Some days you don't feel ill enough to stop, but you don't feel well enough to feel like yourself.
That flat, grey, running on empty feeling, the one that doesn't quite have a proper name.
That's where we are today, and that's exactly where this is for.
Welcome. Let's just breathe.
This is Calming Anxiety. I'm Martin Hewlett, a clinical hypnotherapist and a former frontline paramedic.
I've worked in high pressure emergencies where everything demanded that I kept going, regardless of how I felt.
And I can tell you, from experience, some of the hardest days aren't the dramatic ones.
They're the ones where you feel a little bit blur, a bit deflated, not broken, just not quite right.
And today, this is for that moment.
Right now, I'm on antibiotics, an insect bite.
Wow, what a reaction. My whole leg inflamed cellulitis, and it's knocked me back.
So this one, it's not just for you, my friend. It's for me as well.
Let's begin. Let's find that quiet, comfortable place where you can sit or lie down,
whatever feels the most supportive right now.
And if it's safe, gently let your eyes close.
We're going to start with the vagus nerve reset.
Your biological off switch for the low flat, deflated nervous system.
It's beautifully simple.
Four counts in through the nose, hold the two, and then the long, slow six count out, always through the mouth.
That extended out breath activates your parasympathetic nervous system.
It tells your body we're safe, we can soften.
Ready with me in two, three, four, hold two, and out.
Two, three, four, five, six.
Good. Let's do that again. Ready with me.
In, two, three, four, pause, two, and relax.
Two, three, four, five, six.
One more time. This one really let the out breath go.
Let your shoulders drop away from your ears, relax the muscles on your forehead as we exhale.
In, two, three, four, hold two, exhale, two, three, four, five, six.
Let your breathing now find its own rhythm, natural, easy, yours.
And in this moment of stillness, of reuniting your mind, body and soul, in true mindful harmony,
I'd like you to imagine a quiet afternoon, late in the day, the light now soft, golden and low,
the kind that asks nothing of you.
You're sitting somewhere simple, maybe a bench in a garden, a chair by a window,
somewhere with no demands and no agenda.
Outside, the world is carrying on, but it feels far away, like background noise that doesn't reach you here.
And you notice something, just for a moment, you don't have to be anywhere, you don't have to butchuse anything.
You don't have to feel better on cue.
You're just here, allowed to feel exactly as you do.
A blurred day doesn't mean a broken day. It means your system is recalibrating.
It means something in you is asking for gentleness.
So we're going to give it exactly that.
Feel the surface beneath you now, solid, brilliant.
Supporting every bit of your weight without asking you to hold any of it yourself.
Let your shoulders drop a bit more. Let your jaw soften.
Let your hands rest, open and easy.
Imagine now that with every out breath, the heaviness that you've been carrying today gets just a little lighter.
Not gone, you're not performing wellness here, just lighter.
As if the day is gently pulling down some of what you've been holding.
The light outside deepens, golden, amber, warm.
And somewhere in your body, something quietly settles.
This is enough for being here is enough.
Resting is enough.
You don't have to rise above today. You just have to move through it gently.
And within this moment, let these words land.
See them and feel them.
I am allowed to feel low without it meaning something is wrong.
My body is doing its best today and so am I.
I do not have to earn my rest.
This feeling is temporary. I have moved through difficult days before.
I am gentler with myself today than the world asks me to be.
I just float now, gently, no effort.
Feel that soft golden warmth around you.
Not performance, not pressure, just the simple permission to be a little still.
Breathe.
Let the day be what it is. Let yourself be where you are.
And know that choosing this 10 minutes of restoration over 10 more minutes of pushing,
it's not weakness, it's wisdom.
I am allowed to feel low without it meaning something is wrong.
My body is doing its best today and so am I.
I do not have to earn my rest.
Within this moment of calm, within this sanctuary of your consciousness,
take with you today's three daily caring tips and find your moment of calm.
One, name it without protestorizing.
When you feel blech, your brain often tries to find a reason and that search makes it worse.
Instead, try saying quietly to yourself.
I just feel low today, that's allowed, naming it simply stops the spiral before it starts.
Two, do one very small act of care.
Not a big reset, not a plan, just one thing.
A warm drink, five minutes outside, a song that you love.
Low energy days respond to small kindnesses, not grand gestures.
One, small act of care signals to your nervous system that you haven't abandoned yourself.
And three, lower the bar on purpose.
Today is not today to measure yourself against your best days.
Lower the bar deliberately.
Do less than you think you should and then quietly notice the world didn't fall apart.
That's important data.
You are allowed to be human.
Now gently my friend, bring your awareness back.
Wiggle your fingers and toes.
Take one long easy breath in and as you exhale, stretch out the muscles in your arms and legs.
And when you're ready, whenever that is, open your eyes.
You made a good choice today, choosing ten minutes of gentleness over ten more minutes of grinding.
That matters, because you matter.
If you'd like to go further, my online course is waiting for you at calminganxiety.fm.
Five, focus clinical hypnotherapy sessions to help you break the cycle of anxiety.
And it's there whenever you're ready.
Thank you for being here.
Smile often my friend.
Positive thoughts.
And then to your beautiful self.
Be kind.