I Don't Want Tomorrow to Come - Let Go of Tomorrow's Anxiety - 10 Minute Meditation

There is a particular quiet that arrives some evenings. The light goes amber. The day starts folding itself away, and somewhere, underneath the washing-up and the half-watch television, a small voice says, "I don't want tomorrow to come." Not because tomorrow is terrible, often it isn't, but because the last few days were a shelter, and you can feel the door of it beginning to close.

And here is the thing, my friend. That feeling has a name now. People call it Sunday Scaries, that late night feeling, the anticipatory anxiety about the days ahead. It is one of the most common forms of anxiety there is, and it responds, it really does respond, to what we're about to do together.

So this is our focus today, about late evening feeling of dread, meeting tomorrow without fearing it. Hi there, this is calming anxiety. I'm your host Martin, I'm a clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic, and for the next ten minutes, there is nothing you need to fix. Then you need to solve, and nowhere else you need to be.

So find your quiet place now, somewhere comfy to sit or lie down, whichever you prefer, where you won't be disturbed, and if it's safe, close your eyes. Today, we're using box breathing. You may know it is square breathing, it's used by paramedic, soldier surgeons, by people who need a steady hand at the exact moment their body wants to run. I've used it myself many times.

Tonight, we're going to draw a long box, a 5555, slower than usual, because tonight, we are not preparing to act. We are preparing to rest, so settle back, let your shoulders drop down, and clench your jaw, let your tongue rest softly in your mouth. Always breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. Ready with me, breathe in 2, 3, 4, 5.

And out, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Rest, 2, 3, 4, 5. Beautiful, that's one complete box done. Let's draw another, ready? Breathe in 2, 3, 4, 5.

Hold, 2, 3, 4, 5. Release, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Let's do that one more time, but this time, as you breathe in, imagine a warm golden light climbing up the left side of the box along the top as you hold, and down the right side as you breathe out. Ready my friend? Breathe in 2, 3, 4, 5. Breathe out 2, 3, 4, 5.

Rest, 2, 3, 4, 5. Let the breath now return to its own rhythm. Don't manage it. Just let it happen.

You'll notice something has already changed. Your heart beats a little slower, your shoulders a little lower, and what's really important?

You did that, not me, you. Now let that golden light spread out from the center of your chest, warm, amber, unhurried, down through your arms, down through your hips and your legs, softening everything it touches.

And within this warmth, I want you to say these words with me, silently or out loud, but allow them to land. I am calm and I am safe and I am here.

Tomorrow is not happening yet, only this breath is happening.

I release this late night feeling. It is only a thought and thoughts pass through me.

I put tomorrow down and I pick it up in the morning rested.

My anxiety is not a warning, it is only a tired nervous system asking to be seized.

I meet the weaker head one hour at a time.

There is nothing to fear right now. In this room, in this moment, I am completely safe.

And relax, ever deeper, truly feel that sense of release on every exhalation.

Let yourself sink ever deeper, further and further down into this natural, translike state.

Allow yourself to heal, to love all that you are because simply put, you are worthy.

And then once more, I am calm and I am safe and I am here.

I put tomorrow down and I pick it up in the morning rested.

And within this moment of peace, of clarity and balance, here are your three daily caring tips. One, before you go to bed, write down the single first thing you will do tomorrow morning, one line only so your mind can stop rehearsing it in the night. Two, put your work phone or your work email out of reach until morning. Physically in another room, not just closed.

Three, give the last hour of your evening to something with no outcome attached, a bath, a record, a walk to the end of the road and back. Now let's come back gently. Time to wiggle your fingers and your toes. Pull your shoulders once, feel the chair or the bed underneath you holding your weight.

Now breathe in, hold and as you exhale, stretch out the arms overhead. And when you are really no rush at all, let your eyes open and come back bringing the calm with you. Thank you. If this helps, come and find it in anchored. The box breathing, I narrate all the way through in the app and you can create your own patterns, have your own backing sounds and different lighting modes.

They are there to help you regain the best version of you. And if you know someone who goes quiet in the evenings, someone who gets that far away look around 6 o'clock, please share this episode with them. It costs nothing and it may be the thing that turns their day and evening around. Sleep well my friend.

Be gentle with yourself. I'll be here again with you tomorrow. So in everything, always, in every word, every thought, every action. Be kind.