# Adelaide anxiety — stroke it kindly

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-adelaide-anxiety-kindness-massage
- Themes: anxiety, kindness, healing
- Life situations: panic attacks, chronic worry

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

A bed-bound Adelaide University student with health anxiety learns the bodily feel of her attacks; Brahm has her massage the tension with kindness. Anxiety eases; she returns to uni, later invites him to bless her UWA wedding.

## The story, as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)

this lady over at Adelaide University so many years ago now I asked her how do you feel? I don't mean inside but on your body when you have an anxious anxiety attack. And she felt this tension in her chest. And over many weeks cuz she was bedbound said, "Now please find out how it really feels and tell me all about it. How it feels, where it feels, whether it grows, expands, she had to be so aware of it, she learned from it. And then once she learned what anxiety was for her and how it felt a manifestation on her body, I told her to get your hand and give it kindness, just to stroke your own body, to massage it as kindly as you possibly can. And that's when I would call her every few days. I was in Perth, she was in Adelaide. How does it feel? He said, "Oh, after I massaged it, the physical feeling went away." As it does, and what about the anxiety that went to It's a beautiful story, real story. And she was out of bed soon, back to university. I got her life back. I remember her. The nice parts of the story, they always have those beautiful endings. that then she called me again. She moved back to to Perth and she asked me said please I jump can you come to UWA I'm getting married there I want you to get the blessing married with kids having a wonderful time overcome her anxiety that way from being bed bound

## Teaching point

Get to know the feeling first — kindness to the body dissolves what fighting cannot.

## Reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)

A university student in Adelaide was bed-bound with health anxiety. Ajahn Brahm had her learn how each attack felt in her body, then gently massage the tension with kindness. It eased. She went back to study, and later asked him to bless her wedding. Don't call it a disorder; get to know it. Alongside your doctor, kindness helps.

## Source

- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 4 December 2021](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_WAb3MKJpM) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:03:56 to 1:06:05: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_WAb3MKJpM&t=3836s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Buddhist Air Conditioning | Ajahn Brahm | 16 December 2022](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh7RvII8zG0) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 12:43 to 18:13: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh7RvII8zG0&t=763s
- [Power of Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 15 November 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e552Auru2Ow) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 12:59 to 19:13: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e552Auru2Ow&t=779s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 17 July 2021](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yaa6b9barg) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:19:31 to 1:23:30: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yaa6b9barg&t=4771s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 16 November 2019](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ybTXCNvA50) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:12:07 to 1:12:40: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ybTXCNvA50&t=4327s
- [2) Overcoming panic disorders](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nnunQZPE_Y) (BSWA Retreats 2011-15 & Media) — watch from 1:29 to 7:39: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nnunQZPE_Y&t=89s