15-minute self-compassion meditation for health anxiety, before bedtime

About this practice

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 15 minutes of self-compassion for health anxiety, before bedtime. A guided session of about 15 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: health anxiety

Health anxiety runs on a loop of scanning and checking. Each check briefly relieves the fear and then strengthens it, because the relief teaches the brain that checking was necessary.

It tends to show up as:

• Repeatedly checking a symptom or a pulse
• Searching symptoms late at night
• Reassurance that only helps for an hour

Attention moved out of the head and into the body as a whole reduces scanning. You are not arguing with the worry, just giving it less to grip.

Doing this before sleep

• Dim the lights and put the phone out of reach
• Do it in bed if that helps you stay there
• Let yourself fall asleep rather than finishing it

Checking anything afterwards undoes most of it. Let this be the last thing.

How self-compassion works

Self-compassion practice changes the tone of the inner voice rather than the content of the thoughts. It uses the same warmth and steadiness you would offer a friend, applied without requiring you to have earned it.

• Use the words you would actually say to someone you love
• Ask what you need, not what you deserve
• A hand on the chest or belly gives warmth and pressure a place to land

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Start by hearing the furthest sound you can find.
2. 0:11Notice the tone you are using on yourself. If it would wound a friend, it is not the truth.
3. 0:27Settle into the fact that for the next few minutes, nothing is required of you.
4. 0:41Let your body feel heavier than it did a minute ago. Let the chair or the floor take it.
5. 0:57Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
6. 1:12Let your breathing find the rhythm it uses when you're almost asleep.
7. 1:25Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
8. 1:37Notice your ribs on both sides. Wide, not squeezed.
9. 1:48Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
10. 1:59Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
11. 2:11Feel your knees. They're just hinges, but they've worked hard.
12. 2:23Say to yourself: this is uncomfortable, and I can stay with it for one more breath. Then take that breath.
13. 2:40If the habit of checking for something wrong starts telling you a story, let the story finish without you adding to it.
14. 2:58Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
15. 3:10You have been carrying the fear attached to each new symptom for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
16. 3:31If the worry about what your body might be telling you is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
17. 3:50Now the right shoulder. Let it be a centimetre lower than it was.
18. 4:03A few seconds more.
19. 4:12Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
20. 4:26Notice your toes, starting with the big one on the left.
21. 4:38Take the next breath slowly.
22. 4:47Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
23. 5:00Let your throat soften. There's nothing to swallow right now.
24. 5:12No need to open your eyes yet.
25. 5:22Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
26. 5:35Notice your shins, which take small knocks all day and never complain.
27. 5:48Stay here a little longer.
28. 5:57Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
29. 6:11Notice the small movement in your belly when you breathe.
30. 6:23Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
31. 6:33Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled.
32. 6:45Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
33. 6:55Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
34. 7:06A short silence. Let it be empty.
35. 7:16Notice where your body is still holding something. Leave it alone.
36. 7:28Let the exhale fall out rather than pushing it.
37. 7:39Let the quiet do its work.
38. 7:49Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
39. 8:01Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
40. 8:12Whatever you are about to say to yourself, imagine saying it to someone you love. Use those words.
41. 8:28Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
42. 8:42Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
43. 8:54Say it once, plainly: this is hard, and I am allowed to find it hard.
44. 9:08You might be planning something. Notice the planning, then come back.
45. 9:20No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
46. 9:31Put a hand where the feeling is strongest. Warmth and pressure are the oldest kind of reassurance.
47. 9:46Notice how quickly your mind labels things: good, bad, boring, nice.
48. 9:58Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
49. 10:09You are allowed to have a hard time without earning it first.
50. 10:22If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
51. 10:35Follow one full breath from the moment it starts to the moment it ends.
52. 10:49Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
53. 11:00Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the habit of checking for something wrong is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
54. 11:20When the fear attached to each new symptom presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
55. 11:40Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
56. 11:53Imagine the worry about what your body might be telling you as a room you can walk out of for a minute. The room will still be there.
57. 12:13Think of the habit of checking for something wrong as a guest that arrived without knocking. You can let it stand in the hallway.
58. 12:32If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
59. 12:46If you're irritated, that's allowed. Irritation is just weather.
60. 12:57Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
61. 13:10Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
62. 13:21Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
63. 13:32The question is not what you deserve. It is what you need, right now, in this moment.
64. 13:47Let this one be unhurried.
65. 13:56Come back at your own speed. The room will wait.
66. 14:08Let your jaw, shoulders and hands be loose as you finish.
67. 14:20Just the breath, still.

Questions people ask

Meditation is a practice, not a treatment. If you are dealing with ongoing distress, please also reach out to a professional.