your neck. Breathe into the relaxation, focus on the rhythmic rise and 4 of each and every breath.

Deeper and deeper, further and further down into a natural trance like state.

Bringing your true sense of balance. Relax. Now let your breathing return to whatever pace feels natural, and I'd like you to imagine something. Imagine tomorrow, sitting over there somewhere, not in front of you, not happening to you.

It's just there. And notice how different that feels from carrying tomorrow around inside your head.

You've been trying to arrive early, trying to know what will happen before it happens, trying to have the answer really, trying to make sure you won't be surprised. But you don't need to live tomorrow today. You can meet tomorrow when tomorrow arrives. And right now there is only this breath, this room, the surface beneath you, this moment which does not need you predicting anything.

So let's bring in some gentle words quietly inside your own mind. Visualize them as I save them and then repeat them as well if you wish. I am here. I do not have to solve tomorrow today.

I can let the future remain uncertain. I can feel anxious without following every anxious thought.

What might happen is not happening now. I can meet life one moment at a time.

I do not need to rehearse every possibility.

I trust myself to deal with what actually arrives.

Right now I am allowed to simply be me.

And if your mind runs ahead again, that's okay. That's being human. You don't have to drag it back. Just notice it and then come home to this moment.

Relax. Ever deeper my friend. Feel your breathing again with your mind. Make the sensations as you breathe in and your ribcage rises and expands.

Be mindful of that moment between the in and the out breath. And then as you exhale, truly relax, release and unwind.

Deeper and deeper and deeper still. And then within the beauty of your thoughts, in this moment of tranquility and understanding, here are your three daily caring tips. One, when you catch yourself rehearsing a future problem today, say quietly that hasn't happened yet, then return to whatever is actually in front of you. Two, give yourself one ten minute period today where you deliberately do nothing to prepare, check, research or solve.

Let uncertainty exist without trying to remove it. Three, before bed to night, take five slow rounds of four in, six out, and four in, without breathing and remind yourself tomorrow, can wait until tomorrow.

Now breathe, feel the in breath, truly hold it, nurture it, release, unwind and just be in this singular moment of time, in the power, the beauty of your own thoughts. You are in control because simply put, you are worthy.

Now let's come back gently, wiggle your fingers and your toes, feel whatever is underneath you supporting your weight. Breathe in, hold and as you exhale, roll the shoulders and stretch out the arms and when you're ready, let your eyes open. You don't have to know what tomorrow will bring, you only have to be here for today. If you need somewhere to return to later, anchored is there with you, gently, without keeping score.

Take care of yourself my friend. I'll be right here with you again tomorrow, so in everything, especially to all that you are, be kind.