Anxiety, when left unchecked, can fill the mind with fear, leading to negative thoughts and beliefs that can quickly become difficult to control. Bad habits tend to form as a coping mechanism, like finger biting, hair pulling, lip biting, or scratching. Our lifestyle can also make things worse, like drinking too much caffeine, taking or smoking nicotine, or consuming a lot of alcohol.
It’s important to find healthy ways to cope with anxiety. Whether you’re feeling general anxiety, work-related anxiety, death anxiety or relationship-based anxiety, here are some specific meditations you can use when your anxious feelings start to overwhelm you.
Meditations For General Anxiety
As someone who has dealt with general anxiety for most of my life, I can say for certain that without daily meditation, I’d still be in a bad mental space. General anxiety is tough to deal with because you can’t always explain why you’re anxious. Many times it’s over something trivial.
For example, while I was driving to my friends house, I got so anxious thinking I left my hair iron on that I started to bite my nails uncontrollably. My heart rate increased, I started to sweat, and I got this knot in my stomach that wouldn’t seem to go away. My thoughts spiraled so much I could barely focus on the road. I wasn’t present. My body went into fight or flight mode. My immediate anxious thought was that if I had left it on, the house is going to burn down. But my anxiety clouded the fact that I lived with my brother! He was home at the time, so all I had to do was ask him to go upstairs to check the bathroom for me. I only realized this once I pulled over to the side of the road and meditated on my feelings. Meditation clears the mind of unhelpful, anxious thoughts.
There are a handful of meditation techniques you can try if you’ve found yourself in a similar situation. Here are a few.
Mindfulness Meditation
This type of meditation involves paying attention to the present moment and accepting it without judgment. It can help reduce anxiety by helping you become more aware of your thoughts and emotions, and learn to respond to them in a more positive way.
- Find a quiet and comfortable place to sit or lie down.
- Close your eyes and focus your attention on your breath.
- Breathe in deeply through your nose, and exhale through your mouth.
- As you inhale, say to yourself “in” and as you exhale, say to yourself “out.”
- Bring your attention to your body, starting from the top of your head and slowly moving down to the soles of your feet. Notice any sensations you may feel, such as tension or relaxation, without trying to change them.
- Now, focus on your thoughts and emotions, notice them without judgment, just observe them as they come and go, like clouds in the sky.
- If your mind wanders, simply notice the thoughts that came up and gently guide your focus back to your breath.
- Continue this meditation for 5-10 minutes or longer if you wish.
- When you’re finished, take a moment to notice how you feel.
Breath Awareness Meditation
This type of meditation focuses on the breath and helps you become more aware of their breathing pattern. It can help reduce anxiety by promoting relaxation and reducing stress.
- Find a quiet and comfortable place to sit or lie down.
- Close your eyes and focus your attention on your breath.
- Breathe in deeply through your nose, and exhale through your mouth.
- As you inhale, count silently to yourself “one.”
- As you exhale, count silently to yourself “two.”
- Continue breathing in and out, counting each breath as you go.
- If your mind wanders, simply notice the thoughts that came up and gently guide your focus back to your breath.
- Continue this meditation for 5-10 minutes or longer if you wish.
- When you’re finished, take a moment to notice how you feel.
Body Scan Meditation
This type of meditation involves paying attention to different parts of the body and can help you become more aware of physical sensations. It can help reduce anxiety by promoting relaxation and reducing stress.
- Find a quiet and comfortable place where you will not be disturbed. Sit in a comfortable position on the floor or in a chair with your back straight.
- Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
- Begin to focus on your breath. As you inhale, mentally say the word “peace” and as you exhale, mentally say the word “relax”.
- As you continue to focus on your breath, imagine a peaceful scene in your mind. This can be a beach, a forest, or any place that brings you feelings of calm and peace.
- While you focus on the peaceful scene, begin to scan your body for any areas of tension. Starting at the top of your head, work your way down to your toes. As you find areas of tension, imagine a warm, soothing light flowing into that area and releasing the tension.
- Continue to focus on your breath, the peaceful scene and releasing tension for about 10-15 minutes.
- When you are finished, take a few deep breaths and slowly open your eyes.
Loving-Kindness Meditation
This type of meditation involves focusing on love and compassion towards oneself and others, it can help to reduce anxiety by promoting positive emotions and reducing negative thoughts.
- Find a quiet and comfortable place to sit or lie down.
- Close your eyes and focus your attention on your breath.
- Begin by silently repeating the phrases “may I be happy, may I be healthy, may I be safe, may I be at ease” while focusing on yourself and your own well-being.
- Then, think of someone you love and silently repeat the same phrases for them, “may [name] be happy, may [name] be healthy, may [name] be safe, may [name] be at ease.”
- Next, think of someone you have neutral feelings towards and silently repeat the phrases for them, “may [name] be happy, may [name] be healthy, may [name] be safe, may [name] be at ease.”
- Finally, think of someone you may have difficulty with, and silently repeat the phrases for them, “may [name] be happy, may [name] be healthy, may [name] be safe, may [name] be at ease.”
- Continue to focus on the phrases and the people in your mind for several minutes.
- When you’re finished, take a moment to notice how you feel.
Meditation For Work-Related Anxiety
Unless you’re one of the lucky few, work may often bring you stress or anxiety for one reason or another. It can manifest in both physical and emotional symptoms and can affect an individual’s overall well-being. Work-related anxiety can be caused by a variety of factors, including:
- High workload or job demands
- Time pressure or deadlines
- Lack of control or autonomy over one’s work
- Poor management or lack of support from colleagues
- Fear of job loss or financial insecurity
- Conflicting or unclear job expectations
Work-related anxiety can lead to a variety of physical symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, and muscle tension, as well as emotional symptoms such as feelings of worry, irritability, and depression. It can also negatively affect personal life, leading to problems such as sleep disturbances, relationship issues, and a general decrease in overall quality of life.
It’s important to take control of your anxious feelings and thoughts. You can use this meditation practice daily, especially before work or when you’re feeling anxious about a specific task or situation.
Also, if you use Insight Timer, check out this amazing 10 day work-anxiety course that my favorite meditation teacher, Linda Hall, offers. I’ve personally taken it and it helped me SO MUCH. She even left me a 10 minute personalized audio reply to a question I had asked.
- Start by finding a quiet and comfortable place where you won’t be disturbed. Sit in a comfortable position on the floor or in a chair with your back straight.
- Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
- Begin to focus on your breath. As you inhale, mentally say the word “calm” and as you exhale, mentally say the word “relax”.
- Bring to your mind a specific task or situation at work that is causing you anxiety. Imagine yourself successfully completing that task and visualize yourself feeling calm and in control.
- Take a few deep breaths and imagine a bright light surrounding you, washing away any negative thoughts or feelings of anxiety.
- Repeat a mantra or affirmation such as “I am capable” or “I am in control” to yourself as you continue to focus on your breath.
- Continue to focus on your breath, the visualization, and the mantra for about 5-10 minutes.
- When you are finished, take a few deep breaths and slowly open your eyes.
Meditation For Death Anxiety
Death anxiety, also known as thanatophobia, is a natural fear that many people experience at some point in their lives. It can manifest as a fear of one’s own death or the death of a loved one. Meditation can be an effective tool for managing death anxiety. Here is one meditation technique that can help:
- Start by finding a quiet and comfortable place where you won’t be disturbed. Sit in a comfortable position on the floor or in a chair with your back straight.
- Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
- Begin to focus on your breath. As you inhale, mentally say the word “peace” and as you exhale, mentally say the word “relax”.
- Bring to your mind the image of a loved one who has passed away (or you can picture yourself). Imagine yourself surrounded by a sense of love and peacefulness as you remember them.
- Take a few deep breaths and imagine a warm, soothing light flowing through your body, releasing any feelings of anxiety or fear.
- Continue to focus on your breath and the visualization for about 10-15 minutes.
- When you are finished, take a few deep breaths and slowly open your eyes.
This meditation practice can be done daily to help reduce death anxiety and promote feelings of peace and acceptance. Additionally, it’s important to talk to a therapist or counselor if you’re experiencing severe anxiety related to death, and seek support from loved ones.
Two of my favorite books on the topic of death from a Buddhist perspective is The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying and How We Live is How We Die.
Meditation For Decision-Making Anxiety
Fear and self-doubt can paralyze our decision-making abilities, making it difficult to even decide on what to wear for the day, let alone any life-altering ones. I recently tried this meditation because I was faced with the choice of staying at my comfortable job or taking a risk for another career-advancing opportunity. It helped me, so I hope it can help you, too!
- Sit or lie down and direct your attention to your breath. Breathe in to the count of ten, hold for 2-3 seconds, then breathe out to the count of ten. Do this a few times. This will begin to reduce your anxiety. Allow any thought, good or bad, to pass by. Don’t judge the thought, just let it be.
- Once you have control of your breath, let yourself feel some of the fear. Notice the parts of your body that “light up.” Maybe you feel a knot in your stomach. Wherever you feel the fear physically, breathe into it. Do this for a while and the intensity of your fear should begin to decrease.
- Now, work with your mind. Ask yourself, “What is it that I fear will happen if I don’t make the correct choice?” Notice what your mind says in response, and note the assumption that there is a right choice.
- Allow yourself to go deeper. Realistically imagine what the best case and worst case scenario could be for each option. When imagining these scenarios, remember that many decisions are not final and can be altered at a later time. For example, say you have to make the decision of staying in your home town or moving to another state. If you decide to move and don’t like it, you can make the decision to move back.
Meditation For Illness or Injury Anxiety
Let’s face it: being sick sucks. When we are sick or injured it reminds us of our mortality and limitations. We’re so used to being able to have the energy to get through our everyday lives that, when faced with a sudden illness (like COVID), we start to fear the worst. We may wonder when or if we will ever feel better. We may start to fear losing our jobs for taking time off to rest. We may worry about how we’ll be able to take care of the kids or pets. Our thoughts may soon start to spiral into total negativity, making us feel even worse than we already do! That’s never a good thing. Try this exercise below to help manage those thoughts and feelings.
- Sit or lie down. Find your breath and follow it for 1-3 minutes.
- Now, take inventory of your illness or injury and take mental notes regarding what you know about it and your emotional reaction to the situation. Do this for a few minutes.
- Be mindful of any worry, fear, or anxiety that starts to arise when thinking about your illness or injury. See if you can sit with those feelings for a while. Remember not to judge, just notice the feelings.
- As each emotions comes to pass, recognize and accept it. For example, let’s say you’re feeling a lot of anger. Sit with that feeling and visualize it (I usually imagine my feelings in some sort of color, but everyone is different). Say to your feeling, mentally or aloud, “I understand and recognize you. It’s okay to be angry.”
Meditation For Relationship Anxiety
Relationship anxiety can manifest in both physical and emotional symptoms and can affect an individual’s overall well-being. Relationship anxiety can be caused by a variety of factors, including:
- Fear of rejection or abandonment
- Difficulty trusting others
- Difficulty with intimacy or vulnerability
- Insecurity in the relationship
- Difficulty with commitment
- History of past relationship trauma
Relationship anxiety can lead to a variety of physical symptoms such as muscle tension, insomnia, and stomach problems, as well as emotional symptoms such as feelings of worry, jealousy, and insecurity. It can also affect an individual’s personal and professional life, leading to problems such as difficulty with communication, problems at work, and a general decrease in overall quality of life.
You can use this meditation practice daily, especially before interacting with your partner or when you’re feeling anxious about a specific situation. Additionally, it’s important to communicate openly and honestly with your partner, and seek support from a therapist or counselor if needed.
- Start by finding a quiet and comfortable place where you won’t be disturbed. Sit in a comfortable position on the floor or in a chair with your back straight.
- Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
- Bring to your mind a specific situation or interaction with your partner that is causing you anxiety. Imagine yourself communicating clearly and calmly in that situation.
- Take a few deep breaths and imagine a bright light surrounding you and your partner, filling the space between you with love and understanding.
- Repeat a mantra or affirmation such as “I am loved” or “I am safe” to yourself as you continue to focus on your breath.
- Continue to focus on your breath, the visualization, and the mantra for about 5-10 minutes.
- When you are finished, take a few deep breaths and slowly open your eyes.
If you’re looking for something that’s more guided, check out my list of free guided meditation videos.
