What Is the Letting Go Method? A Practical Guide

What is the Letting Go Method? In my interpretation, it is a way of acknowledging difficult feelings, easing the struggle with them and choosing how to respond. It begins with making room for what you feel, without demanding that the feeling disappear.

You have finished the conversation, but it is still happening in your head. Perhaps you are disappointed, embarrassed or angry. You tell yourself to move on, then feel frustrated that the feeling has stayed.

David R. Hawkins has influenced my understanding of letting go. In this guide, I explain my interpretation in practical terms: what letting go means, how you might explore it and where guided hypnosis can fit. You can use these ideas without buying a recording or following a particular spiritual belief.

What does letting go actually mean?

For me, letting go means easing the struggle with an experience while keeping your freedom to respond. You can acknowledge disappointment without turning the rest of the day into an argument with yourself. You can feel angry and still decide to speak carefully. You can miss someone and keep a boundary that protects your wellbeing.

There may be several parts to the moment: what happened, the emotion you feel, the explanation running through your mind and the action you are tempted to take. Separating them gives you something practical to work with. “I feel rejected” describes an experience. “Nobody will ever care about me” is a much larger conclusion, which you do not have to accept as fact.

The aim is not to become permanently calm or untouched by life. Sadness, frustration and uncertainty do not make you a failure. A useful question is whether your next response helps you look after yourself, address the situation or return to something that matters.

Letting go can include boundaries and action

Allowing a feeling does not mean approving of what caused it. If someone repeatedly treats you badly, the next step may be to seek support, say no or leave an unsafe situation. If you made a mistake, it may be to apologise and put something right. If you are exhausted, you may need rest rather than another self-improvement exercise.

You do not need to forgive someone, reconnect with them or abandon a concern to practise letting go. Emotional acceptance and practical decisions can sit alongside each other.

David R. Hawkins’s influence on this approach

David R. Hawkins has influenced my interpretation of letting go. His book Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender is a reference point for that influence.

The way I explain letting go here is to notice a feeling, allow it some room, ease the extra struggle and choose a thoughtful next step. I use these four prompts to make my interpretation easier to explore in ordinary life. The aim is to respond with greater care, even when you do not feel completely settled.

This is my independent interpretation, with original prompts and examples, rather than an official account of Hawkins’s teachings. Letting Go Hypnosis is not affiliated with or endorsed by his estate or publishers.

How to Let Go of Difficult Emotions

Choose a relatively manageable moment and somewhere you can pause safely. Use these four prompts gently, without treating them as another task to get right.

1. Notice what is here

Begin with a plain description: “I feel disappointed”, “I am worried about tomorrow” or “I am being hard on myself”. If naming the emotion is difficult, “This is uncomfortable” is enough.

Notice the difference between the feeling and the story accompanying it. After a short reply from a friend, you might feel uneasy and think they are annoyed. The unease is real; the explanation may still be uncertain. There is no need to settle the whole story immediately.

2. Allow a little room

For a brief moment, see whether you can acknowledge the feeling without ordering it to leave. You might say quietly, “This is how I feel just now.” Let your breathing remain comfortable rather than trying to produce a special state.

You can keep your eyes open and notice the room around you. Focusing inward is optional. If attention to feelings becomes overwhelming, stop and turn towards something ordinary and external, such as the colours you can see or a conversation with someone you trust.

3. Ease the extra struggle

Sometimes an uncomfortable emotion arrives with another layer: “I should be over this”, “I must not feel angry” or “Why can’t I cope?” Consider whether you can set aside one of those demands for now.

That might mean relaxing your grip on your phone, stepping away from an unsent message or allowing yourself a short break. If the feeling stays, you have not done the exercise incorrectly.

4. Choose one useful next step

Ask what the situation needs. Is there a problem you can address, a boundary you need to set or a basic need you have overlooked? Perhaps the useful step is to eat, rest, clarify a misunderstanding or arrange a conversation.

If nothing can be resolved now, choose an ordinary activity you are willing to return to. You can carry some uncertainty while making dinner or finishing a small task. You do not need emotional certainty before continuing your day.

Applying letting go in everyday life

When you keep overthinking

Ask whether another round of thinking will produce new information or a useful decision. If there is a practical task, write it down. If you are revisiting an unanswered question, acknowledge the uncertainty and choose when, if at all, you can revisit it usefully.

For a more focused guide, read How to Stop Overthinking and Quiet Your Mind. Letting go should leave room for problem-solving; it should not become a reason to ignore something important.

When your inner voice becomes harsh

Try replacing a verdict about your character with a description of what happened. “I forgot to reply” points towards an action. “I am a terrible friend” gives you something much heavier to carry.

You can take responsibility and still speak to yourself fairly. The next step may be a message, an apology or a reminder for another day. Explore letting go of self-criticism and building a kinder inner voice.

When a familiar habit returns

A setback can be a moment to examine what made the old response easy. Were you tired, rushed or missing a practical plan? Notice the urge without turning it into a judgement about your willpower, then make one helpful adjustment.

You might put your phone somewhere less convenient or make the first step of a task smaller. Read How to Let Go of Old Patterns and How to Strengthen New Habits for practical follow-through.

After a breakup or difficult relationship experience

Letting go need not mean pretending the relationship did not matter. You can miss someone without checking their social media, or feel hurt while choosing not to reopen contact. Give yourself permission to need support and time.

There is no deadline by which you must feel differently. The guide to moving forward after a breakup explores rumination, boundaries and spending time alone in more detail.

When bedtime becomes a thinking session

A useful evening decision may be to write down tomorrow’s practical task and stop trying to settle every concern in bed. You can acknowledge a worry without making the night a meeting about it.

Avoid turning relaxation into another demand to fall asleep. For broader sleep guidance and support options, visit Better Sleep: A Complete Guide.

What if you cannot let go?

If you keep checking whether a feeling has gone, the practice can become another task to perform perfectly. Try changing the question from “Has it disappeared?” to “What response would be kind and useful now?”

You might need less inward attention, a change of scene or help with the circumstances creating the pressure. Returning feelings do not prove that you are resisting, doing something wrong or failing to try hard enough.

Do not use this exercise to revisit traumatic memories or push through distress. If you feel overwhelmed, disconnected or less grounded, stop. Look around, reconnect with your surroundings and seek appropriate support. The NHS mindfulness guide notes that mindfulness is not right for everyone and can make some people feel worse.

What do the evidence and public-health guidance support?

There is a useful distinction between a personal philosophy, general wellbeing practices and a tested treatment. They should not be presented as interchangeable.

The NHS describes mindfulness as attending to present experience, including thoughts, feelings and surroundings. In the US, the Department of Veterans Affairs provides mindful-awareness resources. These sources offer further reading on awareness and its possible uses.

My interpretation is a personal approach to everyday wellbeing, not a clinically validated treatment. The sources above do not establish that this four-prompt practice treats a health condition or that a feeling will disappear when you allow it.

Where guided hypnosis fits

A guided recording offers a separate time for settling, listening and imagining different responses to familiar situations. It is optional. You can explore the practical ideas in this article without hypnosis, and listening alone does not replace changes to your circumstances or professional care.

The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health’s hypnosis overview describes evidence that varies by outcome. Research on a particular clinical intervention does not establish that a general prerecorded session treats emotional difficulties. Visit How Hypnosis Works for an introduction to the listening experience.

Try a free guided recording for self-criticism

If the struggle often takes the form of being hard on yourself, Let Go of Self-Criticism — Build a Kinder Inner Voice is a relevant starting point. Narrated by Theo, the complete session offers space for relaxation and practising a fairer response to yourself.

Listen to the complete recording free on YouTube

If you prefer to own the ad-free MP3, explore the self-criticism recording in the website shop. Buy once, keep it forever, with no subscription. The complete session is also available free on YouTube; purchasing provides the ad-free download.

You can also explore the Letting Go Hypnosis Android app or browse the recording catalogue to choose a subject that fits your needs.

Narrator: Theo. Music: Mystic Dawn (Theta) by Christopher Lloyd Clarke, licensed through Enlightened Audio.

Common questions about letting go

Does letting go mean suppressing emotions?

The approach here invites you to acknowledge the feeling and decide how to respond. You do not need to deny it or act cheerful. Equally, you do not have to stay focused on it indefinitely; taking a break is allowed.

Do I need to forgive someone first?

No. This practice does not require forgiveness, reconciliation or renewed contact. You can work with your own feelings while keeping clear boundaries and seeking support for what happened.

How long should I practise?

Begin with a brief pause that feels manageable. There is no required duration or deadline for a feeling to change. If the practice becomes frustrating or upsetting, stop and choose a different kind of support.

Is this the same as David Hawkins’s method?

Hawkins influenced my perspective, but the four prompts here explain my own interpretation. For his full account, read his original work linked above.

Can I let go while still caring about the outcome?

Yes. You can care about a relationship, a job or a goal while choosing to stop one unhelpful round of checking or self-judgement. Let the practical question guide you: what can you usefully do now, and what remains outside your control?

When to seek more support

If emotions are persistent, severe or interfering with sleep, relationships, work or everyday tasks, speak with a qualified health professional. You do not have to exhaust self-help options before asking for help.

In the UK: speak with your GP about appropriate support. The NHS mindfulness information linked above explains both possible uses and limitations of that practice.

In the US: the National Institute of Mental Health’s guide to caring for your mental health explains self-care, signs that professional help may be needed and how a primary care provider can help you find support.

If you are in immediate danger, seek urgent local help. An article or recording is not crisis support. Do not change prescribed care on the basis of this guide.

A gentle next step

Choose one ordinary moment today: a delayed reply, a minor mistake or a task you have been avoiding. Notice what you feel, allow a little room and choose one caring, practical response. Let that be enough for this attempt, even if the feeling takes longer to change.

Sources and further reading

• Veritas Publishing: Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender — background to the acknowledged influence.
• NHS: Mindfulness — present-moment awareness and suitability.
• US Department of Veterans Affairs: Mindful Awareness — independent educational resources.
• NCCIH: Hypnosis — outcome-specific evidence and limitations.
• NIMH: Caring for Your Mental Health — self-care and seeking professional help.

Prepared 8 November 2026. General educational information for adults. Letting Go Hypnosis is a trading name of Letting Go Labs Ltd.