In this week’s Wednesday Wisdom, Karissa reflects on creating distance from anxious thoughts by connecting with the calm, compassionate observer within.
A reassuring reminder that simple grounding practices can help you feel safer, quiet the mind, and prepare you for rest. For the full meditation inspired by this reflection, search “Finding Protection From Anxieties - Sleep Wave”.
Join Sleep Wave Premium ✨ in just two taps! Enjoy 2 bonus episodes a month plus all episodes ad-free and show your support to Karissa. Upgrade via our show page on Apple, or via this link for all other players ➡️ https://sleepwave.supercast.com/
Love the Sleep Wave Podcast? Please hit follow & leave a review ⭐️
How are we doing with Sleep Wave? Click here to let us know 🙌
Let's get social! Follow us on Instagram 💜
How does Sleep Wave work?
💤 This show is for any one who struggles to fall asleep, or wakes up in the night.
😴 Powerful Sleep Meditations and Relaxing Bedtime Stories help you fall asleep easily.
😌 Episodes begin with calming intros to take you away from any anxious thoughts and prepare you for your wind down.
Subscribe today, and next time you're ready to get sleepy, jump into bed, press play, and get sleepy, fast.
Looking for the brands I mention on the show? You’ll find all the latest sponsor links and offers right here: https://lnk.to/sleepwave 💜
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
[00:00:28] have felt anxiety at some point, and you don't need me to tell you how challenging it can be to navigate or how it can keep you up at night. Sometimes, for me, it feels like my anxiety gets activated. One thing will set me off, and before I know it, I have a feeling of foreboding or fear that follows me around for days and sneaks up on me again just when I think it's past.
[00:00:57] As much as I really dislike this feeling, I know it's one that I have to deal with every now and then. The thing I try to remember is that I have choices. I can choose to react to the feeling, or I can choose to watch it. That's not to say that I don't have to experience it if I watch it, but it gives me a little bit of distance from it, which I find helpful.
[00:01:27] Sometimes when sitting in meditation or while meditating before sleep, I imagine there's another me I can see just across the room. She's calm and steady and unbothered by whatever I may be experiencing. She's just watching. She's the observer.
[00:01:49] I imagine I am her, watching me, going through the swirl of anxiety or fear or whatever the challenging emotion may be. This other me is compassionate and still, just waiting for the storm to settle. The more that I can identify with that still place within myself, the calmer I become.
[00:02:15] Another thing I like to do is join my hands at my heart in a prayer position and then extend them straight out in front of me, and then around to my sides and as far back as I can go, imagining I am creating a bubble of protection and safety all around me. The feeling that I am protected and safe and surrounded by light helps to soothe my anxious thoughts.
[00:02:46] Anxiety is more severe for some of us and less so for others. But regardless of the severity of it, these little tricks have helped me navigate my own anxiety for years. Having little go-to's that are simple and easy to remember in a moment of unease are essential to mitigating the anxiety before it gets too overwhelming.
[00:03:10] Calming anxiety before sleep is vital to ensuring your body and mind are calm enough to rest. Meditation will slow your mind down and help quiet, obsessive thoughts so that you can breathe again. Your breath will deepen. Your tension will slowly loosen so you can disrupt the cycle of anxiety and give yourself the rest you need to see tomorrow through fresh eyes.
[00:03:47] Tonight's episode of Sleepwave is sponsored by Vinted. Every so often, I open my wardrobe and realize how many clothes are taking up space without being worn. You know the ones. You think their moment will come, but somehow it never does. Vinted offers a practical way to clear some of that space. It's a secondhand marketplace app where everyday people can sell pre-loved fashion and earn some extra money.
[00:04:12] I like the idea that clothes I bought for special occasions can now have their own story with somebody else, rather than sitting forgotten at the back of a wardrobe. Listing items on Vinted is quick and simple, and there are no seller fees, so you keep everything you earn. Once something sells, Vinted also creates the prepaid shipping label for you. So, if your wardrobe is feeling crowded, Vinted could help you make some space and be less wasteful at the same time.
[00:04:40] Ready to clean out your closet and make some extra money? Download the Vinted app for free and start listing. With no seller fees, you keep every dollar you earn and, for a limited time, enjoy free shipping in the U.S. on Vinted. There's something quietly remarkable about the stories people carry with them. The moments that changed everything, the situations nobody could have planned for. What was that like is a podcast built entirely around those moments.
[00:05:08] Each episode, a guest sits down and recounts a real experience. An unusual job, an unexpected encounter, a life turned briefly sideways. True stories, told by the people who lived them, verified so even the most extraordinary ones you can trust.
[00:05:27] Episodes like, Elena was friends with Mickey and Scott was an undercover FBI agent, give you a gentle window into lives lived very differently from your own. So, if you find yourself drawn to real human stories, the kind that make you wonder what you would have done, I'd invite you to spend some time with, what was that like? Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening right now.