Your Mind Needs a Seatbelt
What to do When Your Thoughts Start Speeding
Dear UnMinders,
The world we live in today is ruled by a buzz-word. “Anxiety” – everyone’s favourite problem. How many times have you had panic attacks? Or been unable to get through the day because of your fierce anxiety.
You cannot outsmart anxiety.
You cannot outthink it.
You cannot negotiate with it.
You cannot send it a strongly worded email.
Anxiety is not a logical problem.
It’s an energetic storm… happening in the body, narrated by the mind like a very enthusiastic news anchor…“BREAKING NEWS: EVERYTHING IS WRONG.”
Anxiety is not something to eliminate.
It is something to befriend.
Yes, you heard that correctly.
Befriend.
Not suppress.
Not fix.
Not spiritually bypass with quotes about peace.
Because the moment you resist anxiety, you create something a tad bit worse.
Anxiety… about anxiety.
And now you have a sequel nobody asked for.
Let’s decode what happens during a panic attack:
A sensation arises (tight chest, racing heart).
The mind says: “This is bad”
The body hears that and escalates.
The mind says: “NOW THIS IS VERY BAD”
The body responds accordingly.
Congratulations!
You’ve created a feedback loop.
Not because something is wrong.
But because the system is… too good at protecting you.
From Victim to Witness
Meditation is not about calming down.
That’s a side effect.
Meditation is about shifting from…
“I am anxious”
to
“Anxiety is happening”
Tiny linguistic change.
Existential revolution.
Because the moment you see anxiety as something happening within awareness,
you are no longer trapped inside it.
You are aware of it.
And awareness… is not panicking.
Meera hated her anxiety. Understandably. It arrived uninvited, stayed too long, and refused to explain itself.
She tried everything. Distraction. Affirmations. Pretending she was fine (a classic).
Nothing worked.
One day, exhausted, she did something radical.
She stopped resisting. She sat down, heart racing, breath uneven, and said internally,
“Alright. Stay.”
No drama.
No strategy.
Just… allowing.
And something strange happened.
The anxiety didn’t vanish immediately.
But it stopped growing.
Because it was no longer being fed by resistance.
Over time, Meera realized,
Anxiety was not a monster.
It was a wave.
And she had been trying to punch water.
The Practice | Sit with the Storm (Without Becoming It)
Here’s a simple, slightly counterintuitive guide.
Step 1: Pause
When anxiety arises, don’t rush to escape.
Yes, everything in you will disagree.
Pause anyway.
Step 2: Feel the Body
Forget the story.
Focus on sensation:
Tightness
Heat
Movement
Where is it?
What does it feel like?
Become curious, not dramatic.
Step 3: Allow
Instead of,
“This shouldn’t be happening”
Try,
“This is happening”
No resistance.
No commentary.
Just… space.
Step 4: Breathe (But Don’t Force It)
Let the breath be natural.
You’re not controlling it.
You’re accompanying it.
Like a friend sitting beside someone going through something intense.
Step 5: Notice Awareness
Even in the middle of anxiety, something is aware of it.
That awareness is…
Not tight
Not panicking
Not overwhelmed
Rest there, even briefly.
Here’s the deeper secret.
Anxiety feeds on identification and resistance.
Take those away…
And it loses its fuel.
Not instantly. But inevitably.
There’s something strangely funny about it.
Your mind is screaming,
“THIS IS THE END.”
And your awareness is quietly observing like,
“Interesting. Continue.”
It’s like watching a very dramatic actor perform… in an empty theatre.
The performance may be intense.
But the space holding it… is unaffected.
If you truly practice this…
Anxiety may still arise
Panic may still visit .
But something fundamental changes.
You stop being afraid of fear.
And when fear is no longer feared…
It loses its throne.
You don’t need to eliminate anxiety to be free.
You need to change your relationship to it.
Because beneath the waves of panic…
beneath the noise of the mind…
There is something quietly stable.
Aware.
Open.
Unshaken.
And the more you rest there…
The more you realize,
You were never drowning.
You just forgot…
You were the ocean. 🌊✨
Thank You for reading,
Manpreet Singh
If something here has added even a small spark of value to your life,
your support would be deeply appreciated.
With heartfelt gratitude. 🤍
Thank you. I will be saving this for future practice. 💚
Anxiety has its uses, too🤭. It saved me a couple of times when I was young, and needed adrenaline to survive.
...Men trying to rape or kidnap me..... I survived thanks to fight or flight (anxiety) mechanisms.
In the kidnap attempt, I was able to escape, and knocked the other one out.(very proud of the last one. He was a US football quarter back and at that time, I was petite but fit)💪😁.