Return to Calm A Guided Self-Therapy Text for Anxiety, Overwhelm, or Daily Reset. ©2025 Tale Teller Club Therapy
If you’ve come to this page, take a moment to acknowledge yourself.You are here, choosing calm. That, in itself, is powerful.Find a place where you can sit or lie down comfortably. Let your hands rest where they want to. There is no right way to do this—only your way.Begin by taking a slow, deep breath in through your nose. Hold it gently for three seconds. Then exhale slowly through your mouth.Let’s do that again.Inhale... Hold... Exhale...One more time. Inhale... Hold... Exhale...As you breathe, notice what happens in your body.Your shoulders lower. Your jaw softens. Your chest rises and falls in rhythm. You are safe in this moment.Now, turn your attention to your thoughts—not to fight them, not to fix them. Just notice them.Are they fast? Heavy? Repetitive? That’s okay. You don’t need to believe everything they say.You are not your thoughts. You are the space beneath them.They are weather. You are sky.
Grounding Exercise: 5–4–3–2–1This is a simple, powerful way to return to the present moment.5 – Look around you. Name five things you can see. Say them out loud or just think them. 4 – Notice four things you can physically touch. Your clothes, a table, the ground beneath you. 3 – Listen. Name three things you can hear. Distant sounds. The hum of a light. Your own breath. 2 – Identify two things you can smell. Fresh air. Soap. Even just “the smell of now.” 1 – Name one thing you like about yourself. It can be big or tiny, silly or sacred. It all counts.Take another deep breath.You’re doing beautifully.Let go of the pressure to be productive right now. You don’t need to solve or prove anything in this moment. You are allowed to be still. You are allowed to rest.Say this to yourself, in your mind or aloud:“I am allowed to rest. I am safe in this moment. I am doing enough.”Feel those words settle inside you.Let them be a soft place to land.When you’re ready, slowly begin to bring movement back to your body. Wiggle your fingers. Stretch. Blink gently.You’ve just given yourself a gift: Stillness. Presence. Compassion.You can return here any time.You are not alone. You are enough.