Can anyone recommend a relaxation meditation for stress/anxiety?

[Elephantina]

Last year I had a terribly stressful spell at work, making mistakes and forgetting things, suffering brain fog, getting tearful about all the spinning plates and having endless diarrhoea. I had a thread at the time actually.

I got through it, I had a folate deficiency which has since been resolved and everything settled down at work once I cut down on my appointments a bit.

But I can feel it starting again. Work is piling up, I have a series of presentations starting next week which I'm dreading, there are politics going on that I have no control over and my fellow directors are at war. One has resigned. I can feel that fluttering sensation in my chest again and my stomach is already starting to play up. I've made a couple of errors in recent emails I've sent because I rushed my responses.

I really don't want to be back down there again, crying and shaking when trying to get ready to leave for an appointment 250 miles away at 4am. How can I stop this decline it in its tracks? Cutting down on work and swerving the presentations is, sadly, not an option.

I like the idea of night time meditations on You Tube or something, are there any that people swear by?

Discreet bump.

I've used both the Headspace and Calm apps. Preferred Headspace initially as found it difficult to get used to the American accents on Calm.

Now I much prefer Calm as there is more variety - meditations, music, soundscapes and even bedtime stories with readers ranging from Stephen Fry to Matthew McConnaghey. I've invested in a years subscription and use it daily so well worth the fee which iirc was £35.99

I also use the Liberation in Mind self hypnosis videos on YouTube, and have found them particularly good for insomnia.

I have a few favourites from YouTube, I suggest you try a few and see which you like as with some I find the voices really irritating and so cannot 'switch off'.

There's a five minute in the moment relaxation one I use. Just by lying down and making myself do the breathing helps.
Recently have been under a lot of stress around being a carer which has raised my blood pressure somewhat! So I am listening twice daily to binaural beats for high blood pressure - again in YouTube. There are different binaural beats for different conditions and some go one for hours unfortunately. The one I am using lasts 14 minutes and is very relaxing. You need to listen with earphones tho.

I hope you start to feel better soon. I have found going out for a brisk walk every day really helps my stress levels. Following on from a recent thread on MN, I have down loaded to my phone archived Desert Island Disc programmes. 40 - 45 minutes long, they're ideal for listening to as you walk.

I use Headspace and calm, both have really helped me.

I also take propanalol, it’s a beta blocker and keeps the physical aspects of anxiety at bay. Like you my stomach would be in bits most days and my heart would be racing. The propanalol helps with this so I can focus on dealing with my thoughts. I tried antidepressants but I really struggled with the side effects.

YouTube: Meditation for Anxiety, Yoga with Adrienne. I find it very effective

Take care

I like the Calm app too. Far prefer it to Headspace. It's definitely worth a try!

I like this one,

I like Andrew Johnson. Lovely Scottish accent. Works treat for me when I'm struggling to sleep.

Brilliant, thank you all so much. I've looked at Headspace before but never got into it, I'll do some research. It's just useful to have a place to start.

I already take anti-depressants for anxiety related to a phobia, and I take a beta blocker plus another anti-depressant for chronic migraine! I've listened to binaural beats before for migraine in fact.

I walk a short distance every morning with the dog; DH and I have recently re-started C25k; and we are also "training" (vaguely) for the London to Brighton bike ride, so I get some reasonable exercise.

Off to do some searching, thanks for the tips and links.

Buddhify is another meditation app and it's free (you can pay for some extra content but all the main stuff is free).

smiling mind is another free ap. I like it.

Another one saying do go for Yoga with Adriene. Weirdly I find the shoulder stretch one really erases my anxieties, plus she has a dog called Benji that looks so chill in each video you’re doubly relaxed.

Good luck, and stay positive. Sounds like you have a good grip on your mental health & well-being x