Grounding Meditation for Anxiety: Get Out of Your Head

Nikki (00:00) Welcome to it's both guided. Welcome to it's both guided meditations for anxiety, emotional regulation and real life transitions. Whatever you're feeling right now is allowed to be here. We're not fixing anything today. We're just finding a little awareness and steadiness. Okay, let's begin. If you're in a place to do so, I'd like you to close your eyes and start by taking a couple deep breaths in. If you're listening to this while you're on a walk, while you're driving, or while you're doing something that needs a little bit of your attention, that's okay too. Instead, I want you to focus just on your breathing. Breathe in through your nose. and hold it at the top for a few seconds. And then I want you to slowly exhale through your mouth for longer than it took you to inhale. I want you to do this a few more times. As you do this, want you to feel your body start to relax. If there's any part of your body that is tense, I want you to focus on that. and just start to release your muscles. Maybe you're squinting your eyes shut very hard. Just release them. Maybe you notice that your hand is gripping the wheel really tight, or you're making fists and you can feel your nails digging into your skin. Maybe you feel a knot in your stomach. Whatever it is, slowly let go. and take some deep breaths. You're probably feeling really scattered right now. Maybe you're feeling jittery. Maybe your brain, your mind feels like a ping pong machine with thoughts bouncing around constantly and no end in sight to stop. Maybe you've had a tough conversation with somebody and it didn't go the way that you wanted. And now you're ruminating over and over again on what you said, how you said it, what they said, how they said it. Maybe you found yourself doom-scrolling on social media when you have a million other things you could be doing. Maybe you find yourself disconnecting from how you're actually feeling. disconnecting or disassociating, removing yourself from feeling anything heavy or anything deep. whether it be pleasurable or not. Before we focus on helping ground ourselves out of our minds and into our bodies and into our surroundings, first I want you to take some time and think about what you're feeling beneath those things. if you're feeling this internal tornado. this internal overwhelm. I want you to think about why. It's trying to tell you something, so I want you to listen. Why are you feeling this way? Now I want you to try to name exactly what it is you're feeling. Are you feeling vulnerable? Embarrassed? scared. insecure. Angry. frustrated. worried. excited. or something else. What are you feeling? so many times when we're stuck in our head. We can't stop our thoughts. When we're doomscrolling. When we're doomscrolling. When we're dissociating from what's happening around us. Refusing to let ourselves feel. All of these things are ways that we are trying to escape a feeling of something. They are not typically primary feeling. They are usually something that happens as the result of another feeling. So keep digging. And then I want you to say either in your mind or out loud what you're feeling. I want you to acknowledge it. I'm feeling scattered. I'm actually feeling scared. I find myself dissociating from how I feel. but I'm actually insecure and scared to be vulnerable with myself and those around me. Once you've identified what you're feeling, whether it's one thing or more often than not, multiple things, I just want you to take another couple deep breaths. and just welcome those feelings. We're not trying to get rid of them, we're not trying to make them go away, we're just sitting with now that we've identified what you're feeling. I want you to scan your body. and notice where this shows up inside your body. Do you feel it in your stomach? in your neck. your head. your hands. or somewhere else. Wherever you feel it, want you to focus on that area and intentionally start relaxing and releasing those muscles. It can be hard to notice, acknowledge. to allow. and to even embrace what we are really feeling underneath the surface. It takes a lot of practice and intention. And many times when we find ourselves doing the other things, getting stuck in our head, ruminating, doom-scrolling. delaying the things that need to be done. We're trying to escape. but many times the things that help us escape are just temporary. They don't help us move forward. They just help us escape momentarily. and they're not bad they're just a distraction Sometimes we need a distraction for a minute. goal is always to come out of the distraction and back into ourselves. so that we can keep moving forward. Now I want you to think about the thing that you are trying to escape. Was it a feeling? Is it a conversation you need to have? Is it a task you need to do? a decision you need to make. Or do you just need a break? Once you've identified the thing that you were trying to escape, I want you to sit with it for a few minutes. and just ask yourself, what do I need? What do I need right now? Do you need time? time to think and process. you need silence. stillness. Or do you need movement? activity, energy. Maybe you need connection. conversation. social interaction. Maybe you need fun. Whatever it is. It's okay. It's okay that you are trying to escape. It's okay that you're here now. It's okay that you have something going on. Once you've identified what it is you need. I just want you to say how you're feeling and what you need. Maybe say it a couple of times. ⁓ Take a few more deep breaths. Feel the difference in your body and your breathing now versus when you started. and then repeat this with me. I am safe. There is nothing wrong with me. I'm just human. Say it as many times as you need to. I know it might feel silly. might feel a little ridiculous. it's important. and even saying the words in your mind or out loud. calms your body. calms your nervous system, calms your mind. I am safe. There is nothing wrong with me. I'm just human. As we come near the end of the meditation, I want you to commit to trying to find time today for whatever it is that you need. If it's not something you can do today, commit to yourself to doing it soon. Alright, real life is still here, but you don't have to rush back into it. Before you jump back into your day, take one more deep breath. and just notice what feels even 1 % different. Not fixed, just different. If you want more support beyond this meditation, the It's Both podcast has longer conversations for the messy middle. you should be proud of yourself for showing up today. Until next time.