Befriending Your Anxiety: How Compassion Loosens Its Grip

(sound hissing) (mouse clicking) (light music) Headspace Studios. (pensive music) Hey friends, it's Rosie here, and welcome to Radio Headspace. So today, I wanna talk about something that might sound a little strange at first. What if we could befriend our anxiety? Not fix it, not silence it, not pretend it doesn't exist, but actually make room for it like you would for an old friend who talks a little too much, but usually has a point. Because sometimes anxiety isn't trying to sabotage you, it's trying to signal something you haven't fully heard. A few years ago, I went on a silent meditation retreat. I'd been feeling overwhelmed in my day-to-day life. You know, spinning plates, constantly in motion. And I thought a few days of quiet would be just what I needed to reset. No phone, no work, just stillness. But here's the thing about stillness, it doesn't always feel peaceful at first. So there I was sitting in silence, not thinking about anything in particular, just breathing. And boom, there it was, tight chest, racing thoughts, that familiar urge to do something. And I was frustrated, like, why now? I'm literally meditating. I'm trying to be so zen. After one of the lectures, I walked up to the teacher during the break and told him what had happened. I was like, isn't this supposed to be helping me? Why do I feel worse right now? And he looked at me and said something I've never forgotten. He said, "What if your anxiety isn't trying to stop you, "but trying to join you?" I nodded like, wow. Yes, so deep. But inside I was like, sir, with all due respect, absolutely not. Why would I ever wanna be joined by anxiety? I'm here because we are not friends. She has not been helpful. She has not served me. But later that night, I really sat with it. And the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Because anxiety isn't some external force. She is, after all, a part of me. And maybe instead of pushing it away, I could start to listen. (soft music) For so much of my life, I treated anxiety like the enemy, something to fight, resist, wrestle to the ground. But what I've come to understand, especially through the years of mindfulness practice, is that anxiety doesn't need to be defeated. It needs to be understood. It needs boundaries, yes, but it also needs compassion. Now, when I feel that familiar stirring, the tightness in my chest, the buzz in my thoughts, I try to meet it like I would a scared child, not with panic, but with gentleness. I'll ask myself, okay, you're here. What do you need me to know? And sometimes the answer is simple. I'm overwhelmed, I'm tired. I just need you to slow down. Anxiety isn't something we get over. It's something we learn to navigate. And when we treat it with curiosity instead of criticism, we...