Guided Meditation for Overthinking

Okay.

You're here, and your head is probably still going.

That's alright.

We're not going to force it quiet.

Sit however you're comfortable.

Close your eyes, or rest them on one spot on the floor.

Feel your weight in the chair.

The backs of your legs.

Your feet.

Your mind will keep talking for a while.

Let it.

We're just going to change how you listen to it.

Now just notice what your mind is doing.

Maybe it's replaying a conversation.

Maybe it's planning something that hasn't happened yet.

You don't have to follow it.

You don't have to push it away either.

Just see it...

the way you'd notice a song stuck in your head.

Picture yourself at a window, watching cars go by on the street below.

Each thought is a car.

It shows up...

and it passes.

Let's try something simple.

When a thought shows up, say one word to yourself...

thinking.

Not good thinking.

Not bad thinking.

Just...

thinking.

That email you still haven't answered...

thinking.

Something you said yesterday...

thinking.

Each time you name it, you step back from it a little.

That's all this is.

Some thoughts will be loud and sticky.

They'll come back three or four times.

Label them every time.

No need to get annoyed with yourself.

Keep going on your own for a bit.

A thought comes...

thinking...

back to the window.

Now give the mind somewhere to rest.

The breath.

Breathe in through your nose...

slowly.

And out through your mouth...

a little longer.

In...

feel the cool air at the nostrils.

Out...

let the shoulders drop.

Once more.

In...

And out.

If a thought pulls you back in, that's normal.

Label it...

thinking...

and wait for the next breath.

Here's a phrase to keep for later.

For when the spiral starts at 2 a.m., or halfway through This a meeting.

is just thinking.

I can come back to my breath.

Try it again,

in your own voice this time.

Let your breathing go back to normal.

Notice the sounds around you.

Open your eyes when you're ready.

Look around the room...

one thing at a time.

The thoughts will come back.

That's fine.

You know what to do with them now.