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The anxiety prayer is intended to help you focus on thankfulness, growth and healing. It honors the bodily symptoms of anxiety while at the same time acknowledging and recognizing how hard they can be to experience. It reminds that even during times of stress, there is always something one can point to and be thankful for.

The prayer is written from an ecumenical perspective. Please feel free to substitute the word "universe" for another word that more accurately describes how you experience God, a positive source of spiritual energy, as feels best for you.

the anxiety prayer

dear universe,

thank you for my life
thank you for my home
thank you for the food I've eaten today
thank you for the people I get to love
thank you for loving me

right now in this moment I feel afraid
my body is shaking and I can't control the shivers
my heart is pounding and I'm scared it might burst
I feel I could collapse here right now and die
and I don't know how to stop feeling this way

I used to be able to do anything I wanted
and now it seems I can hardly get out of my bed
I struggle to muster the will to take care of myself
to eat or bathe or even brush my teeth without inner pain
to focus on such simple things seems so hard

and I can't take my attention away from my body for an instant
or my body will betray me and flash with anxiety and panic
I can't leave my house because there's too much to pay attention to
I can't distract myself because adrenalin surges through me instead
and if I start talking, I fear I might have a breakdown on the spot

still, I believe that I am here in this place for a reason
and I trust that I am sensitive in order to guide my growth
that these intense feelings exist in me for a purpose
and the difficult sensations are here only to help me
so it's important for me to pay attention to what they are saying

with this inner knowing, I ask you dear loving energy of the universe, please help me

help me hear what my anxiety needs to teach me
help me let my emotions exist without trying to push them away
help me cope with the intensity of my own darkest spaces
help me find the resources to reach out and explore them
help me learn what my emotions are trying so hard to share

heal me so that I in turn may help heal others
turn my pain today into purpose tomorrow
fill me with confidence that this too shall pass
so that I might keep expanding and growing in your will for me
and in my dreams for myself

thank you for my life
thank you for my home
thank you for the food I've eaten today
thank you for the people I get to love
thank you for loving me too