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

I Am Enough — Positive Affirmations for Self-Worth, Self-Confidence & Negative Self-Talk | 10-Minute Guided Meditation

 

Feeling like you're not good enough? There's a voice that follows you around. It replays something you said yesterday, reminds you of what you haven't finished, and notices every mistake and imperfection. Would you ever speak to a friend the way you sometimes speak to yourself? I Am Enough is a 10-minute guided meditation with positive affirmations for self-worth, self-confidence and overcoming negative self-talk. Today, we change that conversation.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist Martin Hewlett. For more, Martin's Anxiety Circuit Breaker is at https://calminganxiety.org and built into the Anchored app on the paid plan. Get Anchored 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. And Martin's new health and wellness app, Thole, is now in free beta testing on iPhone. Join here (iOS only): https://testflight.apple.com/join/aUKB8W7N

 

With one hand resting over your heart, we breathe with Martin's gentle 4-2-6 rhythm, then imagine a misty window on a cold morning. The mist is every unkind thought: I'm not good enough, I should have done better, everyone else has their life together. With each out-breath the glass clears, until you can see something beautiful: you. You'll receive five affirmations for self-worth and confidence, and three daily caring tips for quietening your inner critic.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – The unkind voice that follows you around

* 00:51 – Welcome: I Am Enough

* 01:08 – The Anxiety Circuit Breaker

* 01:23 – Finding your quiet place

* 01:45 – A hand over your heart

* 02:02 – Guided 4-2-6 breathing

* 03:43 – The misty window on a cold morning

* 04:15 – Thoughts aren't always facts

* 04:32 – Clearing the mist with every out-breath

* 05:13 – Seeing yourself clearly

* 05:56 – Five positive affirmations for self-worth

* 07:03 – Affirmations once more, as if to someone you love

* 08:02 – Self-confidence when doubts appear

* 08:34 – Your 3 daily caring tips

* 09:26 – Gently returning to the room

* 09:54 – You are allowed to be imperfect

* 10:23 – Share, calming tips and Anchored

* 10:53 – Try Thole on iOS TestFlight

* 11:23 – Love who you are, and be kind

 

🌿 Today's Positive Affirmations for Self-Worth

Choose whichever fits, and allow it to find its place in your soul:

* I am enough, exactly as I am today.

* I can be kind to myself even when I make mistakes.

* My best is enough, even when it isn't perfect.

* I choose to speak to myself with patience, kindness and compassion.

* I deserve love, respect and happiness just as I am.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Challenge your inner critic: When you notice yourself thinking something harsh, ask one simple question: "Would I say this to someone I love?"

2. Celebrate what you've done, not just what's left to do: At some point today, stop and acknowledge something you've completed. It doesn't have to be impressive. Sometimes getting through a difficult day is an achievement in itself.

3. Learn to accept the compliment: If somebody says something kind about you today, resist the temptation to dismiss it. You don't have to explain it away. Simply smile and say, "Thank you."

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

You are not defined by your mistakes. You are not measured by your productivity, and your worth is not something you have to prove. You are allowed to...

Charlotte's Ladies by L.M. Montgomery — A Heart-Warming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off to sleep with Charlotte's Ladies by L.M. Montgomery, a sweet and heart-warming story of an orphan girl, two lonely ladies and a very handsome cat, from the author of Anne of Green Gables, read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety.

 

Charlotte Turner has mouse-coloured hair, any number of freckles, and a home in an orphan asylum, all brick walls, prim walks and doses of sulphur and molasses. But one spring day, searching for the little yellow daffodils that grow in the north-west corner, she discovers a gap in the old asylum fence where a board has fallen away. Through it she glimpses a sunny woodland road, and along it walks a pretty lady with golden hair and lovely blue eyes that ought to be laughing, but are very sad.

 

That same evening Charlotte finds a second gap, looking into the most beautiful garden she has ever seen, full of tulips, lilacs and blossoming trees. There a tall, jolly lady with black eyes tends her flowers, followed everywhere by a big, furry and very handsome cat. Day after day, Charlotte slips away to her two secret gaps, and slowly makes friends with both of her ladies. Neither knows about the other, and each of them is lonelier than she lets on.

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Montgomery's gentle springtime gardens, warm humour, a happy ending and Martin's calm, unhurried narration make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

If you enjoy L.M. Montgomery, you'll find more of her short stories on Books at Bedtime, including The Little Black Doll, The Gossip of Valley View, The Fillmore Elderberries, Jessamine and A Redeeming Sacrifice, all from the same collection.

 

Charlotte's Ladies was first published in 1911 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1909 to 1922. L.M. Montgomery (1874–1942) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Waking Up With Anxiety? — Morning Affirmations for Anxiety | 10-Minute Guided Meditation with 4-2-6 Breathing

 

Waking up with anxiety? Your eyes open, and before your feet have even touched the floor your mind is already out ahead of you, running through the day, the messages you haven't answered, the things that might go wrong. This 10-minute guided meditation with morning affirmations for anxiety is a gentle reminder that the day hasn't happened yet. You don't need to solve everything before breakfast, or rehearse every possible problem before your first cup of tea.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist Martin Hewlett. Keep these morning affirmations close in Martin's 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. And something new: Martin is building Thole, a whole health and wellness app for fitness and diet that even brings in Calming Anxiety. He's looking for free beta testers on iPhone.

Join the Thole beta (iOS only): https://testflight.apple.com/join/aUKB8W7N

 

Together we begin with Martin's favourite breathing pattern, the gentle 4-2-6 breath: in through the nose for four, a comfy pause for two, and out through the mouth for six. Then we let the morning light slowly fill the room, like someone gently turning up a dimmer switch, and remember that a thought is not a prediction. You'll receive five positive morning affirmations to carry through your day, and three practical daily caring tips for a calmer morning routine.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Waking up with anxiety?

* 00:50 – Welcome from Martin

* 01:02 – Something new: Thole beta testers wanted

* 01:35 – Settling in for the morning

* 02:05 – Martin's favourite: the 4-2-6 breath

* 03:44 – Morning light, like a dimmer switch

* 04:44 – A thought is not a prediction

* 05:09 – Introducing today's morning affirmations

* 05:45 – Today's morning affirmations

* 06:37 – You are worthy

* 06:52 – Affirmations once more, with kindness

* 07:58 – Keeping one affirmation close

* 08:17 – Your 3 daily caring tips

* 09:30 – Gently coming back

* 09:50 – You only have to meet the next moment

* 10:00 – Anchored, Anchored Premium and Thole

* 10:47 – Until tomorrow, be kind

 

🌿 Today's Morning Affirmations

You don't have to believe every word completely. Just listen, and let one or two become a little more familiar:

* I can meet this day one moment at a time.

* I do not need to rehearse the worst to be ready.

* I can allow my body to settle at its own pace.

* Calm is something I can return to again and again.

* Today does not have to be perfect to be good.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Three breaths before your phone: Before the messages, the headlines and the demands of the day, take three comfortable slow breaths. Give yourself a moment that belongs entirely to you.

2. Choose one morning affirmation: Perhaps it's "I don't need to rehearse the worst to be ready." Take it while the kettle boils or while you're brushing your teeth. Let it become part of your morning routine.

3. Focus on the next small thing: When anxiety tries to drag you through the entire day before it has even begun, gently ask yourself, "What's the next small thing I need to do?" Not everything, just the next thing.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

You don't have to win the whole day before you've even started it. You only have to meet the next moment. If these morning affirmations helped, save this episode and come...

The Little Black Doll by L.M. Montgomery — A Tender Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off to sleep with The Little Black Doll by L.M. Montgomery, a tender, bittersweet tale of love, sacrifice and an unexpected gift from the author of Anne of Green Gables, read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety.

 

Little Joyce is an orphan, shy, thin and awkward, living with her stately Grandmother Marshall, who has never found much to love in a granddaughter who doesn't do her credit. Pretty, golden-haired cousin Chrissy is taken everywhere. Little Joyce is left at home. In all the world, only two things love her back: Denise, the gentle French girl who lies ill in the little kitchen chamber, and Joyce's most treasured possession, a small doll carved from polished black wood, found in an Egyptian tomb and said to be four thousand years old.

 

The whole household is buzzing about the great French-Canadian prima donna, Madame Lauren, who is to sing at the Harbour Light Hotel. Denise longs with all her heart to hear her sing the old French songs her mother sang to her, just one little song. So, while the family is out, Little Joyce slips away down the shore road, carrying her precious black doll in a box and a brave plan in her heart.

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Montgomery's gentle seaside setting, a deeply moving and heart-warming ending, and Martin's calm, unhurried narration make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

If you enjoy L.M. Montgomery, you'll find more of her short stories on Books at Bedtime, including The Gossip of Valley View, The Fillmore Elderberries, Jessamine, A Redeeming Sacrifice and Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner, all from the same collection.

 

The Little Black Doll was first published in 1909 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1909 to 1922. L.M. Montgomery (1874–1942) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

The Gossip of Valley View by L.M. Montgomery — A Funny, Feel-Good Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off to sleep with The Gossip of Valley View by L.M. Montgomery, a gently funny and heart-warming tale of small-town rumour and late-blooming 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.

 

It's the first of April, and fourteen-year-old Julius Barrett hasn't managed to fool a single soul all day. So when solemn, truthful Dan Chester rides by on his grey mare, Julius can't resist one last April Fool. He whispers some astonishing news: Adelia Williams and Young Thomas Everett are to be married in June. They are the very last two people in Valley View anyone would pair together. Young Thomas is a confirmed bachelor of fifty, Adelia a cheerful spinster of forty, and the two families have never been friendly.

 

Within days the story is everywhere. At the blacksmith's, the mill, the post office and even the minister's visit, Young Thomas is teased and congratulated wherever he goes. The rumour grows with every telling: a brown cashmere wedding dress, a hat with an ostrich plume, and then an actual wedding present arriving by express from a cousin in Minnesota. The trouble is, the more Valley View talks, the more Young Thomas finds himself thinking about Adelia's rosy cheeks and twinkling brown eyes.

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Montgomery's warm humour, cosy village characters and Martin's calm, unhurried narration make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

If you enjoy L.M. Montgomery, you'll find more of her short stories on Books at Bedtime, including The Fillmore Elderberries, Jessamine, A Redeeming Sacrifice and Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner, all from the same collection.

 

The Gossip of Valley View was first published in 1910 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1909 to 1922. L.M. Montgomery (1874–1942) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

 



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Anxious About the Week Ahead? — A 10-Minute Guided Meditation for Sunday Night Anxiety & Overwhelm | Gentle 3-5 Breathing

 

Anxious about the week ahead? It hasn't started yet, but you can already feel it: the things you need to do, the people waiting on you, the appointments, the responsibilities, the messages you haven't even answered. You're trying to enjoy a quiet evening while your mind is several days ahead. This 10-minute guided meditation for anxiety about the week ahead reminds you that you don't have to carry the whole week this evening.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, creator of more than 2,500 Calming Anxiety episodes, every one of them searchable and downloadable in the Anchored app for whenever you need them. Find it 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 notice the room around you, then follow a gentle breath in for three and out for five, with no holding. That longer out-breath helps a busy, overwhelmed mind slow down. You'll learn what to do when a task suddenly pops into your head, receive five affirmations for meeting the coming week one day at a time, and leave with three practical daily caring tips for Sunday night anxiety, stress relief and a calmer start to your week.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Anxious about the week ahead?

* 00:33 – Welcome from Martin

* 00:47 – 2,500+ episodes in the Anchored app

* 00:57 – Finding your quiet place

* 01:15 – Noticing the room around you

* 01:27 – Something simple to follow: your breath

* 01:50 – Gentle breathing: in for 3, out for 5

* 03:33 – When a task pops into your mind

* 04:44 – Letting your breath find its own rhythm

* 05:10 – Today's gentle affirmations

* 06:30 – You are worthy

* 06:46 – Affirmations, once more

* 07:53 – Taking this comfort into the week ahead

* 08:14 – Your 3 daily caring tips

* 09:13 – Gently returning to the room

* 09:43 – This really is just me

* 10:08 – Anchored and the Instant Calm blue button

* 10:36 – Until tomorrow, be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Visualise these words in your mind's eye, notice their colour and size, then repeat them gently:

* I can meet the coming week one day at a time.

* I am allowed to enjoy this evening while tomorrow remains unfinished.

* I can choose one manageable step at a time.

* I can ask for support when my week feels too heavy.

* I can return to the present whenever my mind runs ahead.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Give your list somewhere to wait: If worries about the week ahead keep circling, write down the essentials and choose one priority for the next working day. Give the list somewhere to wait rather than repeatedly reviewing it in your mind.

2. Choose a stopping point for preparation: Once you've done what is reasonably useful, let yourself move into an ordinary evening activity. You can return to the remaining tasks at an appropriate time.

3. Keep one small thing to look forward to: A walk, a conversation, a favourite meal or a few quiet minutes. Give that moment a place alongside your responsibilities.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

The week ahead can unfold one part at a time, and you have more control than it feels like tonight. This isn't a huge corporation, it's just Martin, seven years of sharing mindfulness and helping you take back control. Keep these guided meditations close to hand in Anchored, where Instant Calm, the big blue button...

The Fillmore Elderberries by L.M. Montgomery — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off to sleep with The Fillmore Elderberries by L.M. Montgomery, a warm and uplifting country tale of hard work, honesty and second chances from the author of Anne of Green Gables, read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety.

 

Ellis Duncan is just fourteen when his father dies, and he must earn a living for himself and his fragile, worn-out mother. But in the farming village of Dalrymple, nobody wants to hire Sam Duncan's son. His father was lazy, shiftless and untrustworthy, and everyone assumes the boy will be the same. Even his own uncle, the stern and tight-fisted Timothy Robinson, turns him away at the door.

 

Then, sitting on a fence at the edge of old Thomas Fillmore's pasture, Ellis sees his chance. Once the finest field in Dalrymple, it has been overrun for years by stubborn elderberry bushes taller than a man, with roots thicker than his wrist. For a meagre sixteen dollars, Ellis promises to clear the whole field and see the job through to the end. Week after week, under the hot summer sun, he digs, cuts and drags out the roots, while someone is quietly watching. And when a far better offer comes along, Ellis must decide what his word is worth.

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Montgomery's gentle rural scenery, a heart-warming ending and Martin's calm, unhurried narration make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

If you enjoy L.M. Montgomery, you'll find more of her short stories on Books at Bedtime, including Jessamine, A Redeeming Sacrifice and Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner, all from the same collection.

 

The Fillmore Elderberries was first published in 1909 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1909 to 1922. L.M. Montgomery (1874–1942) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Exhausted But Can't Relax? — NSDR Non-Sleep Deep Rest Guided Meditation for a Busy Mind | Gentle Box Breathing

 

Exhausted but can't relax? You finally have a moment to yourself and nothing needs doing, yet you're still braced for the next thing. Your body feels tired while your mind keeps checking, planning and reminding you. This 10-minute NSDR guided meditation, inspired by Non-Sleep Deep Rest, gives a busy mind time to settle without needing to fall asleep, and without having to earn it by finishing everything first.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, today's practice uses gentle box breathing for a busy mind: in for three, hold for three, out for three, rest for three, tracing the four sides of a small square with your breath. Want more box breathing? It's built into the Anchored app, where you can create your own patterns, all voiced by Martin. No AI, no beeps, just the two of you finding balance together. Download it 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

 

You'll ease tired body and racing thoughts into deep relaxation, receive five kind affirmations for rest when you're exhausted, and leave with three practical daily caring tips for quiet rest, stress relief and anxiety relief through the rest of your day.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Exhausted but can't relax?

* 00:37 – Welcome from Martin

* 00:45 – Box breathing and NSDR (Non-Sleep Deep Rest)

* 01:18 – Getting comfy and noticing your breath

* 01:43 – Gentle box breathing: in 3, hold 3, out 3, rest 3

* 03:30 – Tracing the four sides of a square

* 04:29 – Letting go of the counting

* 05:05 – Today's gentle affirmations

* 06:25 – Sinking into deeper rest

* 06:52 – Affirmations, once more

* 07:43 – Your 3 daily caring tips

* 08:55 – Gently returning to the room

* 09:29 – Box breathing and Instant Calm in the Anchored app

* 10:05 – Anchored Premium: ad-free, with full Books at Bedtime

* 10:30 – Until tomorrow, be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Repeat them silently in your thoughts, or simply feel them and let them find a place within:

* I am allowed to rest while some things remain unfinished.

* I can feel tired without asking more of myself right now.

* I can notice a thought and gently return to the present.

* I can soften a little without needing to relax completely.

* I can take the next part of my day, one manageable step at a time.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Give rest a clear beginning: Put down what you're holding, silence any unnecessary notifications and sit somewhere comfortable. Choose one small action that marks a few minutes as yours.

2. Rest without making sleep the goal: When you feel exhausted but unable to relax, try a short period of quiet rest. Keep your breathing comfy and let your attention settle on a simple physical sensation.

3. Choose a manageable next step: Before returning to your day, have a drink, eat something or finish one small task. Give that one thing your attention before deciding what follows.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

You've created a little space today. Take care of it, protect it, and come back to it whenever you need. In the Anchored app, Instant Calm, Martin's panic attack support, is always there, offline and free forever:

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

If...

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 roses, ferns, old-fashioned garden blooms. Then comes a drive through the cool, quiet beech woods to Cloverside Farm at Pine Pastures, an afternoon among clover fields, Jersey calves and a country supper, and a moonlit ride home that changes everything.

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Montgomery's soft, sunlit country scenery, a gentle happy ending and Martin's calm, unhurried narration make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

If you enjoy L.M. Montgomery, you'll find more of her short stories on Books at Bedtime, including A Redeeming Sacrifice and Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner, both from the same collection.

 

Jessamine was first published in 1909 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1909 to 1922. L.M. Montgomery (1874–1942) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

Together we settle into what is actually here, then breathe with Martin's favourite technique, the gentle 4-2-6 breath: in for four, a comfy rest for two, and a long, relaxing release for six. That slower out-breath helps an anxious, racing mind settle. You'll receive five affirmations for living with uncertainty, three practical daily caring tips for the waiting, and Martin's free guide, 5 Things to Try When Anxiety Hits, at https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Living through it before it happens

* 00:34 – Welcome from Martin

* 00:50 – Making room for what you can't know yet

* 00:56 – Anchored: a familiar voice between episodes

* 01:14 – Finding your comfy place

* 01:36 – Noticing what is actually here

* 02:07 – Noticing your ordinary breath

* 02:24 – Martin's favourite: the gentle 4-2-6 breath

* 03:02 – Breathing together: in 4, rest 2, release 6

* 04:48 – Letting your breath find its own rhythm

* 05:09 – Today's gentle affirmations

* 06:23 – Sinking deeper

* 06:45 – Affirmations, once more

* 07:47 – Feeling supported without needing certainty

* 08:15 – Your 3 daily caring tips

* 09:15 – Gently returning to the room

* 09:47 – One step at a time

* 10:02 – Martin's free guide: 5 Things to Try When Anxiety Hits

* 10:30 – Until tomorrow, be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

In the peace of your own thoughts, visualise these words of positive change:

* I can meet tomorrow one step at a time.

* I am allowed to rest without having every answer.

* I can take a useful action and then give myself a break.

* I can return to what is here even when uncertainty remains.

* I can ask for support when the next steps feel difficult.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Ask one useful question: When a worry returns, ask yourself, is there one useful thing I can do about this today? If there is, choose a manageable step. If there isn't, let that be your answer for now.

2. Space out your checking: If you are waiting for a message or an update, choose a sensible time to check again, unless you need to remain available for something urgent. Give yourself a little space between checks to do something ordinary.

3. Let someone know: When waiting is becoming hard, tell someone. You don't need them to predict the outcome. Simply say, "I could use a little company while I wait."

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Whatever you're waiting for today, you don't have to carry...

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, unexpected night of reckoning beneath the lighthouse and the stars, as a man who has never done a decent thing asks himself one question: does he love her better than himself?

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Montgomery's gentle seaside scenery, the drifting rose petals on the moonlit water and Martin's calm, unhurried narration make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

If you enjoy L.M. Montgomery, you'll find more of her short stories on Books at Bedtime, including Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner, from the same collection.

 

A Redeeming Sacrifice was first published in 1909 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1909 to 1922. L.M. Montgomery (1874–1942) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 and Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

You'll learn what to do when the thought "I need to take a proper breath" comes back, receive five kind affirmations for patience with your breathing, and leave with three practical daily caring tips. A gentle reminder: breathlessness has many causes. If yours is new, unexplained or getting worse, please seek medical help. And grab Martin's free guide, 5 Things to Try When Anxiety Hits, at https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – When every breath feels not quite right

* 00:26 – Welcome from Martin

* 00:36 – A gentle note on breathlessness

* 00:49 – Getting comfy and noticing the support beneath you

* 01:21 – When breathing becomes a test

* 01:40 – Pursed-lip breathing, like cooling a warm drink

* 02:53 – A safety note: return to normal breathing any time

* 03:15 – Letting go of the technique

* 03:27 – Widening your attention to the room around you

* 04:11 – When "I need a proper breath" returns

* 04:41 – Today's five gentle affirmations

* 06:17 – Affirmations, once more

* 07:13 – Deeper relaxation

* 07:54 – Your 3 daily caring tips

* 08:53 – Gently returning to the room

* 09:26 – Breathe With Me and Martin's free guide

* 09:52 – Until tomorrow, be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

With every out breath, imagine and repeat:

* I can approach this moment with patience.

* I do not have to force my breathing.

* I can let my shoulders soften.

* I can notice the world around me.

* I deserve kindness even when this feels difficult.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Shift your attention outward: When you notice yourself repeatedly checking your breath, gently shift some attention into your surroundings. Feel your feet on the floor and name three things that you can see.

2. Give yourself a comfortable place to rest: Support your back, let your arms settle, and ease any clothing that feels restrictive.

3. Give your attention somewhere else to go: Choose one gentle activity. Listen to familiar music, stroke your pet, or sit with someone you trust. There is no need to wait until you feel perfectly calm.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

If you've spent today watching every breath, please know this: you don't have to feel completely calm to deserve a moment of kindness. Just pressing play was enough. Keep that gentleness close in the Anchored app:

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

Android:...

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 Price is the pale, painfully shy little teacher from the primary school, who lives alone in a cheerless boarding house and seems to have no one in the world belonging to her. The girls aren't sure at first, but their kind hearts win, and Frances goes to deliver the invitation herself. What happens when Miss Price comes for Thanksgiving dinner, and meets their brother Ernest's friend Maxwell, is a story to warm the coldest autumn night.

 

If you enjoy this classic audiobook reading, you'll find more of L. M. Montgomery's short stories in the Books at Bedtime series from Calming Anxiety, including The Softening of Miss Cynthia, A Fortunate Mistake, Ned's Stroke of Business and Davenport's Story, all perfect for a relaxing sleep audiobook night.

 

Why Not Ask Miss Price? was first published in 1904 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1904. L. M. Montgomery (1874–1942) has been in the public domain for many years, and this reading is shared freely for your rest and relaxation.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 ordinary breath you already have, then follow a gentle counted breath, in for three and out for four, with that slightly longer exhale to help a busy nervous system soften. You'll learn how to let a thought pass without chasing it, receive five kind affirmations for rest and overthinking, and leave with three practical daily caring tips. Plus, grab Martin's free guide, 5 Things to Try When Anxiety Hits, at https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Why can't I just switch off?

* 00:33 – Welcome from Martin

* 00:46 – Happy 7th birthday, Calming Anxiety

* 00:58 – Finding your quiet place and the support beneath you

* 01:48 – Noticing the breath you already have

* 02:39 – Gentle counted breathing: in for 3, out for 4

* 04:19 – When a thought pulls you away

* 05:03 – Today's gentle affirmations

* 06:30 – Affirmations, once more

* 07:21 – Letting the words settle

* 07:44 – Your 3 daily caring tips

* 08:39 – Gently returning to the room

* 09:21 – Martin's free guide: 5 Things to Try When Anxiety Hits

* 09:58 – Until tomorrow, be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Let these words settle softly in your thoughts, no need to believe them perfectly:

* I can let a thought pass without following it.

* I am allowed to rest while some things remain unfinished.

* I can return to this moment with kindness.

* I do not have to work everything out right now.

* For this moment I can let myself be supported.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Give the thought a place to wait: If the same reminder keeps circling, write one short sentence somewhere you trust. Give it a place to wait so you can return to it later.

2. Create a small ending: Close the laptop, put the work away or change into comfy clothes. Let the ordinary action mark a moment when you are allowed to stop.

3. Turn towards something simple you can feel: When you notice yourself trying hard to become calm, notice your feet on the floor, your hands resting together, or the support of your chair. Give yourself a few minutes.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Seven years, over ten million listens, and every one of them started with someone like you taking a moment for themselves. Thank you, truly. Keep your daily calm close in the Anchored app:

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

And for Martin's free guide, 5 Things to Try When Anxiety Hits, visit https://calminganxiety.org/calm

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 tells her gossiping neighbour Mrs. John Joe, and she has no intention of keeping him. So Wilbur is sent off to work for a hard farmer down the road, and all summer long Miss Cynthia can't quite escape the sight of his pale face. What follows is a gentle story about conscience, forgiveness and how even the hardest heart can soften, set against a glowing autumn of crimson maples and warm October sunshine.

 

If you enjoy this classic audiobook reading, you'll find more of L. M. Montgomery's short stories in the Books at Bedtime series from Calming Anxiety, including A Fortunate Mistake, Ned's Stroke of Business, Davenport's Story and The Parting of the Ways, all perfect for a relaxing sleep audiobook night.

 

The Softening of Miss Cynthia was first published in 1904 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1904. L. M. Montgomery (1874–1942) has been in the public domain for many years, and this reading is shared freely for your rest and relaxation.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 dainty, perfumed note arrives for her, and she decides to be brave and accept. What follows is a tender story about shyness, snobbery and how one small slip of the pen can open the door to a friendship that lasts a lifetime.

 

If you enjoy this classic audiobook reading, you'll find more of L. M. Montgomery's short stories in the Books at Bedtime series from Calming Anxiety, including Ned's Stroke of Business, Davenport's Story, The Parting of the Ways and The Story of an Invitation, all perfect for a relaxing sleep audiobook night.

 

A Fortunate Mistake was first published in 1904 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1904. L. M. Montgomery (1874–1942) has been in the public domain for many years, and this reading is shared freely for your rest and relaxation.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 crank, and he has never let a single boy set foot on it. So one winter's morning Ned gathers his courage, walks down the lane and puts a proposition to him. What follows is a gentle, good-humoured story about respect, gumption and the kindness of people who quietly keep an eye on us.

 

If you enjoy this classic audiobook reading, you'll find more of L. M. Montgomery's short stories in the Books at Bedtime series from Calming Anxiety, including Davenport's Story, The Parting of the Ways, The Story of an Invitation and By the Rule of Contrary, all perfect for a relaxing sleep audiobook night.

 

Ned's Stroke of Business was first published in 1903 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1902 to 1903. L. M. Montgomery (1874–1942) has been in the public domain for many years, and this reading is shared freely for your rest and relaxation.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 replaying it again" without criticising yourself, repeat five calming affirmations for social anxiety and rumination, and take away three daily caring tips for the next time your mind keeps going over what was said.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – The conversation that keeps playing

* 00:26 – Welcome to Calming Anxiety

* 00:51 – Finding a comfortable place

* 01:19 – Noticing your breath as it is

* 01:38 – Gentle 3-4 breathing: in for three, out for four

* 03:31 – Returning to your natural rhythm

* 03:40 – When the mind replays the conversation

* 04:37 – Today's five positive affirmations

* 05:49 – Deeper into mindful balance

* 06:35 – Repeating the affirmations

* 07:41 – Resting in this moment

* 08:08 – 3 Daily Caring Tips

* 09:16 – Returning to the room

* 09:50 – All the sessions in the Anchored app

* 10:28 – Be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Repeat these quietly whenever your mind won't stop replaying a conversation:

* I can let a conversation end without solving every uncertainty.

* I am allowed to speak imperfectly and still deserve respect.

* I can be kind to myself while I learn.

* I can bring my attention back to what is here now.

* I can leave this conversation alone for now.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. **What happened vs. what it meant** – Separate what happened from what you imagined it meant. "They were quiet" describes something you noticed. "They must be annoyed with me" is an interpretation. Give yourself permission to leave their thoughts unknown.

2. **One useful action** – Ask whether there is one useful action to take. Perhaps you need to clarify something or offer a simple apology. If there is, choose that one action. If there isn't, you can stop asking the replay to produce an answer.

3. **Somewhere gentle to land** – Give your attention somewhere gentle to land. Feel the warmth of your mug, notice the sounds on a short walk, or spend a few minutes with someone you enjoy. When the conversation returns, gently come back to what you are doing.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Download Anchored for all of Martin's guided meditations in one beautiful app, free Instant Calm, and Books at Bedtime sleep stories with Premium:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 Get Martin's free 5 Things to Try When Anxiety Hits: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

If this...

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 explain. It concerns his brother Charles, a reserved man with a deep and faithful heart, and Davenport's daughter Dolly, who was always Uncle Charlie's girl. One afternoon, alone in his library, Davenport turns round to find someone standing between him and the bookcase, with a warning about a ship called the Aragon. Whether it was a dream, a coincidence or something more, you'll have to listen and decide for yourself.

 

If you enjoy this classic audiobook reading, you'll find more of L. M. Montgomery's short stories in the Books at Bedtime series from Calming Anxiety, including The Parting of the Ways, The Story of an Invitation, Kismet and By the Rule of Contrary, all ideal for a relaxing sleep audiobook night.

 

Davenport's Story was first published in 1902 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1902 to 1903. L. M. Montgomery (1874–1942) has been in the public domain for many years, and this reading is shared freely for your rest and relaxation.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 when your mind races ahead, then repeat calming affirmations and take away three daily caring tips for anticipatory anxiety, a busy schedule, or a change of routine.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Carrying a week that hasn't happened yet

* 00:39 – Welcome to Calming Anxiety

* 01:01 – Find your quiet place

* 01:26 – Noticing the ordinary breath

* 02:05 – Softening hands and shoulders

* 02:36 – A longer, gentler out-breath

* 03:06 – Grounding through your feet

* 03:42 – When your mind runs ahead to the week

* 04:27 – Noticing the picture of the week ahead

* 04:53 – Today's gentle affirmations

* 06:12 – Relaxing deeper, repeating the affirmations

* 07:36 – Choosing the affirmation that helps most

* 08:00 – 3 Daily Caring Tips

* 09:01 – Returning to the room

* 09:35 – Anchored: Instant Calm, free and offline

* 10:04 – Martin's 5 Things to Try When Anxiety Hits

* 10:22 – Be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Repeat these quietly whenever the week ahead feels too much:

* I can meet this week one day at a time.

* I can prepare without predicting everything.

* A change of routine does not mean I have to get everything right.

* My needs belong in the plan as well.

* I can return to today when tomorrow feels too heavy.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. **Arranging, not imagining** – Separate what needs arranging from what you're imagining. Write down one practical thing you can act on and choose when to do it.

2. **One point of structure** – Give the day one simple point of structure: a meal, a short walk, or a time to check in with someone. You can create a little shape without filling every hour.

3. **Ask early** – Ask for one specific piece of help before the pressure builds: a shared job, a lift, some company, or someone taking over for a while. A clear request gives people a better chance to support you.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Download Anchored for a familiar voice close by during the week, with free Instant Calm whenever anxiety hits:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 Get Martin's free 5 Things to Try When Anxiety Hits: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

If this episode helped, please share it with someone who's dreading the week ahead, and take 30 seconds to leave a rating or review on Apple Podcasts. It helps others find calm too.

 

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 he has something he needs to say to her, and in his halting, heartfelt way he tells Beatrice what her friendship has meant to him. What he says reaches her at exactly the moment it matters most, and the story closes in the stillness of her room with a decision only she will ever know about.

 

This is one of L. M. Montgomery's tender, beautifully understated stories about the quiet ways one person can change another. If you enjoy it, you'll find more of her short stories in the Books at Bedtime series from Calming Anxiety, including The Story of an Invitation, Kismet, By the Rule of Contrary and Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner, all perfect for a relaxing sleep audiobook night.

 

The Parting of the Ways was first published in 1907 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1907 to 1908. L. M. Montgomery (1874–1942) has been in the public domain for many years, and this classic audiobook reading is shared freely for your rest and relaxation.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 overthinking is wearing you down.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – How do I stop overthinking everything?

* 00:37 – Welcome to Calming Anxiety

* 00:57 – Finding a quiet place

* 01:15 – Noticing the breath you already have

* 01:37 – Following the out-breath

* 02:05 – Softening the jaw and shoulders

* 02:34 – Stop following a thought for one breath

* 02:54 – When a thought pulls you away

* 03:29 – A slower out-breath, nothing to count

* 03:59 – When "let go" feels like another instruction

* 04:50 – "There's that thought again"

* 05:23 – Five gentle affirmations

* 06:00 – How one thought becomes a long trail

* 07:54 – Letting the words settle

* 08:16 – 3 Daily Caring Tips

* 09:11 – Returning to the room

* 09:43 – Your tips saved in Anchored

* 10:26 – Never give up, and be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Repeat these quietly whenever your mind won't stop overthinking:

* I can notice a thought without following it.

* I can leave that thought unfinished for now.

* I do not have to solve every worry right now.

* I can leave the conversation in the past.

* I can take one step without knowing every outcome.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. **Write it in one sentence** – When a worry keeps repeating, write it down in one sentence. Ask yourself whether there is a practical step you can take, and if there is, choose when to take it.

2. **Practise returning** – Use an ordinary moment to practise returning: while washing your hands, making a drink or sitting down. Feel your feet and notice one easy out-breath.

3. **Let someone know** – Let someone know if overthinking is wearing you down. You can say, "I've been getting caught up in my thoughts and I'd like to talk." If it's regularly affecting your sleep or everyday life, speak to your doctor or a qualified therapist.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Your three daily caring tips are always there in Anchored, written down and saved. Downloading it and leaving a review supports the show, and you can go ad-free inside the app:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

If this episode helped, please share it on your social media, and take 30 seconds to leave a rating or review on Apple Podcasts. It helps others find calm too.

 

And in...

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 marches up the lane to his veranda. What follows is a delightful battle of wills, a lesson in how to drive a pig, and an ending that will leave you smiling as you drift off.

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Calm narration, gentle humour and a soft, unhurried pace make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

If you enjoy L. M. Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables, you'll find more of her short stories on Books at Bedtime, including Kismet, The Story of an Invitation, A Case of Trespass, A Golden Wedding and Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner.

 

By the Rule of Contrary was first published in 1908 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1907 to 1908. L. M. Montgomery (1874–1942) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 you switch off.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Why do I feel guilty when I rest?

* 00:47 – Welcome to Calming Anxiety

* 01:21 – Finding your comfy place

* 01:46 – When stopping feels uncomfortable

* 02:14 – Leaving the explanation unfinished

* 02:44 – Ordinary breath, no counting

* 03:56 – "I should be doing something"

* 04:39 – Relaxing isn't another job

* 05:37 – Acknowledging the guilt

* 06:16 – Unfinished isn't the same as wrong

* 06:51 – Today's gentle affirmations

* 07:48 – Choosing the words that help most

* 08:28 – 3 Daily Caring Tips

* 09:23 – Returning to the room

* 10:02 – Support the show in Anchored

* 10:59 – Be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Repeat these quietly whenever you feel guilty for resting:

* I am allowed to take a break with things still unfinished.

* My needs belong on the to-do list as well.

* I can care about my responsibilities and still care for myself.

* I do not have to make every quiet moment productive.

* I will practise resting a little at a time.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. **Let one task wait** – Choose one task that can safely wait and let yourself take a brief break before it's finished. Give yourself the chance to experience rest without reaching the end of the list.

2. **Change the language** – Notice the language you use when you stop. If "I'm being lazy" appears, try something more accurate: "I'm taking a break." You don't need to add an accusation to an ordinary human need.

3. **Make one small request** – If you need help, ask someone to share a job, give you a little time or simply keep you company. You don't have to carry everything silently.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Support the show by listening in Anchored, made by Martin, not a corporate machine. Every episode in one easy app, plus Premium with no ads, the full Books at Bedtime library, and your favourite night lights and box breathing saved:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

If this episode helped, please share it with someone who never stops, and take 30 seconds to leave a rating or review on Apple Podcasts. It helps others find calm too.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on...

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 answer, and she makes an impulsive bargain that leaves everything to fate. What follows is a gentle, satisfying story about pride, second chances and the things we leave unsaid.

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Calm narration, a soft, unhurried pace and a tender ending make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

If you enjoy L. M. Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables, you'll find more of her short stories on Books at Bedtime, including The Story of an Invitation, A Case of Trespass, A Golden Wedding and Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner.

 

Kismet was first published in 1899 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1896 to 1901. L. M. Montgomery (1874–1942) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 tender, comforting story about kindness, friendship and the joy of giving something away, with an ending that feels like a warm blanket.

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Calm narration, a soft, unhurried pace and a reassuring ending make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

If you enjoy L. M. Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables, you'll find more of her short stories on Books at Bedtime, including A Case of Trespass, A Golden Wedding and Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner.

 

The Story of an Invitation was first published in 1901 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1896 to 1901. L. M. Montgomery (1874–1942) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 caregiver anxiety. You don't have to carry it alone here.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

 

* 00:00 – Cold Open: The Fear You Haven't Said Out Loud

* 01:04 – Welcome & Finding Your Quiet Place

* 01:44 – Vagus Nerve Breathing: In For Four, Out For Eight

* 04:05 – Visualisation: The Aura of Calm Light

* 05:14 – Gentle Affirmations (First Pass)

* 06:58 – You Are Never the Clouds, You Are the Sky

* 07:29 – Gentle Affirmations (Second Pass)

* 08:21 – Your Three Daily Caring Tips

* 09:09 – Gently Coming Back

* 09:55 – Anchored & Sharing This Episode

* 10:22 – Until Tomorrow — Be Kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

 

See these words in your thoughts as I say them, then repeat them silently or out loud — whatever you choose is perfect just for you.

 

* I am safe. I am here. There is nothing to fear right now.

* I am allowed to be frightened and still be the strong one.

* Worrying about those we love is not the same as protecting them.

* I cannot grieve for something that has not happened.

* I can only lose today by spending it on tomorrow.

* Today they are here. Today, so am I.

* I am doing enough.

* My love for them is bigger than my fear of losing them.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

 

1. Ring them about something ordinary. The garden, the football, the weather — so that not every call is about their health.

 

2. Write down the one practical thing that is actually within your control this week. And do only that single thing.

 

3. Tell one other person. A sibling, a friend, anyone — that you are finding this hard, so that you are not the only one who knows.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

 

You have done something kind for yourself today, and you did it in the middle of looking after somebody else. That is not selfish — that is how we last.

 

If this helped you, download Anchored on iOS. Access over 3,000 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. 👉 Download Anchored on the App Store Today: https://apps.apple.com

 

And if you know someone quietly carrying the same worry about their mum or dad, please share this episode with them — they probably haven't told anyone either. If you have a moment, a 30-second rating or review on Apple Podcasts helps another frightened person find this at 2am.

 

Be gentle with yourself today. You are doing so much better than you realise. To your beautiful...

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. Ignoring his friend Sam French, who swears it will land him in jail, Dan cleans his best trout and walks up the hot white road to face Mr. Walters in his office. What happens there is a quiet, kind story about honesty, courage and how wrong first impressions can be.

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Calm narration, a soft, unhurried pace and a reassuring ending make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

If you enjoy L. M. Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables, you'll find more of her short stories on Books at Bedtime, including A Golden Wedding and Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner.

 

A Case of Trespass was first published in 1897 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1896 to 1901. L. M. Montgomery (1874–1942) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 Martin Hewlett. For loneliness at night, feeling alone, social anxiety, isolation, evening overthinking and anyone who needs company in the small hours. You are not doing this alone.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

 

* 00:00 – The house is quiet

* 00:26 – Loneliness is a signal, not a character flaw

* 01:19 – Welcome — the next ten minutes are ours

* 01:36 – Anchored: no account, no profile, nobody to perform for

* 02:19 – 4-7-8 breathing and the soothing touch

* 03:16 – The first round together

* 04:04 – A second round, warmth spreading

* 04:46 – Somebody is here, and that someone is you

* 05:13 – Tonight's affirmations

* 07:25 – The affirmations, once more

* 08:14 – Your three daily caring tips

* 09:12 – Coming back gently

* 09:55 – Midnight in the supermarket, and goodnight

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

 

Say these with me. Feel them on your tongue, and let the echo of them become part of all that you are.

 

* I am safe. I am here. And there is nothing to fear right now.

* Being alone tonight is not the same as being unloved.

* I am good company. I can keep myself company.

* I release the story that I am the only one.

* Right now, in this moment, thousands of people are listening to this with me. We are alone together, and that is company.

* My loneliness is a signal, not a sentence. It can soften, as it has softened before.

* I will reach out to one person tomorrow.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

 

1. **Send one short message.** Reach out tomorrow to someone you've been meaning to contact. No explanation for the silence needed — simply "thinking of you."

2. **Put a heartbeat in the room.** Something with a human voice in it tonight — a radio programme, a podcast, a film you know well — so that the quiet has texture in it.

3. **Book one thing in the diary this week.** Something that puts you in the same room as other people, even if you say nothing to any of them. A class, a cafe, a walk on a busy path.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

 

If tonight helped, find us in Anchored. It's quiet in there, it's private, and it's waiting whenever you need it — no account to make, no profile, no friends list, no followers, nobody to perform for. Because the thing you reach for when you're low should never ask you to explain yourself first. Over 3,000 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. 👉 [Download Anchored on the App Store Today](https://apps.apple.com)

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 Stetson, he tracks down every chair, clock and piece of pink china, while the women of Blair plan a celebration nobody is allowed to mention.

 

What follows is a tender, feel-good story about gratitude, kindness repaid and what really counts as riches, in a world that measures everything in money. A gentle, heartwarming bedtime story for adults, perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and settling into deep, peaceful sleep.

 

Calm narration and a soft, unhurried pace make this classic short story a soothing sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night. If you enjoyed Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner, our last L.M. Montgomery story on Books at Bedtime, you'll love this one too.

 

L.M. Montgomery (1874–1942) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 and former paramedic Martin Hewlett. Ideal for Sunday night anxiety, work anxiety, evening overthinking, racing thoughts before bed and anyone who needs help falling asleep without tomorrow sitting on their chest.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

 

* 00:00 – "I don't want tomorrow to come"

* 00:40 – Naming the Sunday Scaries

* 01:16 – Welcome and settling in

* 01:48 – Box breathing, the long 5-5-5-5 box

* 03:48 – Drawing the box in golden light

* 04:45 – Letting the breath find its own rhythm

* 05:04 – Golden light through the whole body

* 05:35 – Tonight's affirmations

* 07:11 – Sinking deeper into the trance state

* 07:47 – The affirmations, once more

* 08:14 – Your three daily caring tips

* 09:03 – Coming back gently

* 09:35 – Anchored, sharing, and goodnight

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

 

Say these with me tonight, silently or out loud — but allow them to land.

 

* I am calm, and I am safe, and I am here.

* Tomorrow is not happening yet. Only this breath is happening.

* I release this late-night feeling. It is only a thought, and thoughts pass through me.

* I put tomorrow down, and I pick it up in the morning rested.

* My anxiety is not a warning. It is only a tired nervous system asking to be seen.

* I meet the week ahead one hour at a time.

* There is nothing to fear right now. In this room, in this moment, I am completely safe.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

 

1. **One line, then let it go.** Before you go to bed, write down the single first thing you will do tomorrow morning — one line only, so your mind can stop rehearsing it in the night.

2. **Put the work phone in another room.** Your work phone or work email goes out of reach until morning. Physically in another room, not just closed.

3. **Give the last hour to something with no outcome.** A bath, a record, a walk to the end of the road and back.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

 

If this helped, come and find it in Anchored — the box breathing is narrated all the way through, and you can build your own patterns, choose your own backing sounds and lighting modes. Download Anchored on iOS for over 3,000 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. 👉 [Download Anchored on the App Store Today](https://apps.apple.com)

 

And if you know someone who goes quiet in the evenings — someone who gets that far-away look around six o'clock — please share this episode with them. It costs...

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. She means to be gone before he gets back.

 

She isn't.

 

What follows is a gentle, heartwarming story about pride, forgiveness and family, and about how one small kindness can mend a quarrel that has gone on far too long. A cosy, feel-good bedtime story for adults, ideal for winding down, easing insomnia and settling into deep, peaceful sleep.

 

Calm narration and a soft, unhurried pace make this classic short story a perfect sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night. If you enjoyed our recent E. Nesbit stories, you'll find this one just as warm.

 

Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner was first published in Chronicles of Avonlea (1912). L.M. Montgomery (1874–1942) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 days you can't explain what's wrong, and the days you seem to be managing perfectly well while everything takes more effort than anyone can see. At the end, Martin shares openly why he made Calming Anxiety.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

 

* 00:00 – "I just needed ten minutes"

* 00:33 – Welcome: today is World Mental Health Day

* 01:05 – Getting comfortable

* 01:21 – Noticing the breath: no counting, no holding

* 02:08 – A gentle, longer out-breath

* 03:04 – A little quiet space that belongs to you

* 03:55 – A hand on your shoulder: we've got this

* 04:41 – Five gentle reminders

* 06:03 – Relaxing deeper, and the reminders once more

* 07:30 – Keep the one that fits

* 07:43 – Your mental health deserves care every day

* 08:12 – 3 daily caring tips

* 09:02 – Coming back into the room

* 09:28 – When you need more support

* 09:54 – Instant Calm in Anchored, free

* 10:51 – Why I do this

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

 

Repeat them quietly, or simply listen. If one doesn't fit today, let it pass.

 

* I am here, and being here is enough for now.

* I do not have to be fine to deserve looking after.

* I can take this moment at my own pace.

* I am allowed to look after my mental health.

* I do not have to earn that care.

* I can give myself a little space before my next step.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

 

1. Notice one breath: Sometime today, pause and notice one comfortable breath. There is no need to change it.

 

2. Share as much as you choose: If someone asks you how you are, you can choose how much to share. A small, honest answer is enough if that is what feels right.

 

3. A hand on your chest: If it feels comforting, rest a hand on your chest for one easy breath, a small moment of kindness towards yourself.

 

If these quiet minutes help and you're finding the rest of your days difficult, please share it with a doctor or someone you trust. You deserve support beyond this session.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

 

If anxiety or panic sometimes catches you when you least expect it, download Anchored while you're feeling okay. The Instant Calm button on the main page is completely free, works offline and needs no signing up. World Mental Health Day, every day.

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

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, about what learning gives us and what it can't, and about a rose garden and the Love Fairy.

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Calm narration, gentle humour and a soft, unhurried pace make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

If you enjoy E. Nesbit, the author of The Railway Children and Five Children and It, you'll find more of her short stories on Books at Bedtime, including The White Cat, The Related Muff, The Aunt and Amabel, JustNowLand, The Magician's Heart and The Twopenny Spell.

 

The Sums That Came Right was first published in Oswald Bastable and Others (1905). E. Nesbit (1858–1924) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 back to the brain is simple: you are safe, you can stand down.

 

Comparison puts your body into a low-level threat state. A social threat, but a real one as far as your nervous system is concerned — and the breath is how we tell it the threat isn't there. Social media anxiety, phone anxiety, the feeling of falling behind, scrolling before bed: for the next 10 minutes, nothing is going to ask you for anything.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

 

* 00:00 – Your thumb knows the way

* 00:50 – Welcome, and an app with no feed in it

* 01:43 – Today's breath: vagus nerve breathing, with a hand on the chest

* 02:30 – Why comparison is a real threat to your nervous system

* 02:45 – Guided practice: in for four, out for seven

* 04:37 – The warmth under your palm — that's you

* 04:56 – An aura of light, flowing down

* 05:41 – Today's gentle affirmations

* 07:22 – A second pass through the words

* 08:31 – Your three daily caring tips

* 09:17 – A gentle return and a stretch

* 09:41 – Anchored, sharing this episode, and be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

 

Visualise these words, repeat them, and feel them.

 

* My life is not a competition.

* I am not behind. I am simply on my own path, at my own pace.

* What I see on a screen is a moment. It is not a life.

* I release the anxiety that comes from comparing myself to others.

* Enough is not a number. Enough is a feeling, and I choose it right now.

* Comparison is a cloud that passes through me. It is not who I am.

* I am calm. I am content. I am here, in my own life.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

 

1. Unfollow what makes you smaller — Mute or unfollow three accounts today that leave you feeling smaller than before you opened them.

2. Phone out of the bedroom — Keep your phone out of the bedroom tonight, and use a proper alarm clock instead.

3. Ask what you came for — Before you unlock your phone, take one long slow out breath and ask yourself what you actually came for.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

 

If you'd like somewhere to go that doesn't want your attention — no feed, no red dots, no notifications shouting, no algorithm deciding what you need today — download Anchored on iOS. Access over 3,000 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. You decide, then you close it, and then you get on with your day. 👉 Download Anchored on the App Store Today: https://apps.apple.com

 

And if this one landed with you,...

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 soothing narrated short story, gentle, well-behaved Lucy has had enough of her brother Harry, especially after he buries her up to her waist among the gooseberry bushes. With twopence from Uncle Richard in her pocket, she finds a shop she has never noticed before: a flower-filled parlour belonging to Mr. Deloro Delara, Professor of White and Black Magic. The best spell twopence can buy will make her as strong as Harry, and Harry as weak as her. But by the next morning, nothing in their corner of Victorian Blackheath is quite the way it should be.

 

Witty, wise and full of Nesbit's sharp eye for how children really behave, this is a story about fairness, sibling squabbles and the one thing no spell can survive: a kiss and a heartfelt sorry.

 

If you can't sleep, lie awake at night with a racing mind, or simply love classic children's literature read aloud, let this calm, unhurried bedtime reading ease anxiety and carry you softly towards rest.

 

Hosted and narrated by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 nerve doing precisely the job it was built for.

 

Work stress, deadline pressure, the inbox that never empties, replaying the thing you said in the meeting, the anxiety of being perfect — for the next ten minutes you have nothing to achieve and nothing to fix. You don't need a cushion or a candle or a quiet room. If you're still sitting at your desk, that's perfectly all right. You just need your breath.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

 

* 00:00 – The tired that has nothing to do with sleep

* 01:14 – Welcome — ten minutes with nothing to achieve

* 02:12 – Today's breath: the physiological sigh, and why it works at your desk

* 02:43 – Guided practice: double breath in, long breath out

* 04:39 – Your vagus nerve, doing the job it was built for

* 05:14 – When the day comes wandering back in

* 05:44 – Today's gentle affirmations

* 07:14 – Deeper relaxation and the pause between breaths

* 08:07 – Your three daily caring tips

* 08:58 – A gentle return and a stretch

* 09:37 – Anchored, sharing this episode, and be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

 

Visualise these words in your thoughts, and whisper them in your mind.

 

* I am calm at work, even when the work is not calm.

* My work anxiety is a feeling. It is not a fact.

* I can breathe through stress at work, and my nervous system knows how.

* I do not have to be perfect to be good at what I do.

* I am allowed to work at a human pace.

* My worth is not my output.

* I am safe. I am here. There is nothing to fear right now.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

 

1. One sigh before the first meeting — Before the first meeting today, take one single physiological sigh at your desk. Nobody will see it, and your nervous system will thank you for it.

2. Set one boundary you can keep — Set one boundary that you can actually keep, such as no email for the first twenty minutes after you wake up.

3. Leave the screen at lunch — Make a proper break away from your screen at lunchtime, even if it's only ten minutes standing outside in the air.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

 

If today helped, come and find all of these sessions — over 3,000 of them — inside Anchored. Download Anchored on iOS. Access over 3,000 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. Do the check-in tonight; it takes thirty seconds, and in a fortnight you'll know your own pattern better than any app ever could. 👉 Download Anchored on the App Store Today: https://apps.apple.com

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 or on Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored.

 

In this soothing narrated short story, a wicked magician who is never invited to royal christenings decides to go anyway. At one he curses little Prince Fortunatus to be the stupidest prince in the world. At the next he makes baby Princess Aura the ugliest princess in the world. But a white witch catches him before he can vanish, and gives the princess a kiss to keep until she needs it. Twenty years later, a disguised princess, a lost prince now working as a baker's boy, and the magician's devoted old nurse all arrive at his tower on the very same morning.

 

Funny, tender and full of Nesbit's sparkle, this is a story about kindness, second chances and the magic of a well-kept kiss. It ends, as all the best fairy tales should, with love, a wedding and a shower of white roses.

 

If you can't sleep, lie awake at night with a racing mind, or simply love classic children's literature read aloud, let this calm, unhurried bedtime reading ease anxiety and carry you softly towards rest.

 

Hosted and narrated by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 twenty metres of it, and you arrive every single time. Uncertainty, worry about the future, "what if" thinking, panic and overthinking — we are not going to solve any of it today. We are going to sit down beside it and find out that you can breathe here after all.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

 

* 00:00 – The problem that hasn't happened yet

* 01:06 – Welcome, and how to settle for this one

* 01:57 – Today's breath: Humming Bee Breath (Bhramari) and the vagus nerve

* 02:58 – Guided practice: in for four, hum out for eight

* 05:28 – The silence the humming leaves behind

* 05:50 – Today's gentle affirmations

* 07:26 – Setting the heavy bag down

* 07:57 – Your three daily caring tips

* 08:45 – A gentle return and a stretch

* 09:24 – Anchored, sharing this episode, and be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

 

Words to carry with you through the day — the words that entwine themselves into the fabric of your soul.

 

* I can live with uncertainty, and I am doing it right now.

* My anxiety about the future is not a prediction.

* What if thoughts pass through me — they are not me.

* I do not need to know what happens next in order to be all right today.

* I only need to see the next 20 metres of the road in front.

* I release what I cannot control, and the weight leaves my shoulders.

* I have coped with things I once dreaded, and I coped better than I imagined.

* I am safe. I am here. There is nothing to fear right now.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

 

1. Name it out loud — When a "what if" thought arrives today, name it out loud. Say "that is a what if", and let it carry on past you.

2. Do the one part you can influence — Write down the one part of this situation you can actually influence, and do only that today.

3. Give your worry an appointment — Give your worry a 10 minute appointment this evening, and when it turns up early, tell it kindly that it has a time.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

 

If this one helped you, put Anchored on your home screen tonight — so that tomorrow, when the what ifs start, it's one tap away and not a surge. Download Anchored on iOS. Access over 3,000 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. 👉 Download Anchored on the App Store Today: https://apps.apple.com

 

And if there's someone you know who is waiting on news, or standing in front of a door they cannot see behind, please send them this episode. That's how this show found 10...

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 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored.

 

In this soothing narrated short story, eight-year-old Elsie has been locked in a bare attic by the stern Mrs. Staines, all for weeding up the turnips by mistake. Her father is far away in India, and there isn't so much as a piece of string to play with. Then a talking crow appears in the fireplace. He's really a Prime Minister under an enchantment, and he carries her away to a beautiful city where a whole kingdom needs her help. The only thing that can save them is someone brave enough to tame the dragon in the people's park.

 

Tender, magical and full of Nesbit's warmth, this is a story about loneliness, courage and the extraordinary power of simple kindness, with a homecoming at the end that will leave you smiling.

 

If you can't sleep, lie awake at night with a racing mind, or simply love classic children's literature read aloud, let this calm, unhurried bedtime reading ease anxiety and carry you softly towards rest.

 

Hosted and narrated by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 pedal of the nervous system. Then gentle affirmations for a racing mind, and three practical caring tips for the nights the thoughts gather speed. Anxiety relief, overthinking, rumination, or simply a quieter mind before sleep — there is nothing you need to fix, solve or decide for the next ten minutes.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – The room in your mind with the light still on

* 00:41 – We're not going to argue with the thoughts

* 00:55 – Today's focus: racing thoughts and an overthinking mind

* 01:04 – Welcome + Anchored: use the time you've actually got

* 01:47 – Settling in: shoulders, jaw, eyes closed

* 02:08 – Alternate nostril breathing (Nadi Shodhana)

* 02:26 – Why it works on an overthinking mind

* 02:49 – The hand position: thumb, ring finger, light touch

* 03:25 – Round one: in left, hold, out right

* 04:15 – The long exhale: the brake pedal of the nervous system

* 04:33 – Round two: letting the count carry you

* 05:18 – Thoughts overheard from the next room

* 05:35 – Today's gentle affirmations

* 07:17 – Affirmations, second pass

* 08:11 – Your three daily caring tips

* 09:12 – Coming back into the room

* 09:36 – Outro: Anchored, share, and be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

See these words brightly in your mind's eye, then repeat them.

* I am calming my racing thoughts.

* My mind is allowed to be quiet.

* I am not my overthinking — I am the one who notices it.

* I am the sky. My thoughts are only the clouds.

* I do not have to solve anything right now.

* My anxious mind is slowing.

* I am safe. I am here. There is nothing to fear right now.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Write the loop down. When a thought loops for the third time, write it on paper. Your mind repeats things mainly because it's afraid you'll forget them.

2. Worry on purpose, earlier. Set aside ten minutes earlier in the day to deliberately worry, so your mind learns the night is not the appointed time.

3. Breathe before the phone. Tonight, when the racing starts, do one round of alternate nostril breathing before you reach for your phone.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett. Come and find all of this in Anchored — the app I built just for these moments. Set it to three minutes or twenty, whatever the day allows. Over 3,000 searchable, offline-ready sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and a soft nightlight for the small hours. 👉 [Download Anchored on the App Store...

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 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 soothing narrated short story, eight-year-old Amabel only meant to please her great-aunt. But when she snips every flower from the greenhouse to fill a bare flower bed, she finds herself in disgrace, shut away all day in the gloomy best bedroom. There's nothing to read but a red velvet railway timetable. Then she spots a most unusual station: "Big Wardrobe in Spare Room". The destination? A shining crystal city called Where You Want To Go To.

 

Tender, funny and quietly wise, this is a story about feeling misunderstood, saying sorry, and the people who understand. It's perfect for anyone who has ever felt in disgrace and wished someone could see they meant well.

 

If you can't sleep, lie awake at night with a racing mind, or simply love classic children's literature read aloud, let this calm, unhurried bedtime reading ease anxiety and carry you softly towards rest.

 

Hosted and narrated by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 can carry into the rest of your day. Whether you're here for anxiety relief, panic attack support, breathwork or simply a calmer nervous system — you have nothing to do for the next ten minutes but be here with me.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

 

* 00:00 – Today's focus: the anxious chest and tight, shallow breathing

 

* 00:09 – Welcome + Anchored: build your own box breathing rhythm

 

* 00:51 – Settling in: shoulders down, one hand on the stomach, one on the chest

 

* 01:34 – Teaching the breath to move downwards again: coherence breathing explained

 

* 01:56 – The one line of science: six breaths a minute, HRV and vagal tone

 

* 02:33 – Round one: in for five, out for five

 

* 03:33 – Round two: letting the shoulders sink a little further

 

* 04:17 – Round three, then unclenching the jaw

 

* 05:01 – Letting the counting go: noticing the extra room in the chest

 

* 05:21 – Deepening: loosening the band around the chest

 

* 05:48 – Today's gentle affirmations

 

* 07:23 – Visualisation: the heavy stone lifted from your chest

 

* 08:03 – Your three daily caring tips

 

* 08:48 – Coming back: fingers, toes, shoulders, one deep breath

 

* 09:24 – Outro: Anchored, share the episode, and be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

 

Let these words drift and land — whisper them in your mind, or speak them out loud.

 

* My chest is softening. My breath is easing.

 

* I am calming my anxious chest, and I am safe.

 

* This tightness is anxiety in my muscles — and muscles let go.

 

* I do not need to force a deep breath. My body knows how to breathe.

 

* Every slow exhale switches on my vagus nerve.

 

* Every slow exhale tells my body the danger has passed.

 

* I am safe. I am here. There is nothing to fear right now.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

 

1. Exhale first, and longer. When your chest tightens today, breathe out first and for longer, rather than trying to breathe in deeper.

 

2. Open the chest physically. Roll your shoulders backwards ten times and open your arms wide across a doorway — tight chest muscles hold the anxiety in place.

 

3. Cut one caffeinated drink. Just one from your day. Caffeine raises the heart rate, and that raised heart rate convinces your mind something is wrong.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With 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 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored.

 

In this soothing narrated short story, it's Christmas Eve and there will be no proper Christmas this year: Aunt Ellie has come home ill from India, Mother has rushed to her side, and Father is away with his ship. Then Mother returns in a cab, not with presents, but with cousin Sydney, thin, quiet and buried in Treasure Island, who won't join in any of their games. Rupert, Hilda and Hugh decide he's nothing but a "related muff". But when a game of flying machines on the stairs goes badly wrong, it's Sydney who acts.

 

Tender, funny and full of Nesbit's sharp eye for how children really think, this is a story about kindness, getting people wrong, and the courage that sometimes hides in the quietest person in the room.

 

If you can't sleep, lie awake at night with a racing mind, or simply love classic children's literature read aloud, let this calm, unhurried bedtime reading ease anxiety and carry you softly towards rest.

 

Hosted and narrated by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 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 rest for two, and out through the mouth for six. Then comes a gentle reframe. You haven't run out of the day, only the light. The early dark isn't a verdict, a deadline or a judgement on what you've done. It's simply the planet doing what it does every year, and the evening ahead is more of your day, just happening after dark. Calming affirmations and three simple caring tips for darker evenings follow.

 

Want more support? Download Martin's free Five Things to Try When Anxiety Hits at https://calminganxiety.org/calm.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – When the Light Goes Early

* 00:41 – Welcome & Anchored's Instant Calm Button

* 01:27 – Finding Your Quiet Place

* 01:47 – 4-2-6 Breathing

* 04:08 – You Haven't Run Out of the Day

* 04:26 – The Dark Is Not a Verdict

* 05:27 – Affirmations for Dark Evenings

* 06:34 – Drifting Deeper

* 07:57 – Three Daily Caring Tips

* 09:12 – Coming Back Gently

* 09:42 – A Note From Martin

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Settle in and whisper these softly after Martin, if you wish:

* I have not lost anything.

* The light not being here is only information.

* I am allowed a slow and calm evening.

* Being anxious when it gets dark so early doesn't mean anything is wrong with me.

* I do not have to prove my worth this evening.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Let it be about the light: When the light goes today, notice the small drop and let it be about the light. You don't have to agree with it. You don't have to argue with it either. Just watch it arrive and let it go through you.

2. One lamp on early: Put one lamp on early, while it's still only getting dark. Not to be organised, just so the change arrives gradually, rather than all at once when the curtains are drawn.

3. Move something you like into the dark: Take one thing you actually like and move it into a dark part of the evening on purpose. Not a job, but something you would choose. The evenings are long now. Let a piece of one belong to you.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Download Anchored on iOS 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. The Instant Calm button is free, works offline and needs no sign-up, and you'll also find over 2,500 searchable audio sessions, sleep stories with Books...

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 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored.

 

In this soothing narrated short story, young Tavvy has had a wonderfully wicked afternoon. Last of all, he knocks a little white china cat off its shelf in the forbidden attic. When his mother lets him keep it for his very own, the china cat begins to speak, and each night she carries him away to her enchanted castle of gold and ivory, with invisible hands serving supper and a bed with a counterpane of butterfly wings.

 

But Tavvy's mother has troubles of her own, and the family may have to leave their beloved old house. What happens next is pure Nesbit: tender, funny and full of quiet magic, with an ending that will leave you smiling.

 

If you can't sleep, lie awake at night with a racing mind, or simply love classic children's literature read aloud, let this calm, unhurried bedtime reading ease anxiety and carry you softly towards rest.

 

Hosted and narrated by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 floor right now or building your daily calm, this is anxiety relief for panic attacks, breathwork and nervous-system reset — and a reminder that your record is perfect: you have survived every panic attack you have ever had.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

 

* 00:00 – You are not dying: a panic attack is a wave

* 00:55 – Welcome (your host Martin, clinical hypnotherapist & former paramedic)

* 01:24 – Anchored: the always-there Instant Calm button

* 01:57 – Box breathing — threes, then fours (in through the nose, out through the mouth)

* 04:44 – The tide goes out: adrenaline has a shelf life

* 05:21 – Warm golden light & panic-attack affirmations

* 08:35 – Your three daily caring tips

* 09:28 – Gently coming back into the room

* 10:08 – Outro, share & be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

 

Say these with me, in your mind or out loud — they are yours:

 

* I am having a panic attack, and a panic attack cannot hurt me.

* This will pass. It always passes.

* I do not have to fight this feeling. I can let it move through me.

* The tight band around my ribs begins to melt.

* My heart is strong. My heart is doing its job. My heart is safe.

* I have survived every panic attack I have ever had. My record is perfect.

* I am safe in my body, and I am safe in this moment.

* I am anchored.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

 

1. Name it. The moment you feel panic beginning, say out loud, "this is adrenaline and it peaks in 10 minutes." Naming stops your brain adding a second fear on top of the first.

 

2. Cool the reflex. Put something cold on the back of your neck, or hold your wrists under a cold tap — the drop in skin temperature triggers your body's own calming reflex within seconds.

 

3. Refuel after. Once the wave passes, drink a full glass of water and eat something small — panic burns real fuel, and your body needs telling that the emergency is over.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

 

If you'd like this session waiting for you next time, come and find it within Anchored — make it a favourite, download it forever, no searching and no scrolling. On the very first page there's a button called Instant Calm: nine minutes of guided talking, baked into the code, no signal needed and no premium upgrade. Tap it as often as you need, and I'm there with you.

 

To take Calming Anxiety with you anywhere, download Anchored on iOS. Access over 3,000 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight...

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 placed his hand upon my head.

 

In this narrated fable, a demon describes a dreary land beside the river Zaire, where the waters never rest, pale water lilies sigh one unto the other, and the tall primeval trees rock forever though there is no wind. Beneath a crimson moon, a solitary man sits upon a great grey rock, and the demon sets out to unsettle him with storm, thunder and tumult. Nothing moves him, until the demon tries something far stranger.

 

With its rolling, repeating rhythms and rich, incantatory language, this is Poe at his most musical. It's a haunting meditation on solitude, stillness and the power of silence itself, and an unusual choice for anyone who loves classic literature read aloud and a little gothic atmosphere before sleep.

 

Please note: this is an eerie gothic piece, a little darker in mood than our usual gentle sleep stories. If you're feeling anxious or fragile tonight, you may prefer one of our calmer Books at Bedtime readings.

 

Hosted and narrated by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 the night in an abandoned château high in the Apennines. Unable to sleep, he lies in a candlelit turret room hung with tapestries and paintings, reading a small book that describes them. When he moves the candelabrum at midnight, its light falls on a portrait he hadn't noticed before: a young woman in an oval gilded frame, painted with a life-likeness so startling it holds him spellbound. Then he reads her story.

 

This is quiet, dreamlike gothic fiction about art, obsession and love, told in Poe's rich, hypnotic prose. It's a perfect choice if you love classic literature read aloud and a gently haunting tale by candlelight before sleep.

 

Please note: this is a gothic story with a sad and eerie ending, a little darker than our usual gentle sleep stories. If you're feeling anxious or fragile tonight, you may prefer one of our calmer Books at Bedtime readings.

 

Hosted and narrated by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 slowly out through the mouth for six. With every out-breath you'll imagine turning the volume of life down a little, drifting into deep, natural relaxation. Then come five calming affirmations to take with you, and three simple caring tips for creating a little space between the feeling and your reaction.

 

Want more support? Download Martin's free Five Things to Try When Anxiety Hits at https://calminganxiety.org/calm.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Welcome to Calming Anxiety

* 00:27 – Finding Your Quiet Place

* 00:57 – 4-2-6 Breathing

* 01:53 – Turning the Volume Down

* 02:33 – You Don't Have to Switch Anxiety Off

* 02:57 – Drifting Deeper Into Relaxation

* 04:41 – This Moment Is Enough

* 04:50 – Five Affirmations to Take With You

* 07:19 – Nowhere to Be, Nothing to Do

* 07:57 – Three Daily Caring Tips

* 08:56 – Coming Back Gently

* 09:34 – A Note From Martin

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Settle in and repeat these gently to yourself:

* I can slow down one breath at a time.

* I do not have to solve everything right now.

* I can feel anxious and still be safe within this moment.

* I am allowed to rest my body and my mind.

* With every breath I can let a little more go.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Make this moment easier: When anxiety rises today, don't immediately ask, "How do I get rid of this?" Instead ask, "What can I do to make this moment easier?"

2. Three slow breaths: Give yourself three deliberately slow breaths before responding to something stressful. Not to become perfectly calm, just to create a little space between the feeling and your reaction.

3. Phone down before sleep: Tonight, put your phone down for ten minutes before sleep and simply breathe. No scrolling, no news, no solving tomorrow. Just give your nervous system a few minutes without another demand.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Download Anchored on iOS 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. Access over 2,500 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime (now searchable by author), and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. And grab Martin's free Five Things to Try When Anxiety Hits at https://calminganxiety.org/calm. If this episode helped, please share it and leave a quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It genuinely helps more people find their way here.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

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 you say that I am mad?"

 

In this narrated short story, an unnamed narrator insists he is perfectly sane while he tells us, calmly and in careful detail, how he came to fear an old man's pale blue "vulture eye", and what followed on the eighth night. Poe's genius is in the voice: the racing thoughts, the heightened senses and the growing dread of a mind that cannot stop listening. It all builds towards one of the most famous endings in literature.

 

Please note: this is a classic tale of suspense and horror, including a murder, and it is darker than our usual gentle sleep stories. If you're feeling anxious or fragile tonight, you may prefer one of our calmer Books at Bedtime readings instead. But if you love classic literature read aloud and a spine-tingling tale before sleep, settle in.

 

Hosted and narrated by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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 stop looking. It starts with simple grounding (one thing you can see, one thing you can hear, one place your body is being held), then moves to noticing your breath without fixing it. Along the way you'll learn why sometimes the feeling comes first and the mind goes looking for an explanation afterwards. Then comes a steadying phrase, "I don't have to know why right now," along with affirmations for unexplained anxiety and three caring tips.

 

Want more support? Download Martin's free Five Things to Try When Anxiety Hits at https://calminganxiety.org/calm. It's five simple things you can reach for when anxiety starts.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Why Do I Feel Anxious When Nothing Is Wrong?

* 01:16 – Welcome & Martin's Free Five Things

* 02:05 – Practising What It Feels Like to Stop Looking

* 02:58 – Grounding: See, Hear, Feel Supported

* 03:34 – Noticing the Breath Without Fixing It

* 04:08 – When the Feeling Comes First

* 05:07 – "I Don't Have to Know Why Right Now"

* 05:53 – Softening the Body

* 06:20 – Sitting Beside Yourself

* 07:04 – Affirmations for Unexplained Anxiety

* 08:10 – Floating in the Moment

* 08:37 – Three Daily Caring Tips

* 09:33 – Coming Back Gently

* 09:55 – A Note From Martin

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Settle in and repeat these gently to yourself:

* I can feel anxious and still be safe.

* I can feel uncertain and still be okay.

* I can have a thought without believing it.

* I can feel something without needing to act on it.

* I do not need to know why.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Don't go searching: When anxiety appears without any obvious reason, don't immediately start searching for one. Notice the feeling and say, "I don't have to know why right now."

2. Come back to what you know: When you notice yourself asking, "What if something is wrong?", bring yourself back to what you actually know in this moment. Right now, not tomorrow, not next week, but right now.

3. The next five minutes: Ask yourself, "What would help me feel a little safer for the next five minutes?" Then do that one thing. Small is enough. You don't need to earn the right to take care of yourself.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Download Anchored on iOS 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. Access over 2,500 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small...

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 this soothing narrated short story, Dulcie works in a department store and counts every cent: ten for breakfast, a dime saved, five squandered on liquorice drops. So when the notorious "Piggy" invites her to a grand dinner uptown, she spends her last fifty cents on a lace collar and gets ready for her first evening out. But on her dresser, in a gilt frame, stands the one friend whose stern, sorrowful eyes are always watching.

 

Framed by O. Henry's playful dream of angels, judgement and a very particular crowd of prosperous spirits, this is a tender, wry and beautifully observed story about small pleasures, quiet dignity and doing the right thing when nobody else is looking.

 

If you can't sleep, lie awake at night with a racing mind, or simply love classic literature read aloud, let this calm, unhurried bedtime reading ease anxiety and carry you softly towards rest.

 

Hosted and narrated by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Why Does My Voice Shake When I'm Anxious? — A 10-Minute Guided Meditation for a Shaky Voice & Anxiety Relief | 6-3-9 Breathing

 

Why does my voice shake when I'm anxious? If your voice trembles or wobbles when you talk, whether in a meeting, on the phone or just saying something that matters, this guided meditation is for that kind of anxiety other people can actually hear. Most of us assume the problem is the throat. But anxiety affects the whole system you speak with: your breathing, the muscle tension around your jaw and shoulders, and the way you control your voice.

 

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 explains why anxious breathing turns short and high in the chest. You try to stand an eleven-word sentence on a breath built for four, and somewhere around word seven the floor runs out. Rather than practising speaking, you'll practise the floor underneath it with 6-3-9 descending breathing: six in, rest for three, and nine slowly out. It's a long, unhurried out-breath your voice can rest on. Then come affirmations for a shaky voice, a calming aura of confidence for the throat and chest, and three caring tips for speaking anxiety.

 

Want more support? Download Martin's free Five Things to Try When Anxiety Hits at https://calminganxiety.org/calm. It's five simple things, so you know what to reach for.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Welcome & Martin's Free Five Tips

* 00:44 – Finding Your Quiet Place

* 01:00 – Why Your Voice Shakes When You're Anxious

* 02:12 – The Grip That Makes It Worse

* 02:37 – 6-3-9 Descending Breathing

* 04:35 – Letting the Out-Breath Carry a Soft Sigh

* 05:28 – The Breath Your Voice Can Rest On

* 06:07 – Affirmations for a Shaky Voice

* 07:38 – An Aura of Calm Confidence

* 08:44 – Three Daily Caring Tips

* 09:49 – Coming Back Gently

* 10:26 – A Note From Martin: Five Things to Try

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Settle in and repeat these gently to yourself:

* When my voice shakes, it does not define me.

* It may simply be my body responding to anxiety.

* I do not have to hold my voice still.

* My shaky voice is not a character flaw.

* It is my body responding to a moment.

* I am allowed to finish my sentence early.

* I am allowed to say these things slowly.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Notice the throat clear: Just notice it, the little cough before and the little cough after. You do not have to stop it. It has just been invisible for a long time, and today it is not.

2. One breath out, then speak: Before you say something today, let out one comfortable breath. Not a huge breath in, just one breath out, and then speak.

3. Let the sentence be short: If your voice goes today, let the sentence be short and let that be completely fine. You are allowed to finish early. Nobody is marking it.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Download Anchored on iOS 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. Access over 2,500 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. And grab Martin's free Five...

Between Rounds 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 Between Rounds by O. Henry, a warm, funny tale of one May evening at a New York boarding house. 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 this soothing narrated short story, the May moon shines on Mrs. Murphy's boarding house. Upstairs, Mr. and Mrs. McCaskey are having one of their famously noisy disagreements over supper, and the kitchenware is flying. Then a cry goes up from below: Mrs. Murphy's little boy, Mike, is lost.

 

As the boarders rally in their own comic ways, the McCaskeys pause at the window, and in that quiet moment between rounds they find an unexpected tenderness for each other. What happens next is pure O. Henry: wry, affectionate and with a knowing twist at the end.

 

If you can't sleep, lie awake at night with a racing mind, or simply love classic literature read aloud, let this calm, unhurried bedtime reading ease anxiety and carry you softly towards rest.

 

Hosted and narrated by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Why Am I So Frightened of Needing People? — A 10-Minute Guided Meditation for Fear of Relying on Others & Anxiety Relief | 4-6 Breathing

 

Why am I so frightened of needing people? Someone did something kind for you recently, and for about half a second it was lovely. Then something underneath went cold: "What would I do if they weren't here?" Ever since, you've been quietly trying to need them a little less. This guided meditation is for that fear of relying on others, of being a burden and of losing the people who are still right here.

 

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 uses gentle 4-6 breathing with a small, soft pause after the out-breath, a chance to notice that the next breath arrives without you having to go and get it. Then comes the image of a warm amber lamp left on in a hallway, which is never diminished by being used, along with affirmations for self-worth, and three caring tips for when asking for help feels like running up a debt.

 

Want more support? Download Martin's free Five Things to Try When Anxiety Hits at https://calminganxiety.org/calm. It's a small toolbox for evenings like this, with nothing to sign up to.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Why Am I So Frightened of Needing People?

* 00:50 – Welcome & Martin's Free Five Tips

* 01:31 – Finding Your Quiet Place

* 02:04 – 4-6 Breathing With a Soft Pause

* 04:16 – Letting the Breath Arrive

* 04:24 – The Amber Lamp: Needing Someone Isn't a Debt

* 05:42 – Affirmations for Needing People

* 08:26 – Three Daily Caring Tips

* 09:22 – Coming Back Gently

* 09:57 – A Note From Martin: Five Things to Try

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Settle in and repeat these gently to yourself:

* I am frightened of how much I need people and needing them is not a fault.

* I can let someone help me without owing them anything.

* I do not have to take it back the moment I've asked.

* I am allowed to matter to the people I love.

* And they are allowed to matter to me.

* I am not the fear of losing them. I am the one who loves them.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Notice the add-ons: Notice the little sentence you add on the end when you ask someone for something. The "only if you're not busy." The "honestly, it's fine." Just notice it. You don't have to stop doing it yet.

2. [TIP 2 — NOT CAPTURED IN THE TRANSCRIPT. PASTE MARTIN'S SPOKEN TIP HERE BEFORE PUBLISHING]

3. Let it be a question: If the frightened thought comes ("What would I do without them?"), let it be a question. You simply don't answer it today.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Download Anchored on iOS 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. Access over 3,000 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. And grab Martin's free Five Things to Try When Anxiety Hits at https://calminganxiety.org/calm. If this episode helped, please share it and leave a quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It genuinely helps more people find their way here.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

Springtime à la Carte 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 Springtime à la Carte by O. Henry, a tender, witty tale of love, longing and one very important restaurant menu. 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 this soothing narrated short story, Sarah is a freelance typist getting through a long, cold New York winter by typing the daily bills of fare for Schulenberg's home restaurant in exchange for her meals. Her heart is still in a country lane at Sunnybrook Farm, where young farmer Walter Franklin crowned her with dandelions and promised to marry her at the very first sign of spring.

 

Then, with no letter from Walter in two weeks, dandelions appear on tomorrow's menu. What happens next is pure O. Henry: gentle, funny and quietly romantic, with one of his warmest endings.

 

If you can't sleep, lie awake at night with a racing mind, or simply love classic literature read aloud, let this calm, unhurried bedtime reading ease anxiety and carry you softly towards rest.

 

Hosted and narrated by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Why Can't I Answer When Someone Asks How I Am? — A 10-Minute Meditation for When the Words Won't Come

 

Somebody asked you properly today. They stopped, looked at you, and said, "How are you doing?" — and then they actually waited. There was a half a second in there where you had the chance to tell them. But what came out was, "Yeah, good, you." And you've been carrying that little moment around ever since, because it felt like a lie. It wasn't. This is for anyone who freezes when someone asks how they're doing, who can't find the words to answer honestly, and who's been quietly wondering why such a small question lands so hard.

 

For a place to return to rather than another place to explain yourself, download Anchored, Calming Anxiety's companion app, 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. Inside it there's a daily check-in that never asks a follow-up question — no one on the other end, nothing to explain, some days you just need to be asked the right amount.

 

This session uses 4-2-6 breathing — in through the nose for four, a two-count rest, out through the mouth for six — and it asks you to notice that rest without gripping it or bracing against it, because it's not a hole to fill, it's two counts in which absolutely nothing is being asked of you. From there we sit with the idea that not having the words isn't the same as not being honest, and that you're not lying to anyone — you just haven't read yourself properly yet.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, this episode is for the moment right after someone asks, and for anyone who's ever wanted to give a truer answer than the one that came out.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – The half-second before you answer

* 00:53 – Welcome to Calming Anxiety and the Anchored check-in

* 01:32 – Why does such a small question land so hard?

* 01:46 – Finding your quiet place

* 01:54 – 4-2-6 breathing: the rest that asks nothing of you

* 03:54 – You're not lying, you just haven't read yourself yet

* 04:19 – Guided affirmations

* 07:56 – Three daily caring tips

* 08:55 – Coming back gently

* 09:19 – Closing and sign-off

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Settle in and repeat these gently to yourself:

I do not have to explain myself to be worthy of being asked after.

I am allowed to give a short answer and still be an honest person.

Nothing in me is too complicated to be cared about.

If the words come, I will use them. And if they don't, I am still here.

I am safe. I am here. And there is nothing to fear right now.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. The next time somebody asks how you are, just notice the half second before you answer. You don't have to do anything differently — only notice that it's there.

2. Finish this sentence silently, for nobody but you: "Honestly, at the moment, I'm just ___." Let whatever word turns up be the right one, even if it's a very small word.

3. Think of one person you'd like to tell. You don't have to tell them today — just let yourself know who they are.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Download Anchored on iOS 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. Access over 2,500 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. If this episode helped, please share it and leave a quick...

Sisters of the Golden Circle by O. Henry — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off with this gentle bedtime story for sleep and insomnia relief, read aloud as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime strand. Tonight's tale is Sisters of the Golden Circle, O. Henry's warm, witty New York story about two newlywed brides who understand each other completely in a single glance. 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 this soothing bedtime audiobook, James Williams of Cloverdale, Missouri, and his bride of two weeks take the top seats on a Rubberneck sightseeing tour of the big city. Just in front of them sit a girl in a tan jacket and a sharp-eyed young man. Then a plain-clothes detective stops the car looking for a burglar called Pinky McGuire, and one bride does something quietly remarkable for another. It ends with O. Henry's signature twist, as tender as it is funny.

 

This is a gentle, old-fashioned story about kindness, happiness shared and the unspoken understanding between strangers, perfect for winding down, easing anxiety and drifting off to sleep.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Welcome to Books at Bedtime: Sisters of the Golden Circle by O. Henry

* 00:10 – The Rubberneck Auto sets off

* 01:13 – Two hearts that know each other at a glance

* 02:10 – James Williams of Cloverdale and his bride

* 03:10 – The sights of the big city

* 04:48 – Hattie, once the belle of Cloverdale

* 06:46 – "Dear kind fairy": the wedding trip remembered

* 07:29 – The girl in the tan jacket and the young man beside her

* 08:52 – A glance between two brides

* 10:03 – A plain-clothes man stops the car

* 11:44 – "Come down, Pinky"

* 13:33 – "Go with him quietly, Pinky"

* 14:13 – James Williams goes cheerfully mad

* 15:15 – The bride explains

* 16:55 – Sisters of the plain gold band

 





 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins


Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Why Do I Feel Guilty After Cancelling Plans? — A 10-Minute Meditation for Relief, Guilt and Needing Rest

 

You sent the message — so sorry, won't be able to make it — and for about four seconds you felt wonderful. Genuine relief. Shoulders coming down, the whole evening handed back to you. And then it turned. Now you're here, phone face down on the cushion, feeling like a terrible friend. If cancelling plans leaves you with that exact one-two of relief and guilt, this guided meditation is for the ten minutes after you press send.

 

For a place to return to whenever this happens, download Anchored, Calming Anxiety's 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 Martin Hewlett, this episode uses nadi shodhana, alternate nostril breathing, to hold two feelings side by side without either one winning, then moves into affirmation work that separates the relief (a reading on your own fuel gauge) from the guilt (a feeling, never a fact) — because needing rest was never a character flaw.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – The Four Seconds of Relief

* 00:40 – Welcome & Anchored

* 01:08 – Two Feelings, Not One Argument

* 02:20 – Breathing: Alternate Nostril

* 04:54 – Setting the Guilt Down

* 05:23 – Warmth Spreading Through You

* 06:31 – Affirmations for Cancelling Plans

* 07:54 – Settling Deeper

* 08:14 – Three Daily Caring Tips

* 08:57 – Coming Back Gently

* 09:22 – A Note From Martin

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Settle in and repeat these gently to yourself:

I am allowed to cancel plans without being a bad person.

Feeling relieved when plans are cancelled does not make me cold.

My need for rest is information. It is not a character flaw.

The guilt after saying no is a feeling. It is never a fact.

I am allowed to disappoint people and still be a kind person.

I will be there another time, and that counts as well.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. When the relief arrives, notice it for what it is — a reading on the fuel gauge, not a statement about the person you let down.

2. Let the guilt sit there without answering it. You do not have to argue with it, and you do not have to obey it.

3. Give yourself a little of the evening you called off — even ten quiet minutes of it — rather than spending the whole of it feeling bad.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Download Anchored on iOS 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. Search your perfect moment of calm from over 2,500 guided sessions, or fall asleep to Books at Bedtime, a growing library of over 50 narrated stories. If this episode helped, please share it and leave a quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it genuinely helps more people find their way here.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More...

From the Cabby's Seat by O. Henry — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off with this gentle bedtime story for sleep and insomnia relief, read aloud as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime strand. Tonight's tale is From the Cabby's Seat, O. Henry's warm, funny New York story about a hansom-cab driver and one very unusual fare. 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 this soothing bedtime audiobook, a wedding party spills out onto a New York sidewalk, and Jerry O'Donovan, the cabby they call Nighthawk, climbs up to his high seat a little the worse for Mr McGarry's hospitality. A young woman steps into his cab and asks to go "anywhere you please". So off they go: up Fifth Avenue, through the cool night air of the park, and on to an evening of music and lights at the Casino. Then comes the question of the four-dollar fare, and O. Henry's signature twist, as warm as it is surprising.

 

This is a gentle, old-fashioned story about small joys and the simple pleasure of a night out, perfect for winding down, easing anxiety and drifting off to sleep.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Welcome to Books at Bedtime: From the Cabby's Seat by O. Henry

* 00:09 – The world from the cabby's high seat

* 02:16 – A wedding celebration at the Walsh house

* 03:23 – Jerry O'Donovan, the Nighthawk, and his well-fed horse

* 04:56 – A young woman steps into the cab

* 06:19 – "Anywhere you please": up Fifth Avenue and into the park

* 08:21 – An evening of music and lights at the Casino

* 10:14 – The music ends and the cabs are called

* 11:25 – "Have you got the dough?"

* 12:02 – A furious gallop through the night streets

* 13:03 – The police station, and Jerry's surprise

* 13:51 – "I had such a nice time, Jerry"

 

🌿 Tonight's Gentle Affirmations

Let these settle softly as you drift towards sleep:

* I can let the day carry me home.

* I don't need to know where the road goes to enjoy the ride.

* Small, simple joys are more than enough.

* I am exactly where I need to be tonight.

* I am safe, I am held, and I can rest now.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress...

Am I Too Much? — A 10-Minute Meditation for Feeling Like a Burden and the Fear of Being Too Much

 

It arrives quietly, usually afterwards, usually once you've been talking for a while. They were kind. They were still listening. And somewhere underneath it, you'd already started apologising in your head for taking up the evening. If you've ever wondered am I too much, or felt afraid of being a burden to the people who love you, this guided meditation sits with exactly that feeling, and gently questions the running total anxiety keeps on your behalf.

 

For more of this kind of support whenever you need it, download Anchored, Calming Anxiety's companion app — there's a whole section inside called Confidence and Self-Worth you can return to as often as you like.

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 Martin Hewlett, this episode uses a three-part breath (filling the belly, then the ribs, then the top of the chest) to help you take up the whole of your own lungs, before moving into affirmation work that separates needing people from being a burden to them.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – "Am I Too Much?"

* 00:40 – Welcome & Anchored

* 01:26 – The Running Total

* 02:46 – Breathing: The Three-Part Breath

* 05:00 – A Gift of Time

* 05:27 – Someone Who Is Glad You Exist

* 06:31 – Affirmations for Belonging

* 08:16 – Three Daily Caring Tips

* 09:08 – Coming Back Gently

* 09:46 – A Note From Martin

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Settle in and repeat these gently to yourself:

I am safe. I am here.

I am not too much for the people who love me.

I am allowed to take up space.

Needing people is not the same as being a burden.

I give freely, and I am allowed to receive.

There is nothing to replay.

I am wanted, not tolerated.

I am enough as I am, on a bad day as well as a good one.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. When somebody asks how you are today, notice the little urge to say "fine, sorry" — and just let yourself say how you are, without the sorry on the end.

2. Bring to mind one thing you gave somebody this week that you've already completely forgotten about. It counted.

3. If somebody offers you something small today — a lift, a cup of tea, ten minutes of their time — let them. Being received is a kindness you're doing for them too.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Download Anchored on iOS 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. Search your perfect moment of calm from over 2,500 guided sessions, or fall asleep to Books at Bedtime, a growing library of over 50 narrated stories. If this episode helped, please share it and leave a quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it genuinely helps more people find their way here.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for...

An Adjustment of Nature by O. Henry — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off with this gentle bedtime story for sleep and insomnia relief, read aloud as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime strand. Tonight's tale is An Adjustment of Nature, O. Henry's affectionate story of three broke young artists, a cheap New York eatery, and the magnificent waitress they consider entirely too perfect to leave — first published in his 1906 collection The Four Million, long in the public domain, with Porter (1862–1910) having 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 soothing bedtime audiobook, our narrator and his two artist friends have come to treasure Millie, the good-natured giant of a waitress at Cypher's cheap restaurant, exactly as she is — so when a wealthy Klondike gold miner takes a sudden fancy to marry her away, the three of them hatch a scheme to protect their favourite piece of the world's natural order. A gentle, unhurried classic with O. Henry's fond wit, perfect for winding down, easing anxiety, and drifting off to sleep.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Why Am I Scared to Get My Hopes Up? — A 10-Minute Meditation for Fear of Disappointment and Bracing for Bad News

 

Something good is coming. It's booked, it's in the diary, somebody's said yes — and yet when anyone asks, you hear yourself say, "if it happens, we'll see. I'm not getting excited yet." You haven't told many people, just in case you have to un-tell them. If you've ever felt scared to get your hopes up, this guided meditation is for that particular kind of bracing, and what it might feel like to let yourself hope anyway.

 

For a place to return to whenever this feeling shows up, download Anchored, Calming Anxiety's companion app — no targets, no streaks, nothing to live up to, just there when you need it.

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 4-7-8 breathing (in for four, hold for seven, out for eight) to help the body soften its guard, then moves into affirmation work that separates hope from risk — because bracing doesn't stop the disappointment, it only stops the joy.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Bracing for Good News

* 00:45 – Welcome & Anchored

* 01:20 – Why Bracing Feels Like Protection

* 02:27 – Breathing: 4-7-8

* 05:02 – A Little Room to Hope

* 05:51 – Affirmations for Looking Forward

* 08:22 – Three Daily Caring Tips

* 09:25 – Coming Back Gently

* 09:54 – A Note From Martin

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Settle in and repeat these gently to yourself:

I am allowed to look forward to good things.

Looking forward to something does not make it more likely to go wrong.

My fear of disappointment has been trying to protect me, and I can thank it.

Bracing does not stop the disappointment — it only stops the joy.

I can hold hope lightly, the way I held that breath.

If it does not work out, I will still be here, and I will still be allowed to have wanted it.

I do not have to keep expecting the worst to stay safe.

I am allowed to be excited.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Notice the little word "if" when you talk about something good that is coming. You don't have to change it, just notice it.

2. If something small is waiting for you later today — a cup of tea, a programme — you are allowed to enjoy looking forward to it now.

3. If disappointment does arrive, notice that you are still here. It is a feeling passing through, not proof that you should never have wanted it.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Download Anchored on iOS 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. Search your perfect moment of calm from over 2,500 guided sessions, or fall asleep to Books at Bedtime, a growing library of over 50 narrated stories. If this episode helped, please share it and leave a quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it genuinely helps more people find their way here.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit...

The Coming-Out of Maggie by O. Henry — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off with this gentle bedtime story for sleep and insomnia relief, read aloud as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime strand. Tonight's tale is The Coming-Out of Maggie, O. Henry's warm story of a shy paper-box factory girl who finally gets a fellow of her own — first published in his 1906 collection The Four Million, long in the public domain, with Porter (1862–1910) having 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 soothing bedtime audiobook, plain, overlooked Maggie has always been the one left standing at the Saturday night dances — until she turns up on the arm of a dashing new escort, and her whole social club sits up and takes notice. But as the evening at the Clover Leaf Social Club unfolds, a steady-hearted club man named Dempsey Donovan proves there's more to being chosen than a handsome face. A gentle, old-fashioned tale with O. Henry's trademark twist, perfect for winding down, easing anxiety, and drifting off to sleep.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

nttobreathe shownotes · TXT







I Just Need a Moment to Breathe — A 10-Minute Meditation to Let Go, Relax and Find Your Calm

 

No theme today. Nothing to fix, nothing to overcome, nothing to figure out before you're allowed to feel better. Just ten minutes to sit, breathe, and reconnect with all that you are. If you've been carrying a lot and simply need a moment to breathe, let go and relax, this guided meditation is exactly that — a quiet reset, with nowhere you need to get to.

 

For a place to return to whenever you need this same kind of calm, download Anchored, Calming Anxiety's 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 gentle breath awareness and a warm, spreading light visualisation to settle the body, before moving into affirmations of worth, forgiveness and self-acceptance — a small, simple act of self-love to carry with you into the rest of your day.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – No Theme Today, Just Breathe

* 00:36 – Settling In

* 01:06 – Noticing the Breath

* 02:17 – Deepening

* 02:40 – A Light Within Your Chest

* 04:31 – A Small Smile, A Small Kindness

* 05:09 – Affirmations for Worth and Peace

* 08:29 – Three Daily Caring Tips

* 09:12 – Coming Back Gently

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Settle in and repeat these gently to yourself:

I am worthy of love and peace, exactly as I am.

I choose to cherish the quiet moments when I allow balance back into all that I am.

I forgive the mistakes and regrets of my past, and I move forward now with positivity and hope.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. When you look in the mirror, love that reflection — you are unique.

2. Promise to smile often, to practice this simple act and make your life whole once more.

3. Bring kindness to the world around you. Understand others are going through their troubles too, and become a beacon of hope in all that you are.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Download Anchored on iOS 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. Access over 2,500 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. If this episode helped, please share it and leave a quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it genuinely helps more people find their way here.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins











Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this...

Memoirs of a Yellow Dog by O. Henry — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off with this gentle bedtime story for sleep and insomnia relief, read aloud as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime strand. Tonight's tale is Memoirs of a Yellow Dog, O. Henry's funny, warm-hearted story narrated entirely by a put-upon little dog stuck in a fussy New York flat — first published in his 1906 collection The Four Million, long in the public domain, with Porter (1862–1910) having 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 soothing bedtime audiobook, our unnamed narrator — a scruffy, opinionated yellow dog of no known pedigree — takes a shine to his henpecked, downtrodden owner, and the two of them finally strike out together for a bit of freedom. Told entirely in the dog's own sharp, funny voice, it's a gentler, more comic side of O. Henry, perfect for winding down, easing anxiety, and drifting off to sleep.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Why Can't I Accept a Compliment? — A 10-Minute Meditation for Deflecting Praise and Receiving Kindness

 

Somebody said something lovely to you recently, and you did that thing — the little wave of the hand, "oh, stop it," or you fired one straight back at them, quick as anything, so the spotlight had somewhere else to go. Afterwards, maybe an hour later, maybe in the car, there was that little thought: why did I do that again? You can hand out compliments all day long, but you can't take one yourself. This guided meditation doesn't try to fix that in ten minutes — it just asks you to notice what happens when something good is offered to you.

 

For a quiet place to return to, download Anchored, Calming Anxiety's 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 a gentle form of kumbhaka — a short, comfortable pause after the exhale, never a held breath — before moving into affirmation work that separates receiving a compliment from having to believe, correct, or perform in response to it.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – The Reflex Before the Thank You

* 00:50 – Welcome & Anchored

* 01:42 – Noticing Your Escape Route

* 02:28 – Breathing: Gentle Kumbhaka (Out 6, Rest 2–3)

* 04:50 – Why We Deflect

* 05:40 – Affirmations for Receiving

* 08:13 – Three Daily Caring Tips

* 09:03 – Coming Back Gently

* 09:36 – A Note From Martin

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Settle in and repeat these gently to yourself:

I can let a kind word stay with me for a moment.

I do not have to correct someone else's good opinion of me.

I can notice the urge to deflect without following it.

I can allow myself to be seen without having to perform.

Receiving does not have to be perfect. I can simply say thank you.

Somebody else's opinion belongs to them. I don't have to argue with it.

I can let good things land gently.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. The next time someone compliments you, notice the first sentence that appears in your mind before you answer.

2. Notice what your body wants to do — laugh, look away, change the subject, or return the compliment. You don't have to stop it, just notice it.

3. If someone says something kind about you today, give yourself three quiet seconds before you decide what to think about it.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Download Anchored on iOS 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. Access over 2,500 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. If this episode helped, please share it and leave a quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it genuinely helps more people find their way here.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins

 

Man About Town by O. Henry — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off with this gentle bedtime story for sleep and insomnia relief, read aloud as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime strand. Tonight's tale is Man About Town, O. Henry's wry, wandering search through turn-of-the-century New York for one elusive social type — first published in his 1906 collection The Four Million, long in the public domain, with Porter (1862–1910) having 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 soothing bedtime audiobook, our curious narrator sets out to finally pin down exactly what a "man about town" is, quizzing a reporter, a bartender, a Salvation Army lassie and a critic along the way, before the city itself delivers the answer in typically O. Henry fashion. A gentle, unhurried classic, perfect for winding down, easing anxiety, and drifting off to sleep.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Pins and Needles Anxiety — A 10-Minute Meditation for Tingling Hands and Panic

 

You're sitting perfectly still and your hand doesn't feel like your own hand. That prickling in your fingers, a strange half-numb feeling in the palm — so you test it, open and close your fingers, hold your hand up and look at it, and the more you look, the stranger it feels. If you've been searching for pins and needles anxiety, or wondering about tingling hands anxiety, this guided meditation is for that exact moment.

 

For a place to return to when the sensation comes back, download Anchored, Calming Anxiety's free companion app — there's no symptom list inside, nothing to look up, just a voice for ten minutes and somewhere quiet to put yourself.

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 "walking the breath" — three steps in, four steps out, or gentle finger-taps if you're seated — to ground the body, then moves into affirmation work that reframes pins and needles as a sensation rather than a verdict on what's wrong with you.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – When Your Hand Doesn't Feel Like Your Own

* 00:42 – Welcome & Anchored

* 01:22 – Why Pins and Needles Happen

* 01:43 – Breathing: Walking the Breath (3 In, 4 Out)

* 04:16 – A Word From the Ambulance Days

* 05:14 – Warmth Spreading to Your Fingertips

* 05:50 – Affirmations for Tingling Hands

* 07:28 – Settling Deeper

* 08:38 – Three Daily Caring Tips

* 09:38 – Coming Back Gently

* 10:11 – A Note From Martin

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Settle in and repeat these gently to yourself:

My hands are safe.

Pins and needles are a sensation, they are not a verdict.

I can feel the tingling and still be perfectly well.

I do not have to watch my body to keep it working.

My body is not sending me a warning — it is simply sending me a sensation.

I can let this pass without looking anything up.

I am not the fear about my hands. I am the one noticing it.

I am here, I am safe, and there is nothing to fear right now.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. The next time your hands go tingly, stand up and walk to the end of the room and back before you do anything else.

2. If you've already looked this sensation up once today, that's enough — put the phone face down for ten minutes and let the ten minutes pass without it.

3. Once today, say out loud exactly what is true and nothing more: "my hands are tingling" — not "something is wrong." Just the sensation, named as a sensation.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Download Anchored on iOS 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. Access over 2,500 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. If this episode helped, please share it and leave a quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it genuinely helps more people find their way here.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at...

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off with this gentle bedtime story for sleep and insomnia relief, read aloud as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime strand. Tonight's tale is The Gift of the Magi, O. Henry's much-loved Christmas classic about a young couple with almost nothing to spend and everything to give, first published in his 1906 collection The Four Million — long in the public domain, with Porter (1862–1910) having 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 soothing bedtime audiobook, Della has just one dollar and eighty-seven cents to buy her husband Jim a Christmas present worthy of him — so she makes a sacrifice of her own most treasured possession, setting up one of literature's most tender surprise endings. A gentle, unhurried classic, perfect for winding down, easing anxiety, and drifting off to sleep.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Why Does September Feel So Heavy? — A 10-Minute Meditation for End-of-Summer Sadness and Seasonal Low Mood

 

You're standing in the kitchen and it's already getting dark. A few weeks ago there was still plenty of light at this time. The summer's gone, the children are back at school, the diary's filling up again — and somehow you're feeling worse, not devastated, not falling apart, just flat. That can be the frightening part, because nothing bad has actually happened. If you've been wondering about September sadness, or asking yourself why do I feel sad when summer ends, this guided meditation is for the next ten minutes of your day.

 

For company on the darker evenings ahead, download Anchored, Calming Anxiety's companion app, with Books at Bedtime sessions to fall asleep to and a timer that switches off on its own.

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 alternate nostril breathing (nadi shodhana) to settle you, then works with the specific fear that comes from low mood with no obvious cause — reframing it as the season changing, not you failing.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Why Does September Feel So Heavy?

* 01:12 – Welcome & Anchored

* 02:24 – Breathing: Alternate Nostril (Nadi Shodhana)

* 04:53 – Putting Down "What's Wrong With Me?"

* 06:45 – Affirmations for the Season Turning

* 08:38 – Three Daily Caring Tips

* 09:33 – Coming Back Gently

* 10:11 – A Note From Martin

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Settle in and repeat these gently to yourself:

This is the season changing, not me failing.

I do not need a reason to feel low.

September sadness does not mean there is something wrong with me.

I can notice how I feel without judging how I feel.

I am allowed to slow down when the year does.

The light is changing, and I can change gently with it.

I do not have to force myself to feel differently today.

I can simply be kind to myself.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Get outside for 10 minutes before 10am if you can — no phone, no podcast, no scrolling, just daylight.

2. Say this one out loud, once, today: "This is the season, not me" — not as a diagnosis, just a gentle reminder that change in the world around you can affect how you feel.

3. Put one small pleasant thing in the diary for this week — not for December, not something you have to wait months for. A coffee with someone you like, a walk somewhere beautiful, ten minutes with a book.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Download Anchored on iOS 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. Access over 2,500 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. If this episode helped, please share it and leave a quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it genuinely helps more people find their way here.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling...

After Twenty Years by O. Henry — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off with this gentle bedtime story for sleep and insomnia relief, read aloud as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime strand. Tonight's tale is After Twenty Years, O. Henry's quietly moving story of an old promise kept between two childhood friends, first published in his 1906 collection The Four Million — long in the public domain, with Porter (1862–1910) having 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 soothing bedtime audiobook, Bob waits alone in a darkened New York doorway for the friend he agreed to meet at this exact spot, exactly twenty years to the night since they last parted — and a passing policeman's chat with him sets up one of O. Henry's most quietly devastating twists. A gentle, unhurried classic, perfect for winding down, easing anxiety, and drifting off to sleep.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

I Think I've Lost a Friend, and I Don't Know Why — A 10-Minute Meditation for Friendship Loss and Ambiguous Grief

 

There's a particular kind of loss that doesn't come with a day attached. No one moved away, there was no row, nothing you could point to and say "that's where it happened." It just went quiet — a little less often, then a lot less often — until one evening you realised you couldn't remember the last proper conversation, and underneath it all, the question you've been embarrassed to say out loud: what did I do? If a friendship has faded without explanation, this guided meditation sits with that ambiguous loss and the grief that comes with it.

 

For a place to return to whenever this feeling resurfaces, download Anchored, Calming Anxiety's 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 a slow 4-2-6 breath (in for four, a two-count pause, out for six with an audible sigh) before moving into affirmation work that separates the loss of a friendship from any need to know what went wrong — and gives you permission to simply miss someone.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – "What Did I Do?"

* 00:56 – Welcome & Anchored

* 01:36 – Settling In

* 01:59 – Breathing: 4-2-6, the Sighing Exhale

* 04:39 – Affirmations for a Faded Friendship

* 08:16 – Three Daily Caring Tips

* 09:16 – Coming Back Gently

* 09:53 – A Note From Martin

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Settle in and repeat these gently to yourself:

A friendship has gone quiet, and that is a loss, even though nothing has happened.

I do not need to know what I did, because I may not have done anything wrong at all.

People drift apart for reasons that have nothing whatsoever to do with me.

I am allowed to miss my friend.

I loved someone, and it went quiet, and the loving was still real.

This sadness is not a fault in me — it is the shape love takes when there is no one left to put it.

I am safe, I am here. There is nothing to fear right now.

You are the sky. This is only weather moving across it.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. The next time you go to tell them something, and you'll finish the sentence anyway — say it out loud in the car, or write it down somewhere. Do not just swallow it.

2. Today, say it once, plainly, to one person: "I think I've lost a friend, and it's been sitting with me." Not to fix it — just so it exists somewhere outside your own head.

3. Give yourself one small moment today to notice what this friendship gave you — a laugh, something you learned, or simply a time you felt understood.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Download Anchored on iOS 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. Access over 2,500 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. If this episode helped, please share it and leave a quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it genuinely helps more people find their way here.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at...

The Cop and the Anthem by O. Henry — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off with this gentle bedtime story for sleep and insomnia relief, read aloud as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime strand. Tonight's tale is The Cop and the Anthem, O. Henry's wry, warm-hearted story of a homeless New Yorker's winter scheme, first published in his 1906 collection The Four Million — long in the public domain, with Porter (1862–1910) having 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 soothing bedtime audiobook, Soapy tries every trick he knows to get himself arrested and land a warm winter berth on the prison island — from a slap-up dinner he can't pay for to a stolen umbrella — only to find the law has other plans, right up until a church anthem changes his mind entirely. A gentle, unhurried classic with O. Henry's trademark twist, perfect for winding down, easing anxiety, and drifting off to sleep.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins



Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.