Calming Anxiety | Guided Meditation, Sleep Hypnosis & Panic Attack Relief

Jessamine by L.M. Montgomery — A Gentle Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Drift off to sleep with Jessamine by L.M. Montgomery, a sweet and heart-warming country romance from the author of Anne of Green Gables, read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety. Jessamine Stacy was born and raised in the country, among vine-covered porches, maple trees and great green fields. But when her sister dies and the old home has to go, she must move to the city to live with her brother and his stylish wife, where she quietly becomes the maid of all work in a hot, stifling little kitchen. All winter she grows thinner and paler, and by summer her homesickness is almost unbearable. Then one morning the vegetable man knocks at the side door, and it isn't the usual one. Old Mr. Bell has broken his leg, and his nephew Drew, tall, sunburned and kind, has taken over the rounds, with a spray of honeysuckle pinned to his coat. One flower leads to another: prairie…

Overthinking Something That Hasn't Happened Yet? — A 10-Minute Guided Meditation for Waiting Anxiety & Uncertainty | 4-2-6 Breathing Overthinking something that hasn't happened yet? You've already lived through it in your mind, over and over. You've imagined the conversation, waited for the answer, and worked out what you'd do if things went wrong, and every time you reach the end of one possibility, another appears. This 10-minute guided meditation for anticipatory anxiety, uncertainty and waiting for news reminds you that you can prepare for tomorrow without having to live through it today. Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and paramedic of over 20 years Martin Hewlett, today we make a little room around the things you cannot know yet. For a familiar voice close to hand between episodes, Martin's free app Anchored has an Instant Calm feature that works offline, wherever you are, whenever you need it. Download it on iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 and Android:…

A Redeeming Sacrifice by L.M. Montgomery — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Drift off to sleep with A Redeeming Sacrifice by L.M. Montgomery, a tender, moonlit love story from the author of Anne of Green Gables, read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety. It's an autumn night in the harbour village of Prospect, and the dance at the Lyles' house is in full swing. The fiddler is enthroned on the kitchen table, the girls are giddy from the reels, and in a shadowy corner sits Joan Shelley, the pick and pride of the harbour girls, with a pale house rose in her dark hair. She has danced with no one all evening but Paul King: handsome, charming, and by every account in the village, a worthless scamp. When Paul slips out into the chill moonlight with Joan's rose in his hand, he lies in the shadow of the beached boats on the shore and overhears two men talking about him. Every word is true, and he knows it. What follows is a quiet,…

Can't Get a Satisfying Breath? — A 10-Minute Guided Meditation for Breathing Anxiety | Gentle Pursed-Lip Breathing Can't get a satisfying breath? You take one breath, then another, and instead of feeling calmer you find yourself watching every breath, wondering why it still doesn't feel quite right. That constant checking is exhausting. This 10-minute guided meditation for breathing anxiety and anxiety relief takes the test away. For these few minutes there is nothing to perfect, and nothing you need to get right. Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and paramedic of over 20 years Martin Hewlett, today's session uses a gentle pursed-lip breath, breathing out softly through the lips as if cooling a warm drink and letting an easy breath come back in through the nose. Then we let the technique go entirely and widen your attention beyond the breath to the room and the world around you. Take this practice with you every day in the Anchored app, on iPhone:…

Why Not Ask Miss Price? by L. M. Montgomery — A Heartwarming Thanksgiving Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Get cosy, let the autumn evening settle around you and drift towards sleep with this warm, heartwarming Thanksgiving short story by L. M. Montgomery, the beloved author of Anne of Green Gables. Why Not Ask Miss Price? is a gentle tale of kindness, a spare place at the table and a family dinner that changes a lonely life, read slowly and softly as a bedtime story for adults who want to wind down, ease insomnia and fall into deep, restful sleep. This year sisters Frances and Alma Allen have been trusted with the whole Thanksgiving dinner, from the mincemeat and the cakes to the guest list. It's to be the same time-honoured family gathering as ever, fourteen around the table, until a letter arrives to say that jolly Aunt Clara can't come after all. Now there's one empty chair, and nobody can agree on who should fill it. Then their mother quietly asks, "Why not ask Miss Price?" Bertha…

Why Can't I Just Switch Off? — A 10-Minute Guided Meditation for a Busy, Racing Mind | Calming Anxiety's 7th Birthday Can't switch off? You've stopped for a moment but your mind hasn't, one thought leading to the next, the things you need to remember, the things you haven't finished, the things that might happen tomorrow. This 10-minute guided meditation for a busy mind and anxiety relief shows you that you can have a racing mind and still take a moment to rest, without needing to find all the answers first. Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, today is also a very special one: Calming Anxiety turns seven! Thank you to every single one of you who has listened at any point along the way. Take these calming practices with you every day in the Anchored app, on iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 and Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored Together we settle into the support beneath you, notice the…

The Softening of Miss Cynthia by L. M. Montgomery — A Heartwarming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Settle in and let this tender, heartwarming short story by L. M. Montgomery, the beloved author of Anne of Green Gables, ease you gently towards sleep. The Softening of Miss Cynthia is a quiet tale of a hardened heart, a lonely orphan boy and the slow return of kindness, read softly and slowly as a bedtime story for adults who want to wind down, ease insomnia and drift into deep, restful sleep. Miss Cynthia lives alone in her big, spotless house, keeping neither man nor maid, and she likes it that way. Then one evening an express wagon pulls into her yard and a thin twelve-year-old boy climbs down with his trunk. He is Wilbur, the son of the stepbrother she grew up with, who has died far away in California. With his last wishes he sent the boy to his "good and kind" Aunt Cynthia. But Miss Cynthia has grown sharp and set in her ways over the years. She has never been used to children, she…

Welcome back to Anxiety Breaker, the daily sanctuary for your mind. I’m Martin Hewlett, a clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic. Whether you are listening during a mindful walk, winding down in the dark after a long day, or looking for immediate anxiety relief, you have given yourself permission to pause. If you are ready to take your healing deeper, you can find the full Anxiety Breaker Course over at calminganxiety.fm. Today, we are exploring a powerful concept for emotional regulation and nervous system regulation: finding the quiet space between what happens to us and how we choose to answer it. In a fast-paced world, learning how to pause before reacting is one of the most effective tools for coping with stress and reducing daily anxiety.Time Chapters 00:00 – Finding Your Calm: Guided Breathing for Anxiety Relief 01:18 – Settling the Body: Shifting Out of Fight or Flight 01:54 – Deep Breathing Exercise: The 4-7 Breath for Panic and Stress 04:45 – Mindful Affirmations for Inner Peace and…

A Fortunate Mistake by L. M. Montgomery — A Heartwarming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Settle in, soften your breathing and let this gentle, heartwarming short story by L. M. Montgomery, the beloved author of Anne of Green Gables, carry you softly towards sleep. A Fortunate Mistake is a sweet summer tale of friendship, kindness and a misaddressed note, read slowly and calmly as a bedtime story for adults who want to wind down, ease insomnia and drift into deep, restful sleep. Lively Nan Wallace has sprained her ankle, and on the very day of the long-awaited school picnic she's stuck on the sofa with nothing but a vase of pink climbing roses for company. So she asks her sister Maude to write a quick note inviting her friend Florrie Hastings to come and cheer up a poor invalid for the afternoon. Meanwhile, quiet Florrie Hamilton, the new girl in Winboro and the only one at Miss Braxton's school left off the picnic list, walks home feeling more hurt than she would ever admit. Then a…

In the second part of our four-part series on relationship anxiety, we tackle one of the most painful triggers: silence. Whether it’s a slow text reply or a change in tone, silence often feels like an emergency to an anxious nervous system. Today, we learn how to separate the silence from the frightening stories our minds create and find our way back to solid ground.Time Chapters 00:00 – Meeting the unbearable weight of silence 02:05 – Why your body treats a slow text like a physical emergency 03:12 – Breathing to signal that the "emergency" is over 04:31 – Visualization: The Lighthouse and the Sea 05:41 – Silence is not information: Why we fill blank pages with fear 07:56 – Becoming your own source of light and safety 08:17 – Affirmations for grounding in reality 09:16 – 3 Caring tips for the "Silence Window" 11:02 – Returning to the day and a preview of Episode 3 Affirmations for the DayLet these words be your anchor when uncertainty feels overwhelming: Silence is not evidence; I choose not to fill it with…

Ned's Stroke of Business by L. M. Montgomery — A Cosy Winter Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Snuggle down and let the first snow of the season fall softly as you drift towards sleep with this warm, wholesome short story by L. M. Montgomery, the beloved author of Anne of Green Gables. Ned's Stroke of Business is a cheerful tale of moonlit ice, sleigh rides and a boy with a clever idea, read slowly and gently as a bedtime story for adults who want to wind down, ease insomnia and settle into deep, restful sleep. Young Ned Allen longs to take a course at the business college in Trenton, but his mother can't afford the fifty dollars it would cost, and a quiet little farming village in winter isn't exactly full of ways for a boy to earn money. Meanwhile the Carlton boys must trudge six miles to Windsor every time they want to skate, where the rival Windsor boys make sure they're never welcome. There is a perfect pond much closer, behind old Mr. Dutcher's barn, but Old Dutcher is the village…

Can't Stop Replaying Conversations in Your Head? — Guided Meditation for Overthinking & Social Anxiety | 3-4 Breathing Can't stop replaying a conversation in your head? Hours later you're still hearing what you said, rehearsing what you should have said, and wondering whether your words came out wrong or what that small change in someone's expression really meant. This 10-minute guided meditation for anxiety relief helps you leave that conversation unfinished and make a little more room between you and the replay. Listen offline in Anchored, Martin's own app for panic and anxiety, with every Calming Anxiety session in one place and free Instant Calm whenever overthinking takes hold. iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 | Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett. You'll settle into a gentle counted breath, in for three and out for four, learn to notice "I'm…

Davenport's Story by L. M. Montgomery — A Gentle Ghost Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Get cosy, let the rain fall outside and drift towards sleep with a gentle ghost story from L. M. Montgomery, the beloved author of Anne of Green Gables. Davenport's Story is a short, atmospheric tale told around the fire on a rainy afternoon, more mysterious than frightening, read slowly and softly as a bedtime story for adults who want to wind down, ease insomnia and fall into deep, restful sleep. A perfect autumn sleep story for the Halloween season. A group of friends have been passing a wet afternoon swapping ghost stories, with all the usual mysterious noises, death warnings and sheeted spectres. But Jack, the sceptic of the group, is unimpressed. Every tale is second-hand, he says. Nobody has ever met a man who actually saw a ghost himself. Then quiet, practical Davenport wanders in, and after a little coaxing admits that something strange did once happen to him, something he has never been able to…

Anxiety About the Week Ahead — Guided Meditation for a Busy Week or a Change of Routine | Extended Exhale Breathing Anxiety about the week ahead can start before the week has even begun. Who needs what, where you have to be, how you'll fit it all in, or the unsettled feeling of a change of routine and a stretch of time you don't know what to do with. This 10-minute guided meditation for anxiety relief helps you put down a little of the weight of a week that hasn't happened yet. Listen offline in Anchored, Martin's own app for panic and anxiety. The big blue Instant Calm button is free, works offline and needs no sign-up. iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 | Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett. Together you'll settle into ordinary, unforced breathing, let the out-breath lengthen gently to calm the nervous system, ground yourself through your hands and feet…

The Parting of the Ways by L. M. Montgomery — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Settle in, dim the lights and let this classic short story by L. M. Montgomery, the beloved author of Anne of Green Gables, carry you gently towards sleep. The Parting of the Ways is a quiet, late-summer tale of friendship, faith and a choice made in private, read slowly and softly as a bedtime story for adults who want to wind down, ease insomnia and drift into deep, restful sleep. At a seaside hotel at the end of the season, the gossips on the piazza watch the beautiful Mrs. Beatrice Longworth walk down the shore road, and murmur about her unhappy marriage and the attentions of another man. Out among the warm sand hills and golden sea grasses she finds Stephen Gordon, the shy, dreamy, overgrown boy who has been her loyal friend all summer and who dreams of becoming a great artist. Stephen has news. A telegram from his father calls him to Rome to study art, and he leaves tomorrow. But before he goes…

How Do I Stop Overthinking Everything? — Guided Meditation for a Busy Mind | Anxiety Relief How do I stop overthinking everything? You replay the conversation, then rehearse the next one. You go over what you should have said, what they might have meant, and whether something you haven't even done yet will go wrong. This 10-minute guided meditation for overthinking gives a busy mind something simpler to return to. Listen offline in Anchored, Martin's own app, where your three daily caring tips are written down and saved for you. iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 | Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored Clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett guides you through gentle out-breath awareness, with nothing to hold and nothing to count, a simple way to stop following a thought for the length of one breath, five calming affirmations for racing thoughts and rumination, and three daily caring tips for when…

By the Rule of Contrary by L. M. Montgomery — A Funny Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Drift off to sleep with By the Rule of Contrary by L. M. Montgomery, a warm and gently funny country love story read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety. Out in the turnip field on a summer afternoon, young Burton Ellis tells his father the truth. He has been courting Madge Oliver all summer, they are engaged, and they hope to marry in the autumn. Old John Ellis, known as the most contrary man in Greenwood, flies into a rage. No son of his will marry an Oliver, and if Burton does, he won't see a cent of money or a rod of land. Down in her little brown house, Madge cries her heart out. But her aunt, Miss Susan Oliver, a tall, grim-looking spinster with the kindest heart in the district, isn't worried at all. She went to school with John Ellis, and she knows exactly how to manage him. So Miss Susan squares her shoulders, twists up her grey hair, and…

Why Do I Feel Guilty When I Rest? — Anxiety Relief Guided Meditation | Permission to Rest Why do I feel guilty when I rest? You finally sit down, and straight away your mind starts listing everything you could be doing: the washing, the unanswered message, the thing you said you'd sort out. This 10-minute guided meditation is for anyone who rests but never really settles, and who feels they have to earn a break. Listen offline in Anchored, Martin's own app, with an Instant Calm button for the moments you feel panicky or anxious. iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 | Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored Clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett guides you through gentle, uncounted breath awareness, a simple way to notice the "I should be doing something" thought without obeying it, calming affirmations about rest and self-care, and three daily caring tips for when rest guilt and productivity guilt won't let…

Kismet by L. M. Montgomery — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Drift off to sleep with Kismet by L. M. Montgomery, a short, quietly romantic Victorian story read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety. It is a brilliant September afternoon at the races. The crowd on the grandstand is cheering the mare Lulu home in the free-for-all when a young woman drops her scorecard, and the man in front of her turns to offer his own. As their eyes meet, both of them go pale. He is the husband she left five years ago. She married him at eighteen, a high-spirited society beauty. He was older, a quiet scholar who loved books and seclusion. Their strong wills clashed, and after two unhappy years they parted without scandal. Now, side by side in the grandstand, they make polite small talk about the race while old feelings rise to the surface. As Lulu and her rival, Mascot, line up for the deciding heat, he asks her a question she isn't ready to…

The Story of an Invitation by L. M. Montgomery — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Drift off to sleep with The Story of an Invitation by L. M. Montgomery, a gentle and heart-warming short story read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety. Bertha Sutherland is bright, pretty and popular at the academy in Dartmouth. Her roommate, Grace Maxwell, is quiet, pale and dressed in mourning, alone in the world since the aunt who raised her died. Over one pleasant school year the two become close friends. As the summer holidays approach, Bertha receives a letter she has been hoping for. Her beloved Aunt Meg invites her to Riverdale for strawberries and cream, picnics, parties and long sunny days with friends. Grace, meanwhile, plans to spend her whole summer working behind the counter of a hot city bookstore, because she can't afford anything else. Lying awake after midnight, Bertha makes a quiet decision of her own. What follows is a…

I'm Scared of Losing My Parents — Anxiety About Ageing Parents' Health | Guided Meditation Anxiety about your parents' health is one of the quietest, heaviest worries there is. It arrives in an unexpected phone call, in an "I'm fine" said a little too quickly, in the sight of their hands on the kitchen table looking older than you remember. And it usually lands late at night, when the house is quiet and you finally stop being the capable one. This 10-minute guided meditation for anxiety relief is for anyone carrying the fear of losing a parent — the anticipatory grief, the caregiver worry, the exhaustion of booking the appointments and keeping the tone light while quietly falling apart. Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett. Today's session uses vagus nerve breathing — in for four, out for eight — with a hand at the base of the throat to settle the nervous system, followed by a calm-light visualisation and gentle affirmations for anticipatory grief, ageing parents, and…

A Case of Trespass by L. M. Montgomery — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Drift off to sleep with A Case of Trespass by L. M. Montgomery, a gentle and warm-hearted short story read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety. It is a hazy, breathless summer morning, and thirteen-year-old Dan Phillips is trout fishing up the cool green creeks of the pond at Carlton, under birches and willows that shut out the heat. Dan is a freckled, hard-working lad, and selling his catch to the big hotels at Mosquito Lake helps his widowed mother keep their small home together. But the pond has a new owner. Mr. Walters, the stern factory master, has a reputation for being hard and unforgiving, and when Dan unfolds a four-week-old newspaper at the dinner table, he finds a notice that turns him pale. Anyone found fishing on the pond will be prosecuted. Dan has been fishing there all summer. His mother's answer is simple: go and tell him the truth.…

Loneliness — "Everyone Else Is With Someone Tonight" | 4-7-8 Breathing & The Soothing Touch for Anxiety Loneliness is not a character flaw. It is not evidence that something is wrong with you. It is a signal — as old and as ordinary as hunger or thirst. Your nervous system evolved in groups, and when it senses distance from the herd it turns up the volume, making you more alert, more watchful, sometimes more anxious. That is not weakness. That is biology doing its job just a little too well. And that signal can be soothed. This 10-minute guided meditation is for the quiet house, the phone you've checked more times than you'd admit, and that small ache underneath the ribs that isn't quite sadness and isn't quite fear. We use 4-7-8 breathing — but differently tonight: sitting up, eyes soft, one hand resting on your heart. This is the soothing touch, the same touch you would offer a frightened child, and the skin sends it straight to the brain as safety. Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic…

A Golden Wedding by L.M. Montgomery — A Heartwarming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Settle in and drift off to sleep with A Golden Wedding by L.M. Montgomery, the much-loved author of Anne of Green Gables, read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety. After fifteen years out West, Lovell Stephens walks back through the old apple orchard, whistling, to see the couple who raised him. Aunt Sally and Uncle Tom took him in when he was an orphan of eleven, "just heading for destruction", and gave him a home, his schooling and all the love he ever had. But the little grey house is boarded up. Uncle Tom is crippled with rheumatism, the mortgage has been called in, the furniture has been sold, and the old couple have gone to the poorhouse. In a fortnight it will be their golden wedding anniversary, fifty years married, and Aunt Sally can't bear the thought of spending it there. So Lovell quietly buys back the house. With the help of kind Mrs…

Sunday Scaries — "I Don't Want Tomorrow to Come" | Box Breathing for Evening Dread & Anticipatory Anxiety The Sunday Scaries are that late-evening feeling of dread — the anticipatory anxiety that arrives when the light goes amber and a small voice says "I don't want tomorrow to come." Not because tomorrow is terrible, but because the last few days were a shelter, and you can feel the door of it beginning to close. It is one of the most common forms of anxiety there is, and it responds beautifully to what we do together in this session. In this 10-minute guided meditation we use box breathing — also known as square breathing, used by paramedics, soldiers and surgeons who need a steady hand at the exact moment the body wants to run. Tonight we draw a long, slow box (5-5-5-5) because we are not preparing to act, we are preparing to rest. Then a warm golden light spreads through the body, followed by gentle hypnotherapy affirmations for anxiety relief, deep relaxation and sleep. Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist…

Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner by L.M. Montgomery — A Heartwarming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Curl up and drift off to sleep with Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner by L.M. Montgomery, the beloved author of Anne of Green Gables, read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety. It's New Year's morning in the little village of Quincy, and Prissy Baker is buying matches at the store when her Uncle Richard walks in. He doesn't look at her. For eight long years, since a quarrel over a piece of property, he hasn't spoken a word to Prissy or to her father, his only brother. Prissy overhears that Uncle Richard has to drive his pork to Navarre, and that with his housekeeper away he'll come home cold and hungry to an empty house and an uncooked New Year's dinner. So she sets aside her new book and her box of candy, slips into his kitchen through the woodshed door, and starts to cook. Roast pork, potatoes, cabbage, turnips and a raisin pudding.…

World Mental Health Day — A 10-Minute Guided Meditation for When You Just Need Ten Minutes to Yourself Today, 10 October, is World Mental Health Day. If you've spent the day holding yourself together, being fine, answering properly and getting on with it, this 10-minute guided meditation is the quiet ten minutes you've been needing. Nothing to prove, nothing to achieve. The time is yours. Martin guides you through simple, gentle breathing for anxiety and stress: no counting and no breath holding, just noticing the breath you're already taking and letting the out-breath soften. Then come five calming affirmations for your mental health, including "I do not have to be fine to deserve looking after." Anchored, Martin's free-to-download app, is on iPhone (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669) and Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored). Because your mental health deserves care every day, not just on World Mental Health Day. That includes the…

The Sums That Came Right by E. Nesbit — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Drift off to sleep with The Sums That Came Right by E. Nesbit, a gentle and funny Edwardian fairy tale read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety. Edwin can't see the point of lessons. Seeds turn into flowers and dinner stops you being hungry, but sums never lead to anything. Then one afternoon, with his head inside his school desk, he finds the Arithmetic Fairy glowing at the back of it, in a dress woven of integral calculus and trimmed with logarithms. From that day on, every sum Edwin gets right comes true at home. A sum about white rabbits leaves 7,563 of them in the front garden. Apples fill the cellar, oranges climb the stairs, and elephants arrive. Then a sum about a leaking cistern turns the staircase into Niagara, and Edwin has to find a way to call the fairy back and ask her to undo her gift. What follows is a tender ending about growing up,…

Everyone Else Seems Further Ahead — Calm for Doomscrolling, Comparison & Social Media Anxiety | Vagus Nerve Breathing Your thumb knows the way, doesn't it — down and down and down again. Nothing has happened to you. Nobody has said an unkind word. And yet your chest is tight, your jaw is set, and there's a low hum that says you're behind. This 10 minute guided meditation is for comparison anxiety and doomscrolling — because you've been comparing your whole self, the mess and the doubt and the 3am worries, to someone else's edited highlights. That was never a fair fight. Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett. Today's breathwork is vagus nerve breathing, done with one hand resting flat and warm on the centre of your chest — because touch is part of the technique. In through the nose for four and feel your hand rise, then out softly through parted lips for seven. The long out breath and the gentle pressure together speak directly to the vagus nerve, and the message it carries…

The Twopenny Spell by E. Nesbit — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Drift off to sleep with this gentle bedtime story, a classic audiobook narrated aloud for insomnia relief and deep relaxation as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime series. Tonight's sleep story is The Twopenny Spell by E. Nesbit, the much-loved author of The Railway Children. It's a funny, warm-hearted tale of a brother, a sister and one very poorly chosen magic spell. It was written in the early 1900s and is long in the public domain: Edith Nesbit (1858–1924) died more than a century ago. For more calming audiobooks and sleep stories whenever you need them, download Anchored, the free companion app to Calming Anxiety, with offline-ready relaxation and Books at Bedtime sessions for any hour of the night. Get it on the App Store at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 or on Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored. In this…

Anxious at Work and Telling Everyone You're Fine — Calm for Workplace Anxiety, Pressure & Deadlines | Physiological Sigh Anxious at work and telling everyone you're fine? This 10 minute guided meditation is for workplace anxiety — the particular kind of tired that has nothing to do with sleep. The tired of holding yourself together from the moment you reach for your phone to the moment you close the laptop and realise your shoulders have been up around your ears for nine hours, and nobody at work saw a thing. Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett. Today's breathwork is the physiological sigh, chosen deliberately because of all the breathing techniques taught on this show, this is the one you can use at work without a single person noticing. No counting to sixteen. No sitting cross-legged on the floor beside the printer. Two breaths in through the nose, one long slow breath out through the mouth — and your heart rate settles. That is not your imagination, that's your vagus…

The Magician's Heart by E. Nesbit — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Drift off to sleep with this gentle bedtime story, a classic audiobook narrated aloud for insomnia relief and deep relaxation as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime series. Tonight's sleep story is The Magician's Heart by E. Nesbit, the much-loved author of The Railway Children. It's a witty, warm-hearted fairy tale of christening curses, a magic kiss saved for twenty years, and a wicked magician who was once the dearest little boy in a plaid frock. It's the final story in her 1912 collection The Magic World and is long in the public domain: Edith Nesbit (1858–1924) died more than a century ago. For more calming audiobooks and sleep stories whenever you need them, download Anchored, the free companion app to Calming Anxiety, with offline-ready relaxation and Books at Bedtime sessions for any hour of the night. Get it on the App Store at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669…

What If Thoughts Won't Stop — Calm for Waiting, Uncertainty & Anticipatory Anxiety | Humming Bee Breath What if thoughts won't stop when you are waiting on news, waiting on a decision, waiting on a door you cannot see behind. This 10 minute guided meditation is for anticipatory anxiety — the exhausting habit of rehearsing a problem that has not happened yet. Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett. Today's breathwork is the Humming Bee Breath, known in yoga as Bhramari. Humming does two things at once: it makes your out breath long and even without you counting anything, and the vibration travels up through the soft palate, throat and the bones of the skull, along the path of the vagus nerve. It is a signal your nervous system finds very difficult to argue with — because you cannot hum and brace at the same time. In through the nose for four, then a low soft hum all the way out for eight. You do not need to see the whole road. On a long drive at night your headlights show you…

Justnowland by E. Nesbit — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Drift off to sleep with this gentle bedtime story, a classic audiobook narrated aloud for insomnia relief and deep relaxation as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime series. Tonight's sleep story is Justnowland by E. Nesbit, the much-loved author of The Railway Children. It's a tender fairy tale about a lonely little girl, an enchanted kingdom of crows, and a dragon who has never once been treated kindly. It was first published in her 1912 collection The Magic World and is long in the public domain: Edith Nesbit (1858–1924) died more than a century ago. For more calming audiobooks and sleep stories whenever you need them, download Anchored, the free companion app to Calming Anxiety, with offline-ready relaxation and Books at Bedtime sessions for any hour of the night. Get it on the App Store at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 or on Google Play at…

Racing Thoughts at Night — How to Quiet an Overthinking Mind | Alternate Nostril Breathing Racing thoughts at night are exhausting. There's a room in your mind and the light is still on — somebody in there is still talking, turning the same thought over and over, looking for a door in a wall that hasn't got one. Nobody chooses a racing mind. It isn't your fault. It's a nervous system asked to stay alert for too long that has forgotten how to stand down. In this 10-minute guided meditation we don't argue with the thoughts and we don't try to win — we slow the traffic down until the noise becomes distant. Today's technique is alternate nostril breathing, Nadi Shodhana, which works so well for an overthinking mind because it gives that mind a small job to hold: which hand, which finger, which side, which count. An overthinking mind doesn't stop because you ask it to. It stops when you give it something simple to hold. Two full rounds, with the exhale always longer than the inhale — the long exhale is the brake…

The Aunt and Amabel by E. Nesbit — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Drift off to sleep with this gentle bedtime story, a classic audiobook narrated aloud for insomnia relief and deep relaxation as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime series. Tonight's sleep story is The Aunt and Amabel by E. Nesbit, the much-loved author of The Railway Children. It's a magical tale of a little girl, a wardrobe in the best bedroom, and a secret railway to a beautiful city, and it's often cited as one of the inspirations for C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It was first published in 1908 and collected in The Magic World (1912), and is long in the public domain: Edith Nesbit (1858–1924) died more than a century ago. For more calming audiobooks and sleep stories whenever you need them, download Anchored, the free companion app to Calming Anxiety, with offline-ready relaxation and Books at Bedtime sessions for any hour of the night. Get it on the App Store at…

Tight Chest Anxiety — Why You Can't Take a Full Breath | Coherence Breathing for Anxiety Relief Tight chest anxiety is one of the most frightening symptoms there is — that band across the ribs, the shallow breathing, the feeling that no matter how hard you try you can't quite get a full breath in. Today's guided meditation is here to loosen it, gently, without forcing anything. Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, this 10-minute session uses coherence breathing — also known as resonance breathing or HRV breathing — a slow five-in, five-out rhythm that lands you at six breaths a minute. That's the resonant frequency of the human cardiovascular system: heart rate, breathing and blood pressure reflexes fall into step, heart rate variability rises, vagal tone improves, and the body finally reads the situation as safety. No holding. No straining for a big breath. Just steady, even breathing, a set of gentle affirmations for an anxious chest, and three practical caring tips you…

The Related Muff by E. Nesbit — A Calming Christmas Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Drift off to sleep with this gentle bedtime story, a classic audiobook narrated aloud for insomnia relief and deep relaxation as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime series. Tonight's sleep story is The Related Muff by E. Nesbit, the much-loved author of The Railway Children and The Story of the Treasure Seekers. It's a warm, funny Christmas tale about first impressions, quiet courage and a cousin nobody wanted. It was first published in her 1905 collection Oswald Bastable and Others and is long in the public domain: Edith Nesbit (1858–1924) died more than a century ago. For more calming audiobooks and sleep stories whenever you need them, download Anchored, the free companion app to Calming Anxiety, with offline-ready relaxation and Books at Bedtime sessions for any hour of the night. Get it on the App Store at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 or on Google Play at…

Why Do I Feel Anxious When It Gets Dark Early? — A 10-Minute Guided Meditation for Dark Evenings & Winter Anxiety | 4-2-6 Breathing Why do I feel anxious when it gets dark so early? You come out of the door in the afternoon and the light is already going, and something in you drops. It's not dramatic, just a small, quiet sinking under the ribs. Nothing has happened. It's the same evening, the same jobs, the same house. And yet it feels like the day is over and you haven't done enough with it. As the clocks go back and the nights draw in, this guided meditation is for that winter-evening anxiety. If anxiety or panic sometimes catches you when you least expect it, download Anchored, Calming Anxiety's companion app, now while you're feeling okay. The big blue Instant Calm button is completely free, works offline and needs no signing up. Search "Anchored: Panic & Anxiety", or get it on the App Store at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 or on Google Play at…

The White Cat by E. Nesbit — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Drift off to sleep with this gentle bedtime story, a classic audiobook narrated aloud for insomnia relief and deep relaxation as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime series. Tonight's sleep story is The White Cat by E. Nesbit, the much-loved author of The Railway Children and Five Children and It. It's a warm, magical fairy tale about a little boy, a chipped china cat and a family secret hidden for 150 years. It was first published in her 1912 collection The Magic World and is long in the public domain: Edith Nesbit (1858–1924) died more than a century ago. For more calming audiobooks and sleep stories whenever you need them, download Anchored, the free companion app to Calming Anxiety, with offline-ready relaxation and Books at Bedtime sessions for any hour of the night. Get it on the App Store at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 or on Google Play at…

Panic Attack Relief — Ride the Wave Until It Passes | Box Breathing Guided Meditation If your heart is hammering, your hands are tingling and some frightened part of you is certain something terrible is about to happen — start here. This is Panic Attack Relief: a 10-minute guided meditation to help you float through a panic attack instead of fighting it. You are not dying, you are not going mad, you are not losing control. A panic attack is a wave — it rises, it peaks, and every single time, it falls. Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, this session uses box breathing (also called square breathing or tactical breathing) — the breath taught to soldiers, divers and emergency responders to keep a clear head while the body is screaming to run. We start with gentle counts of three, ease into fours, then settle into warm golden-light affirmations to remind your nervous system that the adrenaline is already finishing its journey and cannot stay. Whether you're on the bathroom…

Silence — A Fable by Edgar Allan Poe — A Classic Gothic Bedtime Story, Narrated Audiobook | Books at Bedtime A classic audiobook narrated aloud as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime series. Tonight's bedtime story is Silence — A Fable by Edgar Allan Poe, a strange, dreamlike prose poem and one of his least known and most hypnotic works, perfect for the long October nights leading up to Halloween. It was first published in 1838 under the title "Siope — A Fable" and is long in the public domain: Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) died more than 175 years ago. For more calming audiobooks and gentler sleep stories whenever you need them, download Anchored, the free companion app to Calming Anxiety, with offline-ready relaxation and Books at Bedtime sessions for any hour of the night. Get it on the App Store at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 or on Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored. "Listen to me," said the Demon, as he…

I Can Change — New Month New Way of Thinking (Physiological Sigh) A new month can feel like something between a fresh page and a quiet accusation. Part of you is already looking back — at what you meant to do, at what you promised yourself and didn't quite manage. This 10-minute guided meditation offers something kinder: a month is not a report card, and you don't need the first of September to begin again. Martin guides you through setting down the heavy backpack of everything unfinished from last month, then into the physiological sigh — two breaths in through the nose, one long breath out through the mouth. It's the fastest reset your nervous system has, and it makes the point of the whole episode better than any words can: you were already different ninety seconds later. Four guided rounds, followed by a warm golden-light body scan and affirmations for self-compassion, fresh starts and letting go. This is anxiety relief for anyone who feels behind, who is being hard on themselves about how the year is…

The Oval Portrait by Edgar Allan Poe — A Classic Gothic Bedtime Story, Narrated Audiobook | Books at Bedtime A classic audiobook narrated aloud as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime series. Tonight's bedtime story is The Oval Portrait by Edgar Allan Poe, one of his shortest and most haunting tales, and a beautifully atmospheric read-aloud as the nights draw in towards Halloween. It was first published in 1842 under the title "Life in Death" and is long in the public domain: Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) died more than 175 years ago. For more calming audiobooks and gentler sleep stories whenever you need them, download Anchored, the free companion app to Calming Anxiety, with offline-ready relaxation and Books at Bedtime sessions for any hour of the night. Get it on the App Store at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 or on Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored. In this narrated short story, a wounded traveller shelters for…

Anxiety Relief in 10 Minutes — Turn Your Anxiety Down, Not Off | Guided Meditation With 4-2-6 Breathing Anxiety relief in ten minutes, with nothing to achieve. If you're listening right in the middle of anxiety, stay here. You don't have to switch anxiety off. You can simply learn to turn it down a little, one breath at a time. This gentle guided meditation for anxiety is for any moment you need to unclench your jaw, drop your shoulders and let your nervous system settle, whether you're heading back into your day or getting ready for sleep. For a quiet place to return to whenever anxiety catches you out, download Anchored, Calming Anxiety's free companion app. Get it on the App Store at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 or on Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored. Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, this episode uses 4-2-6 breathing: in through the nose for four, a gentle pause for two, and…

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe — A Classic Gothic Bedtime Story, Narrated Audiobook | Books at Bedtime A classic audiobook narrated aloud as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime series. Tonight's bedtime story is The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, the most famous short story ever written by the master of gothic fiction, and a perfect read-aloud as the nights draw in towards Halloween. It was first published in 1843 and is long in the public domain: Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) died more than 175 years ago. For more calming audiobooks and gentler sleep stories whenever you need them, download Anchored, the free companion app to Calming Anxiety, with offline-ready relaxation and Books at Bedtime sessions for any hour of the night. Get it on the App Store at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 or on Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored. "True! Nervous, very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will…

Why Do I Feel Anxious When Nothing Is Wrong? — A 10-Minute Guided Meditation for Anxiety for No Reason | Grounding & Letting Go Why do I feel anxious when nothing is wrong? Everything is fine. Nobody has called with bad news, the house is quiet, and yet there it is: that little knot inside saying something isn't right. This guided meditation is for anxiety for no reason, the frustrating kind where there's nothing you can point to, so your mind goes searching for something to worry about and fills a perfectly ordinary quiet moment with it. For a quiet place to return to whenever this feeling catches you out, download Anchored, Calming Anxiety's free companion app. Get it on the App Store at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 or on Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored. Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, this episode doesn't try to find what's wrong. Instead you'll practise what it feels like to…

An Unfinished Story by O. Henry — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime Drift off to sleep with this gentle bedtime story, a classic audiobook narrated aloud for insomnia relief and deep relaxation as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime series. Tonight's sleep story is An Unfinished Story by O. Henry, one of his most loved and most quietly moving tales, about a young New York shopgirl living on six dollars a week. It was first published in his 1906 collection The Four Million and is long in the public domain: William Sydney Porter (1862–1910) died more than a century ago. For more calming audiobooks and sleep stories whenever you need them, download Anchored, the free companion app to Calming Anxiety, with offline-ready relaxation and Books at Bedtime sessions for any hour of the night. Get it on the App Store at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 or on Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored. In…