I’m Feeling Anxious : A 10-Minute Reset for Panic and Racing Thoughts

If you've just searched, I'm feeling anxious. Take a breath. You aren't broken, and you aren't failing. Your nervous system is simply in the state of high alert.

It's doing its job just far too well. I'm Martin. I'm a clinical hypnotherapist. I was a paramedic, and I've seen the sharp end of panic, and I know the way back to the shore.

This is the anxiety breaker, and today we are moving out of the noise and into the quiet architecture of now. If you need a deeper anchor, visit me at calminganxiety.fm. But today, find your quiet place right now. Somewhere comfy, you can sit or lie down, whichever you prefer.

Me is a physiological loop. To break it, we need to bypass the thinking brain and talk directly to your vagus nerve.

In today's session, we're going to use the 426 carbon reset. This isn't just breathing. It's truly a nervous system regulation in real time. To follow my count, you're breathing in through your nose, you're hold at the top, and then you'll exhale through per slips.

Ready? Ready to breathe in. So in, 2, 3, 4, hold, 2, out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

We'll do that again in a moment. You breathe in slowly, always through the nose, feeling the air expand your low ribcage. At the 2nd point of holding, this is your state of suspension. In this gap, there is no past, no future, just stillness.

And then when you breathe out, through per slips, it's like blowing through a straw. As you exhale, for that count, you are initiating a quarter's old flush. You are signaling to your brain that the threat has passed. Your vagal tone is increasing with every cycle.

So with me once more, ready to breathe in? In, 2, 3, 4, hold, 2, out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

And just let your breathing relax. We'll repeat it again in a moment. Let the exhale always be the longest part of your world. You are truly reclaiming your internal baseline.

Now once more, ready to breath in. In, two, three, four, hold, two, out, two, three, four, five, six.

Maybe mindfully as you exhale. You allow those pockets of stress and tension to truly unwind. Feel your shoulders drop, the muscles in your forehead, they loosen. Relax now my friend.

Deeply and safely. To one more time, ready for the in-breath? In, two, three, four, hold, two, out, two, three, four, five, six.

And just float now. Nothing to think of. So where to be? Just here.

To relax and reconnect. Mind, body and soul. Now keep your normal rhythmic breathing as we enter the state of non-sleep deep rest. With your eyes closed if it's safe or just soften your gaze, we are going to build a safe container around you using the architecture of now.

Instead of imagining a beach, I want you to feel the somatic reality of where you are. The foundation. Feel the exact points where your body meets the chair or floor. This is somatic anchoring.

This the pressure, is it solid, is it unchanging? The structure, mentally, trace the vertical lines of the room, the corners of the walls, the frame of the door. These lines are true. They don't move with your thoughts.

And as you ground yourself, repeat these wonderful internal affirmations within your mind.

I am regulated. I am safe in my skin. My body is a solid structure, the storm is outside, not within.

I am returning to my center.

I am regulated. I am safe in my skin. My body is a solid structure, the storm is outside, not within.

I am returning to my center.

Relax now, truly deeply. You are shifting your thoughts from higher hours on to proprioceptive awareness. You are here, you are heavy, you are held by the earth beneath you.

With every out breath. I wonder if you could imagine yourself drifting even deeper into a wonderful, natural, trance like state. Thoughts may come into your mind, this is normal, acknowledge them. And then return your focus to the almost hypnotic rhythm of the rise and fall of every breath.

Deeper and deeper and deeper now.

And once more, I am regulated. I am safe in my skin. My body is a solid structure, the storm is outside, not within.

I am returning to my center. To keep this calm in the bag for the rest of your day, here are your three micro rest tips. One, the sensory circuit breaker, splash cold water on your face or hold an ice cube, this shocks the system out of a thought loop and into the presence sensation. Two, digital hygiene.

For the next hour, put your phone in another room, give your brain a dopamine fast. You don't need to be on for everyone else right now. And three, the 60 second completion. Find one small thing out of place, a pillow, a cup, a pen, and put it back.

This micro wins signals to your brain that you have agency and control. Now, time to bring your awareness back to the day around you. Wiggle your fingers and toes. Now that deep in breath and as you exhale stretch out the arms overhead and then open your eyes.

You've done the work. You've regulated your system. If you want to dive deeper into these techniques, head over to my show, calminganxiety.fm and check out the anxiety breaker course. It is five guided hypnosis tracks just for you, it's only $67 and it could be exactly what you need.

Have a lovely day my friend, truly, smile often, positive thoughts and in all that you are, be kind.