If you:
- have just been diagnosed with an aneurysm and are on a wait-and-watch plan;
- ruptured, and trying to live in your new-normal life;
- are a caregiver and are so worried about your loved ones;
- are just a human being trying to make it in this crazy 21st Century world in which we find ourselves
you may be finding yourself under some stress. Well, how do you managing your anxiety and feelings, or find a way to sleep when there is so much on your mind?? All of these are VERY relevant to those of us who are trying to manage our brain health!!
At the request of our dear Moderator, I was asked to create a new topic of resources that I use so it is easy to find. As some of you know, I was encouraged to take up mindfulness post-rupture from my first neuropsychiatrist, and you all suffer from the fact that I have been converted! 
If you have others, please include them too as it helps us all to learn!
Free Resources
- Healthy Minds by Humin - Includes both mindfulness and neuroscience lessons about how our brains work. Breathing lessons are included within the mindfulness sessions.
- Box Breathing (one example - 1 minute) - Repeat as often as needed.
- Bee Breath (geared towards adults - ~10 minutes)
- Bee Breath (for kids, ~5 minutes)
- Haha, while looking for #4, I found something new - Whale Breath - so you know I would have to include that one too!
- 4-7-8 Breathing (~4 minutes) - Similar to box breathing, but with a longer exhale period.
- Five Finger Breathing (~2.5 minutes)
Subscriptions
- Brain.fm - Besides music (i.e., modern binaural beats), they also have both guided and unguided meditation. A sample of videos are on YouTube, and they also offer up a free trial.
- I have partial access to several apps as well. My insurance company just made one available to me fully a couple of weeks ago, and the others are via my (Android) smart watches. So, even though you may not want to pay for a subscription, you may well already have some through your own connections.
- Of course, there are a ton of these out there, but I am linking to Very Well Mind’s guide to meditation apps in 2026 as well as The Guardian’s review just to give you some ideas.
Hope this helps!
Fin Whale Fan 
- who obviously will be doing some whale breathing next!
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Whale breathing! What a find for you, good job! Thanks so very much for doing this, it’s a great resource for us all!
Hi, last year I had an endovascular stent for an unruptured 6.5mm L cavernous ICA aneurysm. Had a complication, but came out of it. An angio & MRA show remnant filling. Will do new MRA in May; Dr will say if I need 2nd stent. Weeks ago, I had a sudden onset of my very first panic attack while driving; ended up in ER. I now work to limit negative media & do mantras for looping thoughts re: what-ifs. For sleep, I use Insight Timer for Android (also on your apps link) which has various stress/sleep meditations. With repetition, it helps fill my head with more positive & safe space imagery. Thanks for your list 
,
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Hi @sthr795 -
OMG thanks so much for the recommendation!! I had not heard of Insight Timer until I saw it on the list yesterday, but I was certainly curious about it given the recommendations. I was debating about whether to download it or not … that is, do I really need yet another meditation app?? But I think now the answer is yes! 
I am 
with you!! Since I ruptured which caused other issues, I have a greater appreciation for our brains and all that it does for us, and so I have become fierce about protecting its health: one of those pillars is limiting negative media and sticking to sources like Good News Network instead.
I am curious about the mantras you do for looping thoughts. Is there something in particular you recommend??
After posting, I remembered that a great number of people are more creative than I am, so there are certainly artistic and musical things we could also include. This is a growth area for me, so I stick with adult coloring books, but I am partial to Mindwaves (e.g.) which was developed by a neuroscientist, and these books actually include breathing exercises you should do before and after coloring to help relax.
Sorry to hear about the remnant filling! When is your appointment in May (early, middle, end)? Will send good thoughts your way that a couple of months does the trick!
Thanks for the recommendation - off to give it a try!
Fin Whale Fan
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Hi FinWhaleFan,
Thanks so much for the link to Good News Network. It looks like a great site. I definitely agree that limiting negative media is better for BP & protecting one’s brain health. If you get Insight Timer, I hope it’s helpful & healing. I wanted something user-friendly & easy to choose meditations I need in a given moment & Insight Timer provides that .
I’m so sorry your rupture caused other issues & send all good energy for your continued recovery & well-being 
. You’ve been through a lot.
I’m glad the Mindwaves adult coloring books along with its breathing exercises are helping. It makes total sense therapeutically & I’ll take a look. Thank you.
It took a while to learn this, but I now try to stop the looping what-ifs when they first start. Not always easy when thoughts start intruding while in mid-task, but I stop what I’m doing & say mantras quietly (if in a public place), to get myself back to the present, i.e., “I am in the present.”, “I’m not in the hospital.”, “Today is (what day it is).”, “I’m sitting in a chair.”
Once I get anchored, I focus on objects in the room & name 5 of them, one at a time. Then I do breathing exercises like the box breathing you kindly listed.
If looping thoughts are too fast or quickly escalating, I say, i.e., “This is not real.”, “I am not there.”, “That person is not here.”, “I’m safe”. If one particularly works better in the moment, I say it repeatedly until it permeates & my thoughts start calming. Hope that helps 
.
Next appt re: my remnant filling is mid-May. Thanks for your good thoughts. Much appreciation!
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@sthr795 thanks for replying and giving us other tools, fantastic! You’ve suggested some great things to do when a panic attack first rears its ugly head. The only thing I can think of this morning is to say the day, date and time. I think it helps put one in the present. Many years decades ago, I agreed to help a friend pick something up in the little truck for her husband’s birthday gift. Friend had a panic attack while driving on the freeway. As a passenger, it scared the bejesus out of me. I’m trying to get her attention using her name and telling her to breathe as she was holding it. But she was able to identify five things -trees, car types, who I was, what we were doing and day, date and time. She went to therapy, learned to breathe, learned the triggers that could lead to a panic attack and I started agreeing to being a passenger again whilst she drove.
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Thanks for sharing your mantras @sthr795! I haven’t gotten into the habit of mantras, but it is definitely a great tool to add. Your timing is spot-on as currently in Healthy Minds*, I am in the “awareness” pillar which focuses on living in the moment - not in the past nor in the future - despite what my monkey mind wants to do!
By coincidence, I was just looking for a link to describe “monkey mind” for those who might not be familiar with that phrase, and what should I find but this Forbes article, Eight Science-Based Tricks for Quieting the Monkey Mind. Not too surprising, many techniques we referenced are included!
Thanks for sharing these skillsets and giving me something new to try!
Fin Whale Fan
*There is so much depth to this program, it takes me about 6 months to get through it all if I do one lesson a day. The plus is that as soon as I am done, I just start over at the beginning as it is like I am learning it all again!
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Hi Moltroub, thanks so much. Day, date & time is good for centering. I will add it to my go-tos when stressed. I’m sorry your friend had a panic attack on the freeway. I’m sure she felt blessed you were there with her. Glad she was able to learn about triggers & breathe, and glad the drive ended safely & you were later able to resume your driving adventures together again. 
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