Overwhelm: 7-minute self-compassion meditation, on your commute

About this practice

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 7 minutes of self-compassion for overwhelm, on your commute. A guided session of about 7 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: overwhelm

Overwhelm is too many open loops at once. The mind cannot prioritise while aroused, so the pile stays a pile.

It tends to show up as:

• Not knowing where to start
• Freezing rather than working
• Feeling behind on everything at once

You cannot sort the pile while the alarm is ringing. Settling the body first is what makes choosing possible.

Doing this on your commute

• Headphones on, eyes open or closed depending on your comfort
• Keep one part of your attention on your stop
• Do it standing if sitting is not possible — nobody is watching

Commuting time is already dead time. Nothing is being given up.

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. 0:00Notice the temperature of the air on the backs of your hands.
2. 0:13You are allowed to have a hard time without earning it first.
3. 0:26Notice the pause at the end of each breath. It's short, but it's there.
4. 0:40Let the last hour go on its own. You can pick it up again afterwards.
5. 0:54Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
6. 1:07Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
7. 1:20Feel your face. It's probably softer than it was five minutes ago.
8. 1:33Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
9. 1:45Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
10. 1:57When the too-much feeling arrives, name it once, quietly, and go back to the breath. Naming is not fixing, and that is fine.
11. 2:15Imagine the noise of a hundred demands as a room you can walk out of for a minute. The room will still be there.
12. 2:34Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
13. 2:46Take the next breath slowly.
14. 2:55Let the breath be shallow if shallow is what your body wants.
15. 3:08Notice your breathing, without changing it.
16. 3:18Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
17. 3:29I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
18. 3:42Say it once, plainly: this is hard, and I am allowed to find it hard.
19. 3:56If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
20. 4:10Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
21. 4:24Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
22. 4:35You have been carrying the pile of everything at once for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
23. 4:56You are allowed to be unimpressed by the too-much feeling. Indifference is a legitimate response.
24. 5:10Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
25. 5:22If nothing much is happening, that's not a problem. Nothing much is often the point.
26. 5:36Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled.
27. 5:48Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
28. 5:59Put a hand where the feeling is strongest. Warmth and pressure are the oldest kind of reassurance.
29. 6:14Take a moment to notice you did this for yourself. That's not nothing.
30. 6:27Come back slowly. There's no prize for finishing fast.

Questions people ask

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