You jolt awake.

It’s dark, your heart is pounding, and your mind is running in loops—trying to solve the unsolvable.

The world feels uncertain, and your nervous system is on high alert. You’re not alone.

In moments like this, your instinct might be to analyze, fix, or escape the discomfort. But real relief comes from doing something different: learning to stay with it and metabolize the anxiety.

Try this the next time anxiety jolts you awake:

Step 1: Come Back to Your Body

When anxiety hijacks your mind, grounding yourself in the physical world helps signal safety to your nervous system.

Try This:

• Wiggle your fingers and toes.
• Feel the texture of the sheets.
• Notice the weight of your body against the mattress.

Step 2: Shift Attention to Sensation, Not Thought

When your mind is racing, it’s easy to get trapped in fear stories—replaying the past or worrying about the future. Instead of feeding those thoughts, shift your focus to what’s actually happening in your body.

Try This:

• Ask yourself: What physical sensations am I feeling right now? If I wasn't thinking, what would I have to feel?
• Notice your heart rate, the tightness in your chest, the temperature of the air.

Step 3: Get Curious, Not Controlling

Most of us instinctively try to push away anxiety, which only makes it a bigger internal fight. But what if you did the opposite? What if, instead of resisting, you got curious?

Try This:

• Instead of suppressing the discomfort, breathe into it.
• Observe how it intensifies, shifts, moves, or changes.
• Remind yourself that you don’t have to escape this moment—your body knows how to process it.

Step 4: Reassure Yourself: You Don’t Need All the Answers Right Now

Anxiety often comes from trying to control the uncontrollable. But the truth is, you don’t have to figure everything out at 4 AM.

Try This:

Whisper to yourself: “I don’t need to have all the answers right now. I can rest in the unknown.”

Acknowledge that increasing your tolerance for uncertainty will greatly enhance your life.

Final Thought: This is How You Build Self-Trust

Your nervous system is built to process emotions—but only if you let them move through you. When you resist distress, it gets stuck. When you meet it with curiosity, it loosens its grip and passes through.

This is how you build real resilience—by proving to yourself that you can tolerate intensity without running from it.

Next time anxiety jolts you awake, try these steps and notice what shifts. You are stronger than you think.

With Steadiness,
Carolyn