By: Lauran Hahn, LMHC

If you’re exhausted from feeling anxious and nervous, you’re not alone. So many people struggle with anxiety. One of the many tools I use with my clients is learning a guided meditation practice. Practicing mindfulness and meditation helps to stimulate the part of the brain that can discern the difference between an anxiety trigger and an actual threat of danger.

For people that struggle with anxiety, their nervous system is responding to a trigger rather than an actual threat. Having daily mindfulness practices helps teach the brain to know the difference between a trigger and a threat and to respond appropriately, all of which soothes anxiety and helps you feel calm.

Following a Guided Meditation Practice is a Way to Soothe Anxiety and Calm Down.

Join me in a guided mediation practice for anxiety below.

The Script for Guided Meditation Practice for Anxiety

Hello and welcome to the Practice of the Container.

This practice is helpful for containing difficult thoughts, emotions, memories, feelings, body sensations, or anything that is particularly disturbing. This is a useful practice if you are in therapy for containing difficulties either in between sessions. Or in session when you stumble upon difficult emotions, thoughts, or feelings.

So, to begin…

First, become aware of your breathing. Not doing anything to change your breathing at this point just noticing your breath. The natural inhale…And exhale. Just becoming aware.

And next, just do a little scan of your body. And notice if you are holding anywhere. If you have any tension or breath holding. Or tightening anywhere in your body…And just begin to consciously let those places go. Letting go of tension. Of holding, of tightening, or clenching. And just allow yourself to breathe into those places. And intentionally let go…

Next, we are going to begin the process of creating a container.

So, the first thing I would like you to do is imagine a container. That is big enough to hold difficult thoughts, emotions, memories, body sensations, or images. And with this container, I want you to imagine that there is a lid. A lid that can seal off these difficulties. And a way to keep the difficulties in, without them getting out.

But also a way for you to open them, open the container…So that you can access them if you need to in the future. So some people have the idea of a chest.  Or a safe, or a tupperware container. Or some sort of box or container that they can imagine putting the difficulties inside. So, once you have this container in your mind’s eye... I‘d like you to practice seeing yourself opening the container and closing the container. Just to kind of get used to the imagery in your mind’s eye…

Next, I would like you to imagine a swimming pool

On the top of the swimming pool, a lot of debris has been collected. I want you to imagine taking a pool skimmer and skimming the top of the pool, collecting all of the debris into the pool skimmer. And I want you to imagine emptying that debris into the container. And then closing the lid and just setting the container to the side. 

And now what I want you to imagine is at the end of each day that you take a moment to allow all of the disturbances that happened throughout the day. Whether it's traffic, an argument, a difficulty with a kid. Or any particular challenge that you had throughout the day... I want you to imagine as if it is just like the debris that accumulates at the top of the pool. It’s kind of like that for the difficulty that is accumulated at the end of the day.

And I want you to imagine taking that pool skimmer and skimming up all of that difficulty. You may have to skim through a couple of times. And collecting all of that debris and difficulty and shaking it off into the container, closing the lid to the container, and putting the container to the side. And knowing that in the morning, or at another time, or during your therapy session you can come back and pull the disturbing things out of the container if you need them but if you don’t, you can leave them in the container until a later time.

So let’s just take a few more moments here… to… take a few deep breaths. Inhaling in through the nose…exhaling out through the mouth. Inhaling...and exhaling… Inhaling… and exhaling…

Start Anxiety Therapy in Orlando, FL

Guided meditation is just one of the ways you can soothe your anxiety. Our team of specialized therapists can help you find other ways to soothe your anxiety and overcome your symptoms. At Mindful Living Counseling Orlando, we understand anxiety is just your nervous system responding trigger. So, together we will soothe your nervous system and help you how to cope with anxiety triggers. To get started with one of our anxiety therapists:

1. Fill out our New Client Consultation Form

2. Schedule a consultation call with our Client Care Coordinator

3. Start soothing your anxiety today!

Not Quite Ready for Anxiety Therapy?

Our highly trained team will help you gain tools that will help you overcome any anxiety to stress you may be feeling but if you’re not ready, we understand. Take your time and reach out when it feels right. In the meantime, feel free to read the articles below.

Additional Anxiety Resources

Anxiety Therapy Orlando: Digital Wellness

An Anxiety Therapist Shares Everything You Need to Know About Anxiety

Guided Meditation for Anxiety: Five-Sense Grounding

How to Deal With Stress

Other Therapy Services Offered at Mindful Living Counseling in Orlando, FL

Mindful Living Counseling Services offers more than anxiety therapy in Orlando, Florida. Anxiety may be only one of your struggles. That is why at Mindful Living Counseling Services we offer a variety of therapy services with our caring therapists. Our therapy services include Trauma therapy, EMDR therapy, Eating Disorder Therapy, Toxic Relationship Therapy, and Teen Therapy. We also offer Guided Meditations. This way we can help clients feel calm in their body and mind and find peace within themselves. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out! Or, join our newsletter to access more free meditations.