Meditation for overthinking: 5-minute letting go session, in the queue

About this practice

Slow, spoken guidance for overthinking. A letting go session you can do in the queue. A guided session of about 5 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: overthinking

Overthinking is the mind trying to solve an emotional problem with analysis. The loop continues because each pass feels productive while producing no decision.

It tends to show up as:

The same scenario replayed with small edits
Planning conversations that never happen
Difficulty falling asleep because of the replay

A loop cannot be out-argued, only stepped out of. Moving attention to physical sensation breaks the supply of material it feeds on.

Doing this in a waiting room

You can do this with your eyes open and your hands where they are
Nothing here needs to look like a meditation
Aim for steadiness rather than calm

Waiting feeds the dread it is meant to relieve. Having something specific to do with the time is the useful part.

How letting go works

Letting go is about loosening grip rather than dropping things. It works on the effort attached to a problem — the holding, rehearsing and bracing — which is separable from the problem itself.

Pick one thing you are gripping and loosen a single finger
Release the effort with the exhale, not the issue
Set down temporarily; you can pick it up again after

What happens, minute by minute

0:00Check your hands. Are they doing anything? Let them stop.
0:12You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
0:27Let your sense of the room shrink down to just your body and the surface you're on.
0:42If your mind is loud, that's information, not failure.
0:53Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
1:08Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
1:21Notice your shins, which take small knocks all day and never complain.
1:34Feel the back of your neck. That's a place that holds a lot.
1:47Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
1:59Let this one be unhurried.
2:08Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
2:19Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
2:34Notice anything you're holding onto from earlier today.
2:45Nothing about the same thought circling again has to be explained or justified in this room.
3:00Give the story your mind keeps retelling a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
3:18Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
3:29There is no correct amount of the loop that never quite closes to be feeling right now. Whatever is here is the honest amount.
3:48If nothing much is happening, that's not a problem. Nothing much is often the point.
4:02A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
4:13We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
4:28Before you open your eyes, notice how you feel compared to the start. It might be small.

Questions people ask

What does this session help with?

Overthinking is the mind trying to solve an emotional problem with analysis. The loop continues because each pass feels productive while producing no decision. A loop cannot be out-argued, only stepped out of. Moving attention to physical sensation breaks the supply of material it feeds on.

Where and when should I do this one?

You can do this with your eyes open and your hands where they are. Waiting feeds the dread it is meant to relieve. Having something specific to do with the time is the useful part.

What actually happens during the 5 minutes?

Letting go is about loosening grip rather than dropping things. It works on the effort attached to a problem — the holding, rehearsing and bracing — which is separable from the problem itself.

Meditation is a practice, not a treatment. If you are dealing with ongoing distress, please also reach out to a professional.