Calming Anxiety | Guided Meditation, Sleep Hypnosis & Panic Attack Relief

The Little Black Doll by L.M. Montgomery — A Tender Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off to sleep with The Little Black Doll by L.M. Montgomery, a tender, bittersweet tale of love, sacrifice and an unexpected gift from the author of Anne of Green Gables, read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety.

 

Little Joyce is an orphan, shy, thin and awkward, living with her stately Grandmother Marshall, who has never found much to love in a granddaughter who doesn't do her credit. Pretty, golden-haired cousin Chrissy is taken everywhere. Little Joyce is left at home. In all the world, only two things love her back: Denise, the gentle French girl who lies ill in the little kitchen chamber, and Joyce's most treasured possession, a small doll carved from polished black wood, found in an Egyptian tomb and said to be four thousand years old.

 

The whole household is buzzing about the great French-Canadian prima donna, Madame Lauren, who is to sing at the Harbour Light Hotel. Denise longs with all her heart to hear her sing the old French songs her mother sang to her, just one little song. So, while the family is out, Little Joyce slips away down the shore road, carrying her precious black doll in a box and a brave plan in her heart.

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Montgomery's gentle seaside setting, a deeply moving and heart-warming ending, and Martin's calm, unhurried narration make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

If you enjoy L.M. Montgomery, you'll find more of her short stories on Books at Bedtime, including The Gossip of Valley View, The Fillmore Elderberries, Jessamine, A Redeeming Sacrifice and Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner, all from the same collection.

 

The Little Black Doll was first published in 1909 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1909 to 1922. L.M. Montgomery (1874–1942) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Take a quiet 10 minutes to reset, let go of fixing your day, and put yourself somewhere safe. In this episode of Calming Anxiety, former paramedic and clinical hypnotherapist Martin guides you through a slow, calming 10-minute mindful breathing exercise designed to soothe an overactive nervous system and quiet a racing mind.

Using the power of extended exhales (inhale for 4, hold, exhale for 6), this practice directly targets the vagus nerve to signal safety to your body. Whether you're dealing with panic, 3 AM worry, or just need a moment of peace, there is nothing here to solve—only your breath and room to exist.

⏱️ Time Chapters
00:00 – Welcome & Settling In (There is Nothing to Fix)
00:35 – Introduction from Martin (Clinical Hypnotherapist & Paramedic)
01:17 – Preparing Your Body & Lowering the Shoulders
01:44 – The Science of the Extended Exhale & Vagus Nerve
02:23 – Guided 4-1-6 Breathing Exercise Begins
03:42 – Letting the Rhythm Take Over & Grounding in the Room
04:38 – Gentle Affirmations & Hypnotic Suggestions (First Pass)
06:23 – Affirmations for Overhearing & Drift (Second Pass)
07:44 – 3 Daily Caring Tips for a Happier Life
09:01 – Gently Waking Up & Returning to Your Day
09:19 – Final Thoughts & Call to Action
🌿 Today's Gentle AffirmationsRepeat these silently, or simply let them drift past without holding on:
"My breath is slow and my body is following it down."
"I am at peace with the world around me, exactly as it is today."
"There is nothing I must solve in these ten minutes."
"My shoulders are lower than they were; my jaw is looser than it was."
"The world can carry on without my worrying about it."
"I am allowed to rest before I have earned it."
"The calm is mine. I made it with my own breath."
💡 3 Daily Caring Tips
One Breath at the Threshold: Every time you pass through a doorway today (front door, office, car), take one slow exhale. Treat doors as natural punctuation marks in your day rather than rushing through them.
Leave One Thing Unfinished: Intentionally leave a small task incomplete today—a dish in the sink, an email draft, or a quick tidy-up. Prove to your brain that the world holds together even when you stop.
Ten Seconds of Sky: Step outside or look out a window and look up at the sky for 10 seconds. It costs nothing and is the fastest way to reconnect with the world around you.
📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You AnywhereIf today’s 10 minutes helped bring peace to your day, take your practice deeper with Anchored. Access over 3,000 searchable, downloadable sessions—perfect for when you're out of signal and need a quiet space to land.👉 Download Anchored on the iOS App Store Today (Replace with your direct iOS App Store link)If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts and share it with someone who could use a calmer day. Until tomorrow, in everything... be kind.

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Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

Backing Music: Chris Collins

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Affiliate links to the gear I use the items that give me a more tranquil life.

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Items I use for a more relaxed way of life :)
Organic Pure Hemp CBD Capsules - https://amzn.to/3

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

The Gossip of Valley View by L.M. Montgomery — A Funny, Feel-Good Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off to sleep with The Gossip of Valley View by L.M. Montgomery, a gently funny and heart-warming tale of small-town rumour and late-blooming romance from the author of Anne of Green Gables, read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety.

 

It's the first of April, and fourteen-year-old Julius Barrett hasn't managed to fool a single soul all day. So when solemn, truthful Dan Chester rides by on his grey mare, Julius can't resist one last April Fool. He whispers some astonishing news: Adelia Williams and Young Thomas Everett are to be married in June. They are the very last two people in Valley View anyone would pair together. Young Thomas is a confirmed bachelor of fifty, Adelia a cheerful spinster of forty, and the two families have never been friendly.

 

Within days the story is everywhere. At the blacksmith's, the mill, the post office and even the minister's visit, Young Thomas is teased and congratulated wherever he goes. The rumour grows with every telling: a brown cashmere wedding dress, a hat with an ostrich plume, and then an actual wedding present arriving by express from a cousin in Minnesota. The trouble is, the more Valley View talks, the more Young Thomas finds himself thinking about Adelia's rosy cheeks and twinkling brown eyes.

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Montgomery's warm humour, cosy village characters and Martin's calm, unhurried narration make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

If you enjoy L.M. Montgomery, you'll find more of her short stories on Books at Bedtime, including The Fillmore Elderberries, Jessamine, A Redeeming Sacrifice and Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner, all from the same collection.

 

The Gossip of Valley View was first published in 1910 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1909 to 1922. L.M. Montgomery (1874–1942) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

 

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Anxious About the Week Ahead? — A 10-Minute Guided Meditation for Sunday Night Anxiety & Overwhelm | Gentle 3-5 Breathing

 

Anxious about the week ahead? It hasn't started yet, but you can already feel it: the things you need to do, the people waiting on you, the appointments, the responsibilities, the messages you haven't even answered. You're trying to enjoy a quiet evening while your mind is several days ahead. This 10-minute guided meditation for anxiety about the week ahead reminds you that you don't have to carry the whole week this evening.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, creator of more than 2,500 Calming Anxiety episodes, every one of them searchable and downloadable in the Anchored app for whenever you need them. Find it on iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 and Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

Together we notice the room around you, then follow a gentle breath in for three and out for five, with no holding. That longer out-breath helps a busy, overwhelmed mind slow down. You'll learn what to do when a task suddenly pops into your head, receive five affirmations for meeting the coming week one day at a time, and leave with three practical daily caring tips for Sunday night anxiety, stress relief and a calmer start to your week.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Anxious about the week ahead?

* 00:33 – Welcome from Martin

* 00:47 – 2,500+ episodes in the Anchored app

* 00:57 – Finding your quiet place

* 01:15 – Noticing the room around you

* 01:27 – Something simple to follow: your breath

* 01:50 – Gentle breathing: in for 3, out for 5

* 03:33 – When a task pops into your mind

* 04:44 – Letting your breath find its own rhythm

* 05:10 – Today's gentle affirmations

* 06:30 – You are worthy

* 06:46 – Affirmations, once more

* 07:53 – Taking this comfort into the week ahead

* 08:14 – Your 3 daily caring tips

* 09:13 – Gently returning to the room

* 09:43 – This really is just me

* 10:08 – Anchored and the Instant Calm blue button

* 10:36 – Until tomorrow, be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Visualise these words in your mind's eye, notice their colour and size, then repeat them gently:

* I can meet the coming week one day at a time.

* I am allowed to enjoy this evening while tomorrow remains unfinished.

* I can choose one manageable step at a time.

* I can ask for support when my week feels too heavy.

* I can return to the present whenever my mind runs ahead.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Give your list somewhere to wait: If worries about the week ahead keep circling, write down the essentials and choose one priority for the next working day. Give the list somewhere to wait rather than repeatedly reviewing it in your mind.

2. Choose a stopping point for preparation: Once you've done what is reasonably useful, let yourself move into an ordinary evening activity. You can return to the remaining tasks at an appropriate time.

3. Keep one small thing to look forward to: A walk, a conversation, a favourite meal or a few quiet minutes. Give that moment a place alongside your responsibilities.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

The week ahead can unfold one part at a time, and you have more control than it feels like tonight. This isn't a huge corporation, it's just Martin, seven years of sharing mindfulness and helping you take back control. Keep these guided meditations close to hand in Anchored, where Instant Calm, the big blue button for panic attacks and fast breathing, works offline forever, no purchase needed:

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

If you have a free moment, please share this episode on your social media with someone who dreads the week ahead, and leave a 30-second rating or review on Apple Podcasts. For a one-man show, it truly means the world.

 

Have a lovely day, my friend. Truly. Let's reconnect tomorrow. And as always, in absolutely everything we do, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

The Fillmore Elderberries by L.M. Montgomery — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off to sleep with The Fillmore Elderberries by L.M. Montgomery, a warm and uplifting country tale of hard work, honesty and second chances from the author of Anne of Green Gables, read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety.

 

Ellis Duncan is just fourteen when his father dies, and he must earn a living for himself and his fragile, worn-out mother. But in the farming village of Dalrymple, nobody wants to hire Sam Duncan's son. His father was lazy, shiftless and untrustworthy, and everyone assumes the boy will be the same. Even his own uncle, the stern and tight-fisted Timothy Robinson, turns him away at the door.

 

Then, sitting on a fence at the edge of old Thomas Fillmore's pasture, Ellis sees his chance. Once the finest field in Dalrymple, it has been overrun for years by stubborn elderberry bushes taller than a man, with roots thicker than his wrist. For a meagre sixteen dollars, Ellis promises to clear the whole field and see the job through to the end. Week after week, under the hot summer sun, he digs, cuts and drags out the roots, while someone is quietly watching. And when a far better offer comes along, Ellis must decide what his word is worth.

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Montgomery's gentle rural scenery, a heart-warming ending and Martin's calm, unhurried narration make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

If you enjoy L.M. Montgomery, you'll find more of her short stories on Books at Bedtime, including Jessamine, A Redeeming Sacrifice and Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner, all from the same collection.

 

The Fillmore Elderberries was first published in 1909 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1909 to 1922. L.M. Montgomery (1874–1942) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.