A Quiet Place to Sit With Anxiety

On Anxiety, Fear & Inner Turmoil

This is not a technique to make your anxiety go away. This is simply a place — a quiet corner where you can sit with your anxiety without having to do anything about it. Sometimes what we need most is not a solution but a sanctuary. A place where anxious is an acceptable way to be.

We are constantly told to manage our anxiety, overcome it, conquer it, eliminate it. But what if tonight, you simply need a place to exist with it? Not fighting, not fixing, just being — anxious and present, uncomfortable and held.

Welcome to this quiet place. You do not have to feel better to be here. You only have to be here.

Why a Place to Sit With Anxiety?

Sometimes fighting anxiety only makes it stronger. The effort of trying to not be anxious adds a second layer — anxiety about anxiety. The resistance itself becomes exhausting.

• Acceptance is not defeat — it is a different strategy
• Being present to anxiety often reduces its intensity
• A sanctuary is not a solution, but it is a gift
• Sometimes we need to rest in discomfort rather than solve it
• God is present in the anxiety, not only in the calm after

This quiet place is not about making anxiety disappear. It is about having somewhere to be while anxiety is present.

A Description of This Place

Imagine, if it helps, a physical space. Perhaps it is a small room with soft light. Perhaps a garden bench. Perhaps a chapel corner. Whatever space feels safe to you.

In this place, nothing is required of you. You do not have to:

• Feel better
• Breathe correctly
• Think positive thoughts
• Solve anything
• Be calm
• Explain why you're anxious

You only have to be here. That is the entire requirement. Presence, as you are.

A Meditation for Sitting With

Read these words slowly. Let them settle into wherever they can reach.

I am anxious. That is true right now. I do not need to fix it or explain it or apologize for it. I am anxious, and I am here. This is a quiet place where anxious is allowed. I do not have to be anyone other than who I am in this moment. Lord, You are here too. You are not waiting for me to be calm before You arrive. You are here in the anxiety, with me, beside me, around me. I sit with my anxiety, and You sit with me. We are here together. That is enough.

Stay as long as you need. There is no time limit. There is no expectation. This place is here whenever you need it.

The Gift of Not Having to Fix It

Consider what it would be like to not have to fix your anxiety tonight. To let it be what it is, present and uncomfortable, without the added burden of making it go away.

• What if anxious is an acceptable way to be?
• What if you don't have to earn peace before rest?
• What if God meets you in the anxiety, not after it?
• What if sitting with is itself a form of healing?

This is a place to explore those questions. Not to answer them tonight, but to let them open space inside you.