PSY A 36 – Fear of Letting Go

Being able to let go is a form of adjustment to an event or situation. We accept that something has happened to us that is contrary to our desires. This can be events such as a slight, a mistake, or the failure to achieve a goal.

Letting go can also involve saying goodbye to major life plans. Separation, death, illness, aging, or an accident can force us to change the way we have been living.

Letting go can also mean that we free ourselves from a situation that is damaging us. We can come to the decision to let go – when we realize, for example, that the life we have lived so far does not (anymore) satisfy our needs.

The process of letting go starts in our mind. If we don’t let go, it’s like putting a rope around a thick tree trunk and trying to move the tree from the spot by pulling it violently. It’s a hopeless struggle.

In order to be able to stop the hopeless struggle, it helps to

• the willingness to accept that things do not always go the way you would like them to.
• the willingness to accept that the world is not fair.
• the willingness to accept that you don’t always get things right.
• the willingness to accept that other people do not always behave the way you would like them to.
• the realization that letting go means neither approving nor capitulating.
• the realization that letting go is not a failure and that you yourself are not a loser.
• the awareness that you deserve to be well.
• the knowledge that you can influence and control your feelings.

The chip is designed to help overcome the fear of letting go and promote acceptance, willingness and realization to let go.