Calm the Anxious Spiral

Welcome to this hypnotherapy session designed to help you calm down quickly and feel safe again. Before we begin, let's get you set up comfortably. You can be sitting or lying down — whichever feels most supportive right now. Let your hands rest naturally, either on your lap or at your sides. If you're sitting, feel your feet flat on the floor. If you're lying down, let your legs uncross and your body sink into the surface beneath you. Your eyes can be closed already, or you may close them now, gently and softly. This session is designed to work quickly. You don't need to do anything perfectly. You don't need to force relaxation or fight what you're feeling. In fact, this session works with whatever is happening in your body right now — even the panic, even the racing thoughts. All you need to do is listen. Your nervous system already knows how to calm itself. This session simply reminds it how. One important note: if at any point you feel the need to move, drink water, or attend to anything urgent, you are always free to do so. You are in control throughout this entire experience. Now, let's begin.

Place both of your hands flat on your chest, right over your heart. [5 second pause] Feel the warmth of your own hands against your body. [6 second pause] Feel your chest rising and falling beneath them. [7 second pause] Now, I want you to press just slightly — gently — and feel that pressure. [5 second pause] That pressure is real. That contact is real. You are here. You are safe. [7 second pause] Now take one slow breath in through your nose. [4 second pause] And let it out through your mouth. [6 second pause] Good. Again. Breathing in. [4 second pause] And out. [7 second pause] With every breath out, I want you to imagine the panic beginning to loosen its grip. [6 second pause] Not forced away. Not fought. Just... loosening. [8 second pause] Your hands are still on your chest. Feel your heartbeat. [6 second pause] It may be fast right now, and that's okay. Your heart is doing exactly what it's supposed to do. It's working for you. [7 second pause] Now, as you breathe out again, let your hands slide slowly down to your lap. [5 second pause] And as they land there, let your shoulders drop. [6 second pause] Let your jaw unclench. [5 second pause] Let the muscles around your eyes soften. [7 second pause] That's right. You're already beginning to settle. [8 second pause] Your body is already responding. You can feel it, can't you? [7 second pause] Something is already shifting. [8 second pause]

I want you to imagine, just for a moment, that you are standing at the edge of a very still lake. [6 second pause] The water is perfectly calm. Glassy and smooth. [7 second pause] The air around you is cool and gentle, just the right temperature. [6 second pause] There is no wind. No noise. Just stillness. [8 second pause] The sky above is a soft, dusky blue — that peaceful hour just after sunset when the world grows quiet. [7 second pause] You can feel the ground beneath your feet. Solid. Steady. Real. [8 second pause] And you notice something. The water reflects the sky perfectly. [6 second pause] Every ripple that once moved across the surface has gone still. [7 second pause] And you realize — that water is like your mind. [6 second pause] A moment ago, there were ripples. Waves. Motion. [7 second pause] But now, the surface is beginning to settle. [8 second pause] Not because you forced it. But because the storm has passed. [7 second pause] And in this stillness, you feel something you may not have expected. [6 second pause] Safety. [8 second pause] A deep, quiet sense that you are okay. [7 second pause] That you have always been okay. [9 second pause]

And now I'm going to count down from ten to one. [4 second pause] With each number, you will go deeper into this calm. Deeper into safety. Deeper into yourself. [5 second pause] Ten. [8 second pause] Letting the tension in your scalp release. [7 second pause] Nine. [9 second pause] The muscles around your eyes, your cheeks, your jaw — all softening now. [8 second pause] Eight. [9 second pause] Your neck and shoulders releasing any last trace of holding on. [8 second pause] Seven. [10 second pause] Your chest opening. Your breathing easy and slow. [8 second pause] Six. [10 second pause] Your arms heavy and warm, resting comfortably where they are. [9 second pause] Five. [10 second pause] Halfway down now. Deeper than before. The lake behind your eyes growing more still with every breath. [9 second pause] Four. [10 second pause] Your belly soft. Your hips heavy. Your whole lower body sinking into comfort. [9 second pause] Three. [12 second pause] Almost there. Deeper and safer with every exhale. [10 second pause] Two. [12 second pause] Nearly all the way down. Your mind quiet. Your body calm. [10 second pause] One. [15 second pause] Deep. Safe. Still. [15 second pause] That's right. [12 second pause]

And in this deep, quiet place, I want you to know something that is absolutely true. [7 second pause] Your nervous system did exactly what it was designed to do. [6 second pause] It tried to protect you. [7 second pause] And now, in this moment, it is learning something new. [8 second pause] It is learning that you are safe. [9 second pause] That the threat has passed, or was never as large as it felt. [8 second pause] Your body is incredibly intelligent. And right now, it is recalibrating. [9 second pause] With every breath you take, calm signals travel through your body. [7 second pause] Your heart rate is settling. [6 second pause] Your muscles are releasing. [7 second pause] Your mind is clearing. [9 second pause] And you are discovering something important — that you have the ability to return to calm. [8 second pause] No matter what triggered the spiral, no matter how fast it came on — you have the ability to come back to yourself. [9 second pause] You always have. [10 second pause] And with every session like this one, that ability grows stronger. [8 second pause] Faster. More automatic. [9 second pause] Your body is learning a new pattern. [7 second pause] Anxiety rises — and you breathe. [6 second pause] Panic starts — and you place your hands on your heart. [7 second pause] You feel the ground. You feel the contact. And you come back. [9 second pause] Quickly. Gently. Completely. [10 second pause] You are not broken. You are not out of control. [8 second pause] You are someone who feels deeply. And you are learning to navigate those feelings with grace. [9 second pause] Every time you return to calm, you prove to yourself that you can. [8 second pause] And that proof builds. Layer by layer. [9 second pause] Until calm becomes your default. Until safety becomes your home. [12 second pause]

Now, let your mind gently drift forward in time. [7 second pause] Imagine a moment in the coming days — perhaps a familiar situation, a busy environment, or a moment when stress begins to build. [8 second pause] And in this future moment, you notice something different. [7 second pause] You catch the very beginning of the spiral — early, before it builds. [8 second pause] And without even thinking, your hand moves to your chest. [6 second pause] You breathe. [7 second pause] And you feel the calm begin, right away. [9 second pause] Imagine how that feels. The quiet confidence of knowing you can handle this. [8 second pause] Now drift forward to another moment. [7 second pause] Perhaps a night when your mind is busy, when thoughts are moving fast. [8 second pause] And instead of fighting them, you simply breathe. [6 second pause] You remember the still lake. The quiet sky. [7 second pause] And the ripples settle. [9 second pause] And now, one more. [6 second pause] A moment when someone around you notices something different about you. [7 second pause] A steadiness. A groundedness. [6 second pause] You seem calm, they might say. You seem okay. [8 second pause] And you are. [10 second pause] Because you have learned that calm is not something that happens to you. [7 second pause] It is something you return to. [9 second pause] Again and again. [10 second pause]

In a moment, I'm going to count from one to five, and with each number, you'll gently return to full waking awareness. [5 second pause] Feeling refreshed, grounded, and calm. [6 second pause] One. [6 second pause] Beginning to become aware of the room around you. The sounds, the temperature, the surface beneath you. [7 second pause] Two. [7 second pause] A gentle energy returning to your body. Your fingers and toes beginning to wake. [7 second pause] Three. [7 second pause] Your mind clear and refreshed. A sense of calm settled deeply into your body. [6 second pause] Four. [7 second pause] Almost fully back now. Eyes beginning to feel ready to open. A quiet smile perhaps forming. [6 second pause] Five. [5 second pause] Eyes open, fully awake, fully present. [5 second pause] Welcome back. [5 second pause]

Take a moment before you move. [6 second pause] Notice how your body feels right now compared to when we began. [7 second pause] That shift — that is real. That is yours. [8 second pause] Whenever you need to return to this calm, you can. [6 second pause] Simply place your hands on your heart, take one slow breath, and remember the still lake. [7 second pause] That is your anchor now. Simple, powerful, and always available. [8 second pause] You did something important today. You chose to come back to yourself. [7 second pause] And that choice gets easier every time you make it. [8 second pause] Take good care of yourself. Be gentle with yourself today. [6 second pause] And know that calm is not far away — it lives inside you, always. [7 second pause] Until next time, take care.