Self-compassion for being present: 5 minutes, when the news hits hard

About this practice

When being present shows up when the news hits hard, this 5-minute self-compassion session gives you somewhere to put it down. A guided session of about 5 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: being present

Life happens in the present while attention is busy elsewhere. Nothing is missing except the noticing.

It tends to show up as:

• Days blurring together
• Feeling absent from your own week
• Only registering moments in photographs

Sensory attention is the shortest route back. Sound, contact and breath are always in the present.

Doing this after bad news

• Do not make any decisions during it
• Let it be simple — you do not need to process anything today
• Tell one person where you are, even briefly

The first hours after bad news are not for planning. Deliberately doing nothing useful is the right move.

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. 0:00Check your hands. Are they doing anything? Let them stop.
2. 0:12Whatever you are about to say to yourself, imagine saying it to someone you love. Use those words.
3. 0:28You can think about other things. When you notice, come back. That's the whole practice.
4. 0:42We'll work through this slowly. If you lose the thread, the thread will wait.
5. 0:56Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
6. 1:08Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
7. 1:22Notice your ears, which mostly just receive things.
8. 1:33Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
9. 1:44Notice where your body is still holding something. Leave it alone.
10. 1:56Let it be this simple.
11. 2:05Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
12. 2:17Put a hand where the feeling is strongest. Warmth and pressure are the oldest kind of reassurance.
13. 2:32Your mind will leave about a hundred times. Come back about a hundred times.
14. 2:46Nothing about the life happening while you worry has to be explained or justified in this room.
15. 3:01Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the texture of this exact moment is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
16. 3:20Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
17. 3:32You have been carrying the wandering back to now for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
18. 3:52Notice the moment you realise you've drifted. That moment is the whole skill.
19. 4:05I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
20. 4:17The question is not what you deserve. It is what you need, right now, in this moment.
21. 4:32If you're going straight back to work, take ten seconds at the doorway first.

Questions people ask

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