My Mind Won’t Switch Off — A 10-Minute Meditation for Anxiety & Overthinking

Hi there. If your mind won't switch off. If it's replaying today and rehearsing tomorrow all at once, I'm glad you're here. You don't have to make it stop. Just for the next ten minutes. Let's do something different. This is calming anxiety. I'm Martin. And if a busy mind catches you somewhere without headphones, there's a free instant calm session inside the anchored app. No sign up, no subscription, works offline, ready for the second you need it. Right now though, you've got me, so let's begin. Get company, however you are is fine. As a former paramedic, I've sat with a lot of racing minds and the breath is always where we start. Not to fix anything, just to give your body one thing to do while your mind does its thing. We breathe in through the nose and let the breath out slowly, longer than the in breath, like a sigh. Ready? Breathe in, hold, release. You can make an audible sound if you wish or silence if you prefer. Let's do that again. Breathe in, hold for a moment and then release and relax. Slow and long and feel your shoulders loosen just a little as you breathe out. One more. Breathe with me now. Breathe in, hold, release, long and slow. Let the body just melt. Your mind can keep talking, that's alright, it's what minds do. The breath isn't asking it to be quiet, it's just something steady underneath the noise. And here's the thing about a mind that won't switch off, it isn't broken it's just busy. One thought arrives, you give it your attention, then that thought pulls in another, you follow that one too and before you know it, you're three, four, ten thoughts deep and none of them were invited on purpose. Trying to force it all to stop can make it louder, like telling yourself not to think about something and now that's all you can think about. So try this instead. Picture your thoughts as trains pulling into a station, however you can, they arrive, they wait a moment and whether you get on one or not, they leave anyway. You don't have to chase every train that pulls in, you don't have to check where it's going, you can just let it leave the platform. Notice the thought, don't follow it, breathe, come back to right here. See the trains arrive, the thoughts, the worries, the to-do lists, see them pause a moment at the platform and then as you breathe out, as you relax the shoulders, the muscles on your forehead, watch them leave and with every out breath, truly allow yourself to unwind, not mentally, just feel the muscles soften ever so slightly, around the base of your neck, the muscles in and around your eyes, just loosening a little with each and every out breath. Let's come back into the room for a moment. Notice something you can feel, your feet on the floor or your hands resting somewhere. Notice something you can hear, even the quiet has a sound and just notice your hear, not tomorrow, not the conversation from earlier, but here, this moment doesn't need solving, it just needs you inside.

As a clinical hypnotherapist, I know your mind believes what you tell it again and again so let's tell it something kinder, so feel these words, allow them to land and see them in your thoughts. I do not have to follow every thought. I can let a thought arrive and then let it leave. I do not have to solve tomorrow, tonight. My mind can be busy while I stay calm.

I can come back to this moment anytime I need to. Now unwind a little further, however you can imagine them, breathe out and release and then once more in the beauty of your mind's eye, imagine these words and repeat. I do not have to follow every thought. I can let a thought arrive and then let it leave. I do not have to solve tomorrow, tonight.

My mind can be busy while I stay calm. I can come back to this moment anytime I need to.

Now imagine a deep sense of peace, a warmth growing deep within your heart space, with every in breath you increase its intensity, its warmth with every out breath you allow negativity to drift away and to keep this sense of balance and clarity within all that you are. Here are your three daily caring tips. One, when a racing thought pulls at you tonight, picture it as a train leaving the station without you. Two, before bed, breathe out longer than you breathe in. Just three rounds is enough to tell your body it's safe to rest. Three, if your mind starts listening tomorrow's problems, write one line down on paper. You do not have to carry it in your head as well. Your mind may still be talking when this ends, that's all right. You don't have to answer it tonight. You can rest underneath the noise. So bring your awareness back into the space around you. Wiggle your fingers and then your toes. Breathe in, hold and as you exhale, roll your shoulders and stretch out the arms. Injentely, open your eye. If this helped, my app anchored is there for you between episodes and if you know someone whose mind won't switch off either, sharing this with them, costing nothing and might mean everything to them. And a little update, anchored has passed the last hurdle for being released on Android, so I give it hopefully about a week and a half from now. Fingers crossed. So when it's out, do download it. If you're on iOS, it's there now. Go on, go and get it. Have a lovely day, truly. This is about your journey, about empowering all that you are and being your best version, just for you. For no one else, but to truly enjoy this miracle-calls life. Take care, my friend. I'll be here with you again tomorrow. So as always, smile, be positive and be kind.