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

Latest Episodes:

I Feel Anxious Around People — Social Anxiety Meditation Aug 13, 2026

Show notes

Overcoming Social Anxiety: Your 10-Minute Calm Down Switch
Do you ever find yourself standing outside a room, heart racing, rehearsing every possible mistake before you even walk in? In this session of Calming Anxiety, Martin Hewlett (Clinical Hypnotherapist and former Paramedic) guides you through a powerful 10-minute nervous system reset. Learn how to silence the "filter" of social anxiety and reconnect with your true, confident self using vagus nerve stimulation and clinical visualization.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

How to trigger your vagus nerve to stop a panic response instantly.
Why the "rehearsing mind" is a false filter, not the truth.
A paramedic’s perspective on high-pressure social environments.
Practical tools to take up space in any room with confidence.

Episode Chapters

00:00 – Understanding the Social Anxiety Response
01:09 – The 4-2-5 Breath: Activating the Vagus Nerve
03:00 – Visualization: Finding Your True Self
04:50 – The Truth About How Others Perceive You
06:00 – Affirmations for Social Confidence
08:06 – 3 Daily Caring Tips for Social Situations
10:11 – Returning to the Present Moment

Affirmations for ConnectionRepeat these internally to retrain your brain for any social setting:

"I am calm in the presence of other people."
"I do not need to be perfect to be worthy of connection."
"Other people's opinions of me are none of my business."
"I am allowed to take up space in any room I enter."
"My presence is enough."

3 Daily Caring Tips for Social Anxiety

The Two-Minute Rule: Arrive two minutes early. Let your nervous system acclimatize to the physical space before the room fills with people.
Focus on One: Don't try to "work the room." Find one person, one genuine conversation, and let the crowd look after itself.
The "What Went Right" Catalog: Your mind will naturally list your "failures." Counter this by naming three things that went fine—a smile, eye contact, or a sentence that landed.

Go Deeper with Calming AnxietyIf you found peace in these ten minutes, there is so much more to explore:

The Library: Access over 2,300 sessions designed to help you find your "perfect coffee break" for the soul.
The Course: Ready to break the cycle? Join the Anxiety Circuit Breaker Course at calminganxiety.fm for 5 focused clinical hypnotherapy sessions.
Support the Show: If this helped you, please Subscribe and Share this episode with someone who might be standing outside their own "door" today.

In everything you do today, my friend. Be kind.
👉 Click to subscribe and unlock ad-free episodes now!
Support the Show:Ad-Free Listening: Enjoy Calming Anxiety without ads at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety--4110266/support
Buy Me a Coffee: Support hosting costs at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/calminganxiety
https://calminganxietypodcast.substack.com/?r=6zm0sc&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist
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
===================
Affiliate links to the gear I use the items that give me a more tranquil life.
=============================
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.

Books at Bedtime by Calming Anxiety - The Hound of the Baskervilles - Chapter 13 Aug 12, 2026

Show notes

The Hound of the Baskervilles, Chapter 13: Fixing the Nets, by Arthur Conan Doyle — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime
A calming bedtime story to help you fall asleep — Chapter 13 of The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, read slowly and softly for anyone lying awake with a busy mind.
Tonight the net begins to close. Sherlock Holmes returns to Baskerville Hall, and over a late supper he notices something in an old family portrait on the wall — a face beneath a plumed hat and curling love-locks that he has seen somewhere far more recently. From that single quiet observation, the whole tangled case begins to draw together.
Holmes and Watson leave for Coombe Tracey, call upon Mrs Laura Lyons, and lay the last of the traps. Lestrade arrives on the evening express. And Sir Henry is asked to do the one thing he has been warned against all along — to walk home alone across the moor.
This is a slow, unhurried reading. There is no need to follow the plot, and no need to reach the end. Let the rhythm of the Victorian prose and the hush of Dartmoor at night do the work while your body settles. If you drift off in the first few minutes, that is exactly what this is for.
Books at Bedtime is the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety, hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett — alongside Coffee Break for the Soul and the daily ten-minute guided meditations. If classic audiobooks help you sleep, this series is written for those long, wakeful hours.
You can take the whole library with you — download Anchored on iOS. Access over 3,000 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. 👉 Download Anchored on the App Store today: https://apps.apple.com
If this reading helped you sleep, please share it with someone who lies awake, and leave a 30-second rating or review on Apple Podcasts — it is the single kindest thing you can do for a small independent show.
Sleep well. And until tomorrow …be kind.
👉 Click to subscribe and unlock ad-free episodes now!
Support the Show:
Ad-Free Listening: Enjoy Calming Anxiety without ads at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety--4110266/support
Buy Me a Coffee: Support hosting costs at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/calminganxiety
Newsletter: Subscribe on Substack at https://calminganxietypodcast.substack.com/?r=6zm0sc&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist
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
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.

Sunlight Within — A 10-Minute Meditation for a Happier, More Positive Life Aug 12, 2026

Show notes

Start your day by reconnecting with your inner sense of peace. In this episode of Calming Anxiety, we explore a gentle guided visualization designed to help you tap into a "golden feeling" of well-being, anytime you need it. Whether you are navigating daily stress or simply seeking a moment of groundedness, this practice will help you soften your shoulders, release tension, and shift your perspective toward lightness and possibility. Join Martin, clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic, as he guides you through a session of self-compassion and mental restoration.
Ready to take your practice further? Download the Anchored app for iOS to support your journey toward lasting calm and anxiety management.Episode Chapters

00:00 – Welcome and Arrival: Settling into your space
01:06 – Guided Visualization: The warm golden light
03:53 – Affirmations for self-worth and peace
08:21 – Daily Caring Tips for a happier life
09:08 – Re-orienting and closing the session

Daily Affirmations

"I am allowed to feel good—not when everything is perfect, but right now."
"Good things are already on their way to me."
"I bring something to this world that no one else can."
"Today, I choose lightness."
"I am grateful, and gratitude feels wonderful."
"I am well, I am home, and today is full of possibility."

3 Daily Caring Tips

Mirror Appreciation: When you see yourself in the mirror, offer a genuine smile and love the reflection—honor all that you are.
Practice Forgiveness: Release the weight of past mistakes; learn from them, forgive yourself, and step forward into the present.
Embrace Your Uniqueness: Recognize your worth, celebrate your individuality, and enjoy being exactly who you are.

Remember to visit calminganxiety.fm for more resources and our full Anxiety Breaker course. Smile often, and be kind.
👉 Click to subscribe and unlock ad-free episodes now!
Support the Show:Ad-Free Listening: Enjoy Calming Anxiety without ads at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety--4110266/support
Buy Me a Coffee: Support hosting costs at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/calminganxiety
https://calminganxietypodcast.substack.com/?r=6zm0sc&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist
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
===================
Affiliate links to the gear I use the items that give me a more tranquil life.
=============================
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.

Books at Bedtime by Calming Anxiety - The Hound of the Baskervilles - Chapter 12 Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

Sleep Story for Insomnia — The Hound of the Baskervilles, Chapter 12: Death on the Moor | A Sherlock Holmes Bedtime Audiobook | Books at Bedtime
A sleep story for insomnia, read slowly and softly for anyone lying awake in the small hours. This is Chapter 12 of The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle — Death on the Moor — narrated for Books at Bedtime by Martin Hewlett, clinical hypnotherapist, former frontline paramedic and host of Calming Anxiety.
Tonight the mist settles low over the moor and the light drains slowly out of the western sky. Watson sits alone in a stone hut among the ancient dwellings, waiting in the dark for a stranger to return. A step on the gravel. A voice he knows better than any other in the world. And Sherlock Holmes, thin and weathered and quietly amused, is sitting on a stone outside the door.
What follows is a long, low-voiced conversation in the twilight — two friends piecing a puzzle together while the chill comes down and the stars come out over Dartmoor. And then, far off across the shadowy plain, a cry. A prolonged yell of horror that turns the blood to ice. The deep, muttered rumble of something running in the darkness. A stumbling chase over broken ground, gorse and boulders and the moon rising behind them. And a shape lying still against the silver stones.
This is one of the most atmospheric chapters in all of Sherlock Holmes — night air, granite, moonlight and mist — and it is read here at a deliberately unhurried pace, with long pauses and a lowered voice, so that the story can carry you down into sleep rather than keep you up.
You do not need to follow the plot. You do not need to remember a single name. Let the words blur at the edges. Let the moor go quiet. If you drift off long before Holmes and Watson reach the gates of Baskerville Hall, that is exactly what this recording is for — the story will still be here tomorrow night.
Best listened to lying down, in the dark, with the volume low.
The Hound of the Baskervilles was first published in 1902 and is in the public domain.
Books at Bedtime sits alongside the daily ten-minute guided meditations of Calming Anxiety and the reflections of Coffee Break for the Soul — a free library for anxiety relief, insomnia, overthinking and the long nights.
You can also take the whole library with you and download Anchored on iOS. Searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and a built-in nightlight for the small hours. 👉 Download Anchored on the App Store today: https://apps.apple.com
Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.
👉 Click to subscribe and unlock ad-free episodes now!
Support the Show:
Ad-Free Listening: Enjoy Calming Anxiety without ads at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety--4110266/support
Buy Me a Coffee: Support hosting costs at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/calminganxiety
Newsletter: Subscribe on Substack at https://calminganxietypodcast.substack.com/?r=6zm0sc&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist
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
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.

I Can’t Slow My Breathing Down — Panic Attack Relief Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

Panic Attack Relief — Mindful Breathing to Calm a Racing Chest | 10-Minute Guided Meditation with the Physiological Sigh
Panic attack relief starts with one breath — and this ten-minute guided meditation gives you the fastest one there is. If your breathing has gone high and shallow, if you are trying to take a deep breath and it keeps stopping halfway, this session is built for exactly that moment.
Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, today's practice is about mindful breathing and one named technique: the physiological sigh. Two breaths in through the nose, a short sip of air stacked on top, then one long, slow release. It is the quickest way we know of to bring a heart rate down in real time, and it is the breath Martin coached people through on the front line.
From there you are guided into stillness beside water at dusk — the setting sun, the ripples and reflections on the lake — while five gentle affirmations settle the nervous system and remind you that a panic attack cannot outlast a long, slow breath out.
Whether you are riding out a wave of anxiety right now, managing daily stress, or looking for a breathwork practice you can return to every morning, this is anxiety relief you can carry with you and use anywhere.
You are not broken. You are not in danger. Your breathing has simply got ahead of you — and it can be brought back.
⏱️ Time Chapters
* 00:00 – Your breathing has got ahead of you
* 01:06 – Welcome to Calming Anxiety
* 01:25 – Anchored arrives on iOS this Thursday
* 01:45 – Instant Calm: your always-on panic attack session
* 02:18 – Settling in
* 02:32 – The physiological sigh explained
* 02:50 – Guided breathing, three rounds
* 04:54 – Letting the words land
* 05:23 – Today's affirmations
* 06:22 – Stillness by the lake at dusk
* 06:51 – Affirmations, second pass
* 08:08 – Your three daily caring tips
* 08:58 – Coming back into the room
* 09:37 – Anchored, sharing, and the sign-off
🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations
Let these land. You don't have to believe them — just let them be.
* Every breath out is stress leaving my body.
* I do not have to fight a panic attack. I can breathe it out.
* My out breath is longer than my worrying and it is stronger.
* I let this exhale carry the whole day out of my shoulders.
* A panic attack cannot outlast a long, slow breath out.
💡 3 Daily Caring Tips
1. Rehearse it while you're calm. Practise the physiological sigh twice today while you are calm — once mid-morning, once mid-afternoon — so your body already knows the road before you ever need it in panic.
2. Breathe out before you reply. Before you answer any message that makes your stomach drop, put the phone down and take one long breath out first.
3. Five slow breaths out at bedtime. Tonight, before sleep, rest one hand on your lower ribs and count five slow breaths out — not in, just out.
📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere
This Thursday, Anchored arrives on iOS — with Android following next month. Everything you hear here, in one calm place: thousands of searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours.
The first thing to find when you open it is Instant Calm — a focused panic attack session that sits permanently in the same place, works offline as many times as you need it, and needs no subscription. Because when you actually need it, you will not be in a state to go searching for it.
If these ten minutes helped you today, please share this episode with one person who breathes the way you were breathing at the start of it, and leave a 30-second rating or review on Apple Podcasts. It costs you nothing and it genuinely changes someone's day.
I'll be right here with you again tomorrow, and every day for as long as I can.
And in everything, my friend… be kind.
👉 Click to subscribe and unlock ad-free episodes now!
Support the Show:
Ad-Free Listening: Enjoy Calming Anxiety without ads at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety--4110266/support
Buy Me a Coffee: Support hosting costs at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/calminganxiety
Newsletter: Subscribe on Substack at https://calminganxietypodcast.substack.com/?r=6zm0sc&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist
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
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.

Books at Bedtime by Calming Anxiety - The Hound of the Baskervilles - Chapter 11 Aug 10, 2026

Show notes

Sleep Story for Insomnia — The Hound of the Baskervilles, Chapter 11: The Man on the Tor | Arthur Conan Doyle | Books at Bedtime
A long, slow bedtime story for sleep and insomnia. Tonight, Chapter 11 of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles, read aloud by Martin Hewlett — clinical hypnotherapist, former paramedic, and host of the Calming Anxiety podcast.
It is the 18th of October, and Dr Watson finally has two threads to pull. A name behind the initials L. L. And a stranger living somewhere among the stone huts on the hillside.
He drives to Coombe Tracey to sit across from Laura Lyons and ask her, gently at first and then not gently at all, about a letter that was burned but not quite burned enough.
On the road home he is waylaid by old Frankland, flushed with victory and wine, who takes Watson up to his roof, sets his eye to a telescope, and shows him a small figure carrying a bundle across the empty moor.
And so the sun goes down over the great Grimpen Mire, gold on one slope and grey shadow on the other, while Watson sits waiting in the dark of a stone hut for its tenant to come home. When the footsteps finally arrive, the voice that speaks is one he knows better than any voice in the world.
This is unhurried, low-stimulation listening built for a mind that will not switch off. No sudden music, no startle, no urgency in the telling. Just a steady voice, a Victorian moor, and thirty minutes of somewhere else to be.
If sleep comes before Watson lights his cigarette, that is exactly as it should be. You are not expected to reach the end.
Best listened to lying down, with the lights out and the volume set a shade lower than feels right.
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was first published in 1902 and is in the public domain.
Books at Bedtime is part of the Calming Anxiety family of shows, alongside the daily 10-minute guided meditation and Coffee Break for the Soul. New sleep stories, guided meditations and clinical hypnotherapy sessions arrive every week.
Anchored, the companion app to Calming Anxiety, arrives on iOS on the 13th of August 2026 — with a dedicated Books at Bedtime section, offline listening for the nights the signal drops, and a built-in nightlight for the small hours.
If this reading helped you sleep, please pass it to someone who lies awake, and leave a 30-second rating or review on Apple Podcasts. It is the single kindest thing you can do to help another tired person find us.
Sleep well… and be kind.
👉 Click to subscribe and unlock ad-free episodes now!
Support the Show:
Ad-Free Listening: Enjoy Calming Anxiety without ads at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety--4110266/support
Buy Me a Coffee: Support hosting costs at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/calminganxiety
Newsletter: Subscribe on Substack at https://calminganxietypodcast.substack.com/?r=6zm0sc&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist
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
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.

Morning Anxiety — A 10-Minute Nervous System Reset to Start Your Day Calm Aug 10, 2026

Show notes

Do you wake up with a tight chest, a racing mind, or a low-level hum of dread before your day even begins? That is morning anxiety, and it is a completely physiological response. In this episode of Calming Anxiety, clinical hypnotherapist and former frontline paramedic Martin Hewlett breaks down the science behind the Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR) and leads you through a 10-minute clinical recalibration to reset your nervous system.
Learn exactly how a high cortisol spike triggers the amygdala to scan for danger, and discover how to instantly interrupt the panic loop using a simple, scientifically backed vagus nerve breathing technique.Whether you are dealing with chronic stress, panic attacks, or simply want a calmer morning routine, this somatic grounding practice is designed to send immediate safety signals to your brain.⏱️ Time Chapters

00:00 – The Physiology of Morning Anxiety & The Cortisol Spike
02:26 – How the Amygdala Traps You in a Panic Loop
02:52 – Vagus Nerve Activation: Extended Exhalation Breathwork
04:36 – Guided Golden Light Visualisation for Nervous System Calming
07:18 – Mindful Affirmations for Morning Grounding & Safety
08:24 – 3 Daily Caring Tips to Interrupt Anxiety Before It Starts
09:47 – Somatic Return & Bringing Awareness Back to Your Body

✨ Mindful Affirmations for TodayRepeat these truths internally to allow your nervous system to settle and recalibrate:

"I am safe in this morning."
"My nervous system knows how to recalibrate."
"I release what I cannot control."
"I am allowed to start slowly."
"I am calm, I am grounded, and I am ready."

🛠️ The 3 Daily Caring Tips
Implement these simple somatic and cognitive shifts today to reduce the impact of high cortisol:

Delay Your Phone: Give your nervous system a clear 15-minute window before checking notifications to let your baseline naturally recalibrate.
Anchor Your Feet: Before stepping out of bed, press both feet flat on the floor, close your eyes, and take three slow, steady breaths to signal physical safety to your brain.
Name the Anxiety Out Loud: Actively label the feeling by saying, "This is morning anxiety. My cortisol is high. This will pass." Naming the emotion activates the prefrontal cortex and dampens the amygdala's grip.

🌐 Connect & Go Deeper

Download the App: Ready to access clinical recalibration tools on the go? Download our brand-new mobile application, Anchored, designed to help you ground your mind anytime, anywhere.
The Online Course: Ready to transform your entire relationship with anxiety? Enroll in the Anxiety Breaker Course at calminganxiety.fm. Get instant access to five focused clinical hypnotherapy sessions for just $67 to help break the panic cycle permanently.
Support the Show: If this session helped you find your calm today, please subscribe and share this episode with a friend or loved one who struggles with morning tension.

In everything my friend, be kind.
👉 Click to subscribe and unlock ad-free episodes now!
Support the Show:Ad-Free Listening: Enjoy Calming Anxiety without ads at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety--4110266/support
Buy Me a Coffee: Support hosting costs at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/calminganxiety
https://calminganxietypodcast.substack.com/?r=6zm0sc&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist
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
===================
Affiliate links to the gear I use the items that give me a more tranquil life.
=============================
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.

Books at Bedtime by Calming Anxiety - The Hound of the Baskervilles - Chapter 10 Aug 09, 2026

Show notes

Sleep Story for Insomnia — The Hound of the Baskervilles, Chapter 10: Extract from the Diary of Dr Watson | Arthur Conan Doyle | Books at Bedtime
A slow, calming bedtime story for sleep and insomnia. Tonight, Chapter 10 of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles, read aloud by Martin Hewlett — clinical hypnotherapist, former paramedic, and host of the Calming Anxiety podcast.
Dr Watson sets aside his letters to Sherlock Holmes and turns instead to his private diary. It is the 16th of October. The moor is banked in with rolling cloud, the rain drizzles against the windows of Baskerville Hall, and Watson confesses to a weight at his heart — a feeling of impending danger he cannot name.
Barrymore the butler comes forward with a grievance, and then with something far more valuable: the memory of a single letter that reached Sir Charles on the morning he died, and the charred scrap of a postscript signed with two initials. L. L.
Then the rain sets in, the light fails over the great mire, and a second stranger waits in a stone hut somewhere out on the moor.
This is slow-paced, low-stimulation listening designed to quieten a racing mind at the end of the day. There is no jump, no startle, no sudden music — just a steady voice, a Victorian mystery, and a soft place to land.
If you struggle to fall asleep, if your thoughts start their loudest work the moment your head hits the pillow, or if you simply want a gentle classic audiobook to drift off to, let this one carry you.
Best listened to lying down, lights low, with the volume just a little quieter than feels necessary. You are not expected to reach the end.
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was first published in 1902 and is in the public domain.
Books at Bedtime is part of the Calming Anxiety family of shows, alongside the daily 10-minute guided meditation and Coffee Break for the Soul. New sleep stories, guided meditations and clinical hypnotherapy sessions are released every week.
Anchored, the companion app to Calming Anxiety, arrives on iOS on the 13th of August 2026 — with a dedicated Books at Bedtime section, offline listening for the nights the signal drops, and a built-in nightlight for the small hours.
If this reading helped you sleep, please share it with someone who lies awake, and leave a 30-second rating or review on Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps another tired person find us.
Sleep well… and be kind.
👉 Click to subscribe and unlock ad-free episodes now!
Support the Show:
Ad-Free Listening: Enjoy Calming Anxiety without ads at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety--4110266/support
Buy Me a Coffee: Support hosting costs at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/calminganxiety
Newsletter: Subscribe on Substack at https://calminganxietypodcast.substack.com/?r=6zm0sc&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist
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
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.

I Am Enough, Even With My Mistakes — Guided Meditation Aug 09, 2026

Show notes

Calming Anxiety | Finding Beauty in the Broken: A Guided Meditation for Self-Acceptance
If you have arrived here today feeling like you are simply not enough, or if you are completely exhausted from being your own harshest critic, please take a deep breath. You are in exactly the right place.In this gentle 10-minute guided meditation, we explore the beautiful Japanese art of Kintsugi—the practice of mending broken pottery with seams of pure, liquid gold.
Instead of hiding the cracks, Kintsugi celebrates them, making the mended piece far more beautiful and resilient than it ever was before.Together, we will apply this philosophy to our own lives. Your past mistakes, your regrets, and the places where life has broken you are not flaws to be hidden away.
They are your seams of gold. They are exactly where your wisdom, your deep compassion, and your unique humanity live. Allow yourself to set down the heavy burden of perfection, quiet your inner critic, and take a meaningful step toward a happier life.Today's Three Daily Caring Tips

Talk to yourself like someone you love: The next time you catch your inner voice turning harsh or critical, pause. Ask yourself if you would ever say those words to your closest friend. Gently adjust your tone and offer yourself the same kindness you give to others.
Collect one good thing: Before you sleep tonight, look back and name just one single thing you did well today, no matter how small it might seem. Building self-worth doesn't require grand gestures; it is built steadily in the simple act of noticing.
Let a mistake be a teacher, not a verdict: When something goes wrong, consciously swap the phrase "I am a failure" for "I am learning." One acts as a cage that keeps you trapped; the other is a door that opens up your future.

Thank you for sharing your time and space with me today. If this session brought you comfort, please consider leaving a kind review to help others find their way to our community.For more guided meditations tailored to your mood, support on your wellness journey, and to explore the Anchored app, visit us at calminganxiety.fm.Until tomorrow, my friend... love all that you are, and then in everything...Be Kind.
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Backing Music: Chris Collins
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Items I use for a more relaxed way of life :)
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.

Books at Bedtime by Calming Anxiety - The Hound of the Baskervilles - Chapter 9 Aug 08, 2026

Show notes

Sleep Story for Insomnia — The Hound of the Baskervilles, Chapter 9: The Light Upon the Moor by Arthur Conan Doyle | Books at Bedtime
If you can't sleep tonight, let this one carry you down. This is a long, slow sleep story for insomnia — Chapter 9 of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles, read aloud at a deliberately unhurried pace for anyone lying awake with a racing mind at two in the morning.
Read by Martin Hewlett, clinical hypnotherapist and former frontline paramedic. No sudden volume jumps, no startling music, no reason to open your eyes. You are not supposed to follow every word — drifting off halfway through is exactly the point. If you wake in the night, start it again wherever you like.
In tonight's chapter, Dr Watson sends his second report from Baskerville Hall. A candle burns at a western window in the small hours. A light answers it from somewhere out on the moor. Watson and Sir Henry sit up through two long, dark vigils to find out who is signalling, and what they uncover on the moor is stranger than either of them expected — a cry on the wind, a chase over wet granite, and a silent figure standing black against the moon.
Why classic detective fiction works so well as a sleep aid: the language is rich but the stakes are someone else's. Your brain is given somewhere gentle to rest that isn't your own worry list. That's the whole principle behind Books at Bedtime — a bedtime story for grown-ups who simply cannot switch off.
Use this for insomnia relief, for anxiety at night, for shift-work sleep, or just as a quiet audiobook to fall asleep to. Pop it on low, on a sleep timer if you have one, and let the moor do the rest.
The Hound of the Baskervilles was first published in 1902 and is in the public domain.
Anchored, the Calming Anxiety app, arrives on iOS on 13 August 2026 — with the full Books at Bedtime library, offline listening for when the signal drops, and a soft built-in nightlight for the small hours.
Sleep well. And when you wake… be kind.
👉 Click to subscribe and unlock ad-free episodes now!
Support the Show:
Ad-Free Listening: Enjoy Calming Anxiety without ads at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety--4110266/support
Buy Me a Coffee: Support hosting costs at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/calminganxiety
Newsletter: Subscribe on Substack at https://calminganxietypodcast.substack.com/?r=6zm0sc&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist
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
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.

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