The following is a releasing technique.  There are a ton of them out there.  Some work better for some people than others.  So here is the one I posted.  You can use this for anxiety, people, situations…just about anything.  It is especially good for something you feel like you are spinning about; you know, where no matter how hard you try, that incident, person or feeling keeps coming back into your mind so much you may even be dreaming about it.

So first be really clear about what you want to release.  It can be the time your dog got lost and you were scared he wouldn’t be found, to a person who annoyed you at the office, to a guilty feeling you cheated on your “diet”.  Zero in on the feeling you are having about the issue, rather than on the other person or specific situation.  Once you are clear, let’s put a number from 1-10 on the uncomfortable feeling you are having so you can know later how this worked for you.  Let’s say you are an 8.

Sit somewhere quiet and comfortable if possible; close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.  Bring the feeling front and center and really feel it in your body.  Imagine you have a balloon and you are filling it with that feeling.  See the balloon getting bigger and bigger until you have all of those feelings out.  Then look at the balloon you are pretending to hold in your hand. Realize this is a feeling that was created by you and doesn’t have to be a part of you if you choose to let it go.  Do these feelings serve you or are you ready to let them go? If you feel they serve you, in what way?  If it still makes sense to hold onto these uncomfortable feelings, you have this choice.  If you are ready to release them either pop the balloon or let it go seeing it disappear forever, along with the uncomfortable feelings.  Then check in with yourself.  Where are you now on the scale from 1-10?  You can do this exercise a few times to get the unwanted feelings down to a zero if need be.

To get the full impact and for an added layer, you can use a real balloon for this exercise.

Oh, and you’ll notice I never used the word “bad” for the uncomfortable feelings.  That is a judgment. The choice to label the feelings “bad” can make us feel wrong for choosing them in the first place, which is yet another feeling to let go of!