5-minute letting go meditation for health anxiety, after a horrible day

About this practice

A 5-minute letting go session for health anxiety, after a horrible day. No app, no account — press start. A guided session of about 5 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 after a bad day

• Do not review the day during it — that is what tomorrow is for
• Something physical first, then this
• Keep it short and end it deliberately

A bad day does not need a verdict. Closing it without a post-mortem is allowed.

How letting go works

Letting go is about loosening grip rather than dropping things. It works on the effort attached to a problem — the holding, rehearsing and bracing — which is separable from the problem itself.

• Pick one thing you are gripping and loosen a single finger
• Release the effort with the exhale, not the issue
• Set down temporarily; you can pick it up again after

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00If you're lying down, let the mattress hold all of you. You can stop holding yourself up.
2. 0:15Nothing here needs to be efficient.
3. 0:25Imagine your thoughts as traffic on a road you're standing beside. You don't have to flag any of it down.
4. 0:42Let your sense of the room shrink down to just your body and the surface you're on.
5. 0:57Let the breath get soft, the way it goes when someone is reading beside you.
6. 1:11Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
7. 1:27Feel the middle of your back, the part that never gets attention.
8. 1:40Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
9. 1:51Feel your upper back against whatever is behind it.
10. 2:02No need to open your eyes yet.
11. 2:12If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
12. 2:25If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
13. 2:39Give the worry about what your body might be telling you a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
14. 2:59Say to yourself: this is uncomfortable, and I can stay with it for one more breath. Then take that breath.
15. 3:16Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
16. 3:27If you catch yourself fighting the fear attached to each new symptom, that is worth noticing. The fight usually costs more than the feeling.
17. 3:46Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
18. 4:00No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
19. 4:11Let this be easy, if easy is available.
20. 4:22Before you open your eyes, notice how you feel compared to the start. It might be small.
21. 4:37Take the next breath slowly.

Questions people ask

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