Self-compassion meditation for health anxiety (15 min), in the office

About this practice

Slow, spoken guidance for health anxiety. A self-compassion session you can do in the office. 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 at your desk

• Feet flat, back supported, screen away from your eyeline
• You can do this with your eyes open if the office makes closing them awkward
• Unclench the jaw and drop the shoulders first, before anything else

Nobody needs to know you are doing it. Keep it invisible if that makes it possible.

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. 0:00There is nothing to get right here. Nothing is being scored.
2. 0:12If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
3. 0:25Notice whether your breathing is high in your chest or low in your belly. Just notice. No fixing.
4. 0:41Bring your attention to the parts of you that are already still.
5. 0:54Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
6. 1:08Notice the small pause before your body decides to breathe in again.
7. 1:21Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
8. 1:33Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
9. 1:45Feel the soles of your feet. All the weight of you goes through them.
10. 1:59Feel your belly. Let it be soft instead of held in.
11. 2:11Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
12. 2:24If the habit of checking for something wrong is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
13. 2:42Let the exhale carry a little of the fear attached to each new symptom with it. Not all of it. Just a little, one breath at a time.
14. 3:02Notice if your breathing is faster than you expected. Don't correct it. Just note it.
15. 3:16When the worry about what your body might be telling you presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
16. 3:38If you catch yourself fighting the habit of checking for something wrong, that is worth noticing. The fight usually costs more than the feeling.
17. 3:57Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
18. 4:08Let this one be unhurried.
19. 4:17Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
20. 4:29Feel your knees. They're just hinges, but they've worked hard.
21. 4:41A few seconds more.
22. 4:50Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
23. 5:03Notice your ears, which mostly just receive things.
24. 5:14Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
25. 5:24Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
26. 5:37Let your throat soften. There's nothing to swallow right now.
27. 5:49Let your body keep settling.
28. 5:58Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
29. 6:11Feel your face. It's probably softer than it was five minutes ago.
30. 6:24No need to open your eyes yet.
31. 6:34Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
32. 6:47Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
33. 6:59Just the breath, still.
34. 7:08I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
35. 7:20We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
36. 7:34If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks.
37. 7:49A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
38. 8:00We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
39. 8:10If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
40. 8:24I'll step back. You stay here.
41. 8:34You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
42. 8:47Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled.
43. 8:59A short silence. Let it be empty.
44. 9:09Nothing here needs to be efficient.
45. 9:19Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
46. 9:32A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
47. 9:43There's no need to try harder than this.
48. 9:54Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
49. 10:06Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
50. 10:17Small efforts are the whole method.
51. 10:27Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it.
52. 10:39Follow one full breath from the moment it starts to the moment it ends.
53. 10:53Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
54. 11:04Let the fear attached to each new symptom be exactly as big as it is, and let your breath be exactly as slow as it is. They can coexist.
55. 11:25Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the worry about what your body might be telling you is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
56. 11:46Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
57. 11:57Imagine the habit of checking for something wrong as a room you can walk out of for a minute. The room will still be there.
58. 12:16Nothing about the fear attached to each new symptom has to be explained or justified in this room.
59. 12:32Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
60. 12:46If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
61. 12:59Notice how quickly your mind labels things: good, bad, boring, nice.
62. 13:11If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
63. 13:25Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
64. 13:36Let this be easy, if easy is available.
65. 13:47Stay with it.
66. 13:55Let the pace of the last few minutes set the pace of the next few.
67. 14:09If you drifted off, that was rest, and rest counts.
68. 14:21Take 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.