Contemplative & Reflective

What is Letting Go Meditation?

Letting Go Meditation is a guided contemplative practice of noticing what you are holding onto and gently, deliberately releasing your grip on it (Frewen et al., 2008).

Indirect Evidence

Last Updated

3 Jul 2026

We are still reviewing this page. Our research team checks every technique page for accuracy and evidence quality before final release. Details may change as that review completes. The evidence badge shows our current reading of the published research.

RECOMMENDED DOSE

Recommended Practice Dose

Short daily sessions of about 10 minutes were used in app-based mindfulness-meditation trials that reported improvements in well-being and stress. These studies focused on general mindfulness meditation rather than Letting Go Meditation specifically, so the dose is extrapolated from a closely related practice.

A randomised trial found that 10–20 minutes of daily mindfulness meditation over 30 days reduced perceived stress and improved well-being. This range is drawn from mindfulness meditation broadly and is applied here to the related Letting Go practice.

Sustained daily practice maintained across 7–8 week structured mindfulness programs is associated with continued benefit; the longer 20–30 minute session length is an editorial extension beyond the specific durations reported in the cited studies. The frequency reflects the daily commitment used in these related mindfulness protocols.

Session length

Session length: 10 minutes

MIN

How long each individual practice session should last from start to finish.

Frequency

Frequency: 7 days

DAYS

The number of days per week to fit a session into your routine.

Session length

Session length: 10–20 minutes

MIN

How long each individual practice session should last from start to finish.

Frequency

Frequency: 7 days

DAYS

The number of days per week to fit a session into your routine.

Session length

Session length: 20–30 minutes

MIN

How long each individual practice session should last from start to finish.

Frequency

Frequency: 7 days

DAYS

The number of days per week to fit a session into your routine.

About this card. Dose guidance here is extrapolated from studies of general mindfulness meditation, a closely related practice, rather than from trials of Letting Go Meditation itself; treat these figures as informed starting points. These recommendations are not a substitute for personalised guidance from a qualified practitioner.

Related Techniques to Letting Go Meditation

Impermanence Contemplation (Anicca)

Forgiveness Practice

Yoga Nidra

Contemplative Inquiry

Common questions about Letting Go Meditation

Quick answers to what people most often ask. Each card links to the deeper section below.

evidence

What does the research say about Letting Go Meditation?

No randomized trial has tested Letting Go Meditation by name, but broader meditation research shows small-to-moderate reductions in anxiety, low mood, and stress across diverse adults. App-delivered mindfulness eases depressive symptoms by a small margin. Meditation reliably beats doing nothing, yet rarely shows a clear edge over other active approaches.

good for

Who is Letting Go Meditation good for?

Adults feeling wound up by something they cannot control, a fixed outcome, a loss, or a worry they keep circling, may find Letting Go Meditation eases anxious tension and low mood. Supporting studies span diverse adult and clinical groups. It offers support, not treatment for a diagnosed condition or acute grief.

safety

Is Letting Go Meditation safe?

Most healthy adults can practise Letting Go Meditation safely on their own. Because releasing an attachment means feeling the emotion tied to it, some sessions briefly raise arousal, surfacing grief, anxiety, or restlessness before calm arrives. People working with trauma, recent bereavement, perinatal distress, or eating struggles should go slowly, ideally alongside a therapist.

how it works

How does Letting Go Meditation work?

Letting Go Meditation works mainly through cognitive reappraisal, reframing a fixed 'this must happen' into one possibility among many, which loosens its emotional hold. Watching a thought as a passing mental event rather than a fact, called decentering, reduces the circular worry that fuels distress, so the revved-up arousal of holding on can settle.

For clinicians, researchers, and curious readers

What's in a session?

How does it work?

What does it do to the body?

What is it used for?

What does the research say?

Which studies have tested it?

Where does it come from?

Is it safe?Who should practise with care?How to practise safely?

How does it compare?

What does a Letting Go Meditation session involve?

A guided contemplative practice of identifying an attachment, to an outcome, possession, relationship, role, or belief, and rehearsing the inner gesture of releasing it (Frewen et al., 2008).

Usually delivered as a recorded or app-based guided session, the practice moves through naming a specific attachment, looking honestly at what the holding costs, and experimenting with loosening the grip. Unlike simply watching thoughts arise and pass, it is deliberative: the practitioner actively questions what they are clinging to and why, then rehearses release. Sessions draw on both Buddhist non-attachment teaching and modern acceptance-based psychology.

Letting Go Meditation is set apart from mindful acceptance practice by its active, reflective quality: rather than simply observing whatever arises and passes, the practitioner deliberately investigates specific attachments and works to release them. It is not a clinical treatment, and despite its popularity as a guided format, no trial has tested this exact practice. Its evidence is carried over from the wider meditation and mindfulness research rather than from studies of the technique itself.

Not to be confused with

Suppressing or pushing feelings away

Letting go is not ignoring or forcing away an emotion. It means feeling what is there and loosening your hold on it; suppression pushes the feeling down and tends to keep arousal high rather than settling it.

Spiritual bypassing

Using 'letting go' language to skip over grief, conflict, or practical problems is spiritual bypassing, not this practice. Letting Go Meditation asks you to examine an attachment and its real cost honestly before releasing it, not to declare a hard feeling gone.

Venting or blowing off steam

The emotional release in letting go is a gentle unclenching that lets a held feeling move through, not a session of venting or rehearsing grievances, which can keep the emotion stirred up rather than let it settle.

Giving up or resignation

Releasing your grip on an outcome is not the same as no longer caring. Letting go loosens the anxious clinging while leaving room to keep acting toward what matters to you.

How does Letting Go Meditation work?

Letting Go Meditation appears to work mainly through cognitive reappraisal, the shift where you reframe a fixed "this must happen" into one possibility among many, which loosens its emotional hold (Simón et al., 2022), (Hofmann et al., 2009). Watching a thought as a passing mental event rather than a fact about yourself, a move researchers call decentering, tends to ease rumination, the circular worry that keeps distress going (Jain et al., 2007), (Pablo et al., 2021). Because these practices meet feelings with acceptance instead of pushing them away, the wired, revved-up arousal of holding on can settle into something calmer. This evidence comes from mindfulness and emotion-regulation research broadly, not from trials of Letting Go Meditation specifically.

Possible Mechanisms

Cognitive Reappraisal

direct EVIDENCE

Naming what you are holding onto, and looking honestly at what the grip costs, opens room to see it as one possibility among many rather than the only thing that could matter. That shift in meaning is cognitive reappraisal, and research on acceptance- and reframing-based practices links it to steadier, calmer arousal than trying to push feelings away (Simón et al., 2022), (Hofmann et al., 2009).

Decentering

direct EVIDENCE

Looping, repetitive worry can lose its grip when you start to watch each thought as a passing mental event rather than a fact about who you are. This shift, called decentering, is linked in meditation trials to less rumination, the circular worry that keeps distress going (Jain et al., 2007), (Pablo et al., 2021).

Arousal Downregulation

moderate EVIDENCE

The wired, clenched-up feeling of holding on tightly can start to ease as the practice moves you from pushing emotions away toward accepting and reframing them. Approaches built on acceptance and reappraisal rather than suppression tend to bring physiological arousal down more effectively (Simón et al., 2022), (Hofmann et al., 2009), and loosening repetitive, ruminative thinking may add to that sense of the body settling (Jain et al., 2007).

Affective Release

moderate EVIDENCE

Feelings that were held down, the grief of a lost relationship or the tension of an outcome you keep gripping, can start to move and discharge instead of staying stuck. Because letting go works with emotions rather than pushing them away, acceptance and reframing tend to settle the body's arousal more effectively than suppression does (Simón et al., 2022), (Hofmann et al., 2009), often felt as relief and a lighter, less braced body once something long avoided has finally been felt.

What does Letting Go Meditation do to the body?

What changes most clearly is how the brain handles a difficult emotion. In one brain-imaging study, adults who completed eight weeks of mindfulness training met sadness with less activity in the default mode network, the self-focused system that keeps up a running story about you, and more activity in areas that register present-moment body sensation (Farb et al., 2010). In the body, this may feel like sensing an emotion as a physical wave moving through you rather than getting swept into a spiral of thoughts about what it means. This was measured in general mindfulness training, not Letting Go Meditation itself, so it points to a likely direction of change rather than proof for this exact practice.

Emotional Regulation Circuitry

moderate EVIDENCE

After mindfulness training, difficult feelings like sadness were handled less through the brain's self-storytelling network and more through areas that register what the body feels in the present moment (Farb et al., 2010). People often describe this as being able to feel an emotion move through the body as it arises, instead of getting pulled into a spiral of thoughts about what it says about them.

Default Mode Network Self-Referential Activity

moderate EVIDENCE

The constant hum of self-focused, story-about-me thinking can quiet during this kind of practice. Mindfulness training has been measured to reduce activity in the default mode network, the brain system that keeps up a running narrative about yourself (Farb et al., 2010). Practitioners often feel this as looser identification with their own thoughts and more room to rest in the present moment instead of replaying what they are holding onto.

Default mode network rumination

moderate EVIDENCE

The mind's habit of looping back over the same worries and sad thoughts runs partly through the default mode network, the brain system that switches on when attention turns inward toward the self. After mindfulness training, activity in this rumination-linked network is reduced while people work through difficult feelings like sadness (Farb et al., 2010), a shift practitioners often notice as being less pulled into the same story and more able to let a feeling move through the body.

Body-State Mapping

moderate EVIDENCE

A wave of sadness can feel less like proof that something is wrong with you and more like a physical sensation moving through the body. After eight weeks of mindfulness training, brain scans showed people meeting sadness more through present-moment body sensation and less through self-focused mental storytelling (Farb et al., 2010).

Interoceptive Accuracy

moderate EVIDENCE

After this kind of training, a hard feeling can start to register more as a sensation in the body than as a runaway thought. In one brain-imaging study, mindfulness training shifted the response to sadness toward present-moment, body-sensing networks and away from self-focused rumination (Farb et al., 2010), a change practitioners often describe as feeling an emotion in the body without being swept into the story around it.

What is Letting Go Meditation used for?

Moderate but indirect evidence supports Letting Go Meditation for anxiety and stress, with smaller, more variable support for low mood; all of it is carried over from the wider meditation and mindfulness research rather than trials of this exact practice (Goyal et al., 2014), (Hofmann et al., 2010). Guided mindfulness delivered by app or online produces small reductions in stress and depressive symptoms (Sommers‐Spijkerman et al., 2021), (Linardon et al., 2023), and even brief training may strengthen reappraisal and body awareness, though gains in non-attachment seem to depend on regular practice (Karing & Beelmann, 2021). What is not yet supported: any randomized trial of this specific technique, clear superiority over other active approaches, or use as a replacement for treatment of a diagnosed condition.

Anxiety Relief

moderate EVIDENCE

Anxious tension can start to ease as you name what you are gripping and practise loosening your hold on it. In the wider meditation and mindfulness research this kind of practice produces small-to-moderate reductions in anxiety (Goyal et al., 2014), (Hofmann et al., 2010), and app-delivered versions show similar, if smaller, effects (Sommers‐Spijkerman et al., 2021), (Linardon et al., 2023).

Mood Boost

moderate EVIDENCE

Low mood can feel like a flatness that dulls interest and energy. Mindfulness-based practices, the family Letting Go Meditation draws on, show moderate improvements in low mood and anxiety, so easing your grip on what you have been holding may leave more room for a lighter, steadier feeling (Hofmann et al., 2010).

Ease Depression

insufficient EVIDENCE

Low mood has a way of making everything feel heavier and slower. In broad reviews of meditation programs, regular practice produced small reductions in depressive symptoms (Goyal et al., 2014), which many people experience less as the mood lifting completely and more as a little extra room opening up between themselves and the heaviness.

Ease Depression

insufficient EVIDENCE

Low mood can make everything feel heavier and slower to shift. Guided mindfulness delivered online or through an app, the structured audio sessions you follow on a screen or through headphones, can modestly ease depressive symptoms (Sommers‐Spijkerman et al., 2021), (Linardon et al., 2023), which many people notice as a small loosening in the grip of low mood rather than a sudden lift.

What does the research say about Letting Go Meditation?

Guided meditation and mindfulness programs produce small-to-moderate reductions in anxiety, low mood, and stress across diverse adult samples, and Letting Go Meditation sits inside that family of practices (Goyal et al., 2014), (Hofmann et al., 2010). App- and web-delivered versions show smaller but consistent gains; in a meta-analysis of mindfulness apps, depressive symptoms eased by Hedges' g = 0.24 (95% CI 0.17-0.31) versus control groups, a small effect meaning the average app user ended up better off than roughly six in ten people who did not use one (Linardon et al., 2023). The main areas studied are anxiety, depression, stress, and the mechanisms of acceptance, reappraisal, and reduced rumination. Two honest limits remain: no randomized trial has tested Letting Go Meditation by name, and meditation reliably beats doing nothing but rarely shows a clear edge over other active approaches (Galante et al., 2021).

Meta-analyses

RCTs

Systematic reviews

Observational

Pilot

Studied populations

students and treatment-seeking adultsadults with clinical conditionsadults with cancer, gad, or depression

Which studies have tested Letting Go Meditation?

Letting Go: Mindfulness and Negative Automatic Thinking

2008

Finding: In studies of students and people seeking treatment, those with a more mindful disposition reported fewer negative automatic thoughts and found it easier to let go of the ones that did arise, and mindfulness-based meditation programs were linked to drops in both how often those thoughts showed up and how hard they were to release. For someone drawn to Letting Go Meditation, this suggests that the core skill of loosening your grip on unwanted thoughts is one that regular mindfulness practice appears to strengthen. Keep in mind this work measures mindfulness broadly rather than testing Letting Go Meditation as its own method, and much of it shows associations rather than proving cause, so treat it as supportive background rather than direct proof.

See full citation in references

Towards a mechanistic understanding of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) using an RCT neuroimaging approach: Effects on regulating own stress in social and non-social situations.

2022

Finding: In this brain-imaging trial, 68 healthy adults trained in mindfulness-based stress reduction, and the researchers pinpointed two mental moves behind their lower stress: accepting a feeling as it is, and reframing what it means, rather than pushing it away. Both of these are the same skills that letting-go practice leans on, so the study helps explain why loosening your grip on a difficult emotion can calm you more reliably than trying to suppress it. Keep in mind the practice studied here was a full mindfulness program, not letting-go meditation specifically, and the group was small, so this points to a plausible mechanism rather than proof for this exact technique.

See full citation in references

Where does Letting Go Meditation come from?

Letting Go Meditation traces to Buddhist teachings on non-attachment, the practice of releasing clinging known as upadana, and was later joined by modern acceptance-based psychology that treats the same gesture as reducing the struggle with inner experience. These roots help explain the practice's form, its deliberate naming and releasing of specific attachments, rather than proving any clinical effect. Today it is one of the most popular guided meditation formats, with thousands of recorded letting go sessions.

Is Letting Go Meditation safe?

For most healthy adults, letting go meditation is a low-risk practice you can do on your own. Because releasing an attachment usually means feeling the emotion tied to it, a session can briefly raise arousal, surfacing grief, anxiety, or restlessness before any calm arrives. That caution comes from how the practice works, not from trials of the technique itself. In one controlled study of young adults, brief meditation changed cortisol, the hormone the body releases under stress, and on some measures raised rather than lowered it, a reminder that feeling settled does not always mean the nervous system has settled (David et al., 2014). The practice can support your care, but it does not replace treatment for a mental health condition.

Who should practise with care?

Take extra care if you are working with trauma, a recent bereavement, perinatal distress, or an eating or body-image struggle. Contemplating loss and loosening attachments can stir up unprocessed material that arrives as a wave of grief or fear rather than ease. This is a practice-informed caution, not a measured safety finding. In these situations it helps to move slowly and, where you can, to practise alongside a therapist or teacher rather than entirely on your own.

Emotional arousal before calm arrives

lowpractice-informed

Because letting go usually means feeling the emotion tied to an attachment, a session can briefly raise arousal, surfacing grief, anxiety, or restlessness before any settling. In one controlled study of young adults, brief meditation changed cortisol, the hormone the body releases under stress, and on some measures raised rather than lowered it, a reminder that feeling settled does not always mean the nervous system has settled. Keep early sessions short, and pause to rest attention on the breath or your body's contact with the chair if intensity climbs. (David et al., 2014)

Recent bereavement or acute grief

lowpractice-informed

How does Letting Go Meditation compare to similar techniques?

Technique	Best for	Use with care	Evidence strength	Distinction
Mindful acceptance (open-monitoring mindfulness)	Building a steady, ongoing habit of present-moment awareness and non-reactivity to whatever arises.	If open-ended observation leaves you drifting without traction, the more structured letting-go approach may suit better.	strong EVIDENCE	Mindful acceptance simply observes whatever thoughts and feelings arise and pass, without steering them. Letting Go Meditation is more deliberative: you name a specific attachment, look honestly at what holding it costs, and rehearse releasing your grip, rather than watching whatever surfaces on its own.
Relaxation training	Quickly settling a tense, revved-up body when the main problem is physical arousal.	Relaxation alone may not touch the sticky, ruminative thinking that keeps distress going.	moderate EVIDENCE

Glossary

Cognitive reappraisal

Deliberately reframing what a situation, thought, or attachment means so it carries less emotional charge, seeing an outcome as one possibility among many rather than the only one that could matter.

An emotion-regulation strategy that changes emotional impact by generating alternative interpretations of a stimulus; associated with lower anxious arousal than expressive suppression.

Decentering

The shift from being caught inside your thoughts and feelings to observing them as passing mental events, which loosens their pull and reduces automatic reactivity.

A metacognitive stance (also called cognitive defusion) that creates psychological distance between the observer and mental content, reducing identification with transient states.

Rumination

Repetitive, circular negative thinking that loops over the same worries and keeps distress going; the kind of mental churning that letting-go practice aims to loosen.

Non-attachment

A Buddhist principle of holding things, outcomes, and roles without clinging to them, so that ease comes from loosening the grip rather than from getting or keeping what you want.

Affective release

Allowing an emotion that has been held down, such as grief or tension, to be felt and move through rather than staying stuck, often followed by relief and a lighter, less braced body.

Arousal downregulation

Bringing an over-activated, revved-up body toward a steadier baseline by easing the fight-or-flight drive and releasing held muscle tension, felt as muscles unclenching and breathing steadying.

Default mode network

The brain system that runs a continuous, self-focused narrative when attention turns inward; quieting it is felt as identifying less with your own thoughts and being less caught in mental loops.

A set of midline cortical regions active during self-referential processing and mind-wandering; attenuated during mindfulness training in imaging studies.

Full References

[1]other peer reviewed

P. Frewen, Elspeth M. Evans, N. Maraj, D. Dozois, Kate Partridge (2008). Letting Go: Mindfulness and Negative Automatic Thinking. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-007-9142-1

DOI: 10.1007/s10608-007-9142-1

Cited in: Faq, What it is

[2]randomized controlled trial

Guendelman Simón, Bayer Mareike, Prehn Kristin, Dziobek Isabel (2022). Towards a mechanistic understanding of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) using an RCT neuroimaging approach: Effects on regulating own stress in social and non-social situations.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119059

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119059

distressed students and meditators

adults in mindfulness training

Outcomes measured

anxiety and mood symptomsanxiety, depression, pain, distresscognitive reappraisal and acceptance in emotion regulationdepression, stress, anxiety, mindfulnessneural processing of sadness; body-based vs self-referential networksnonattachment, reappraisal, body awarenessrumination reduction, decentering

Effect sizes

Outcome	Effect size	95% CI	N	Comparator	Source
Anxiety at 8 weeks	SMD = 0.38	95% CI 0.12-0.64	3,515	—	Goyal et al., 2014
Anxiety	Hedges' g = 0.63	—	1,140	—	Hofmann et al., 2010
Stress	Hedges' g = 0.44	95% CI 0.32-0.55	—	—	Sommers‐Spijkerman et al., 2021
Depression	Hedges' g = 0.24	95% CI 0.17-0.31	5,852	control groups	Linardon et al., 2023

The research is useful for setting expectations, but study methods and participant groups vary. Treat the findings as general guidance rather than a promise about any single session, and not a replacement for clinical care.

Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being

n = 3,515

Finding: This review pooled 47 trials of meditation programs covering about 3,515 adults and found small-to-moderate reductions in anxiety, depression, and pain after roughly eight weeks of practice, with the clearest signal for anxiety. The improvements held up against inactive comparisons like waitlists, but the review found no sign that meditation outperformed active alternatives such as medication or exercise, so it is best seen as one helpful option rather than a replacement for established treatments. Worth knowing: this evidence comes from the broader family of meditation and mindfulness practices, not from studies of Letting Go Meditation specifically, so it points to what regular practice may offer rather than confirming results for this exact technique.

SMD = 0.38

See full citation in references

Brief mindfulness meditation training alters psychological and neuroendocrine responses to social evaluative stress.

2014

Finding: In this randomised trial, 66 young adults were given either a brief mindfulness meditation training or a comparison cognitive-training program before facing a stressful lab task. Those who practised mindfulness reported feeling less rattled by the stress, but their bodies told a more complicated story: their cortisol, a stress hormone, actually rose more than the comparison group's, while their blood pressure showed no meaningful difference. The practical takeaway is that feeling calmer on the inside does not always line up with what stress markers in the body are doing, so this practice may ease how stress feels without reliably lowering physical stress signals. Keep in mind the training here was very brief and the participants were healthy young volunteers, so the mixed results may not carry over to longer practice or other groups.

See full citation in references

How to handle anxiety: The effects of reappraisal, acceptance, and suppression strategies on anxious arousal

2009

Finding: In an experiment with 202 healthy adults, people who met difficult emotions with acceptance or by reframing the situation kept their bodies calmer than those who tried to push the feelings down, showing lower physical signs of stress and arousal. For anyone drawn to letting-go practice, this points to why the approach can work: making room for a feeling, rather than clamping down on it, tends to settle the nervous system more effectively than suppression. Note that this study tested acceptance and reframing as general emotion-regulation strategies in a lab setting, not Letting Go Meditation itself, so it helps explain the mechanism rather than measure the practice directly.

See full citation in references

The efficacy of mindfulness apps on symptoms of depression and anxiety: An updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

n = 5,852

Finding: This meta-analysis pooled results from thousands of adults (nearly 5,900 for the depression measure) using smartphone mindfulness apps and found a small but consistent drop in depression symptoms compared with people who did nothing, along with similar modest gains for anxiety. Because Letting Go sessions are often practised through guided app or online audio, that points to a realistic benefit: regular app-based practice can take a little of the edge off low mood and worry, though the improvements are gentle rather than dramatic. The same analysis found that apps did not clearly outperform other active approaches such as therapy or in-person programmes, so this is best seen as a helpful, accessible support rather than a replacement for established treatment. Note too that this measures app-delivered mindfulness broadly, not the Letting Go technique specifically.

Hedges' g = 0.24

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Not all types of meditation are the same: Mediators of change in mindfulness and compassion meditation interventions.

2021

Finding: This study followed 431 people through two structured 8-week programs, one built around mindfulness and one around compassion training, and looked closely at why participants improved rather than just whether they did. Both groups showed gains in well-being, and the changes appeared to travel through inner shifts like stepping back from your own thoughts (rather than being swept up in them) and tuning into the body, pathways that echo what letting-go practice aims to cultivate. For someone drawn to this technique, it hints that easing distress may come partly from loosening the grip of repetitive thinking rather than forcing thoughts away. Keep in mind these were before-and-after measures within specific training programs, not a test of Letting Go Meditation on its own, so the mechanisms are promising leads rather than settled conclusions.

See full citation in references

Evaluating the Implementation and Effectiveness of a Low-Dose Mindfulness-Based Intervention in a Student Sample: a Randomized Controlled Trial

2021

Finding: In this trial, 71 university students given a short, low-dose mindfulness course improved their mindfulness, self-belief, body awareness and their ability to reframe difficult situations, with gains ranging from moderate to large compared with a waitlist group. The capacity to let go and hold experiences more loosely, however, only improved reliably among those who actually kept up regular practice at home, and it did not show up when everyone who enrolled was counted together. For a practitioner, the practical takeaway is that even brief training can sharpen how you notice and reinterpret your experience, but the deeper letting-go benefits appear to depend on consistent daily practice. Because this was a small study limited to students, the results are an encouraging early signal rather than the final word.

reported narratively

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Mindfulness-based programmes for mental health promotion in adults in nonclinical settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

2021

Finding: This review pooled trials of mindfulness-based programmes for everyday adults and found they improved mental well-being compared with doing nothing at all, but showed no clear advantage over other active approaches like exercise, therapy, or medication. In practical terms, a regular letting-go or mindfulness practice can be a genuine support for stress and mood, though it isn't proven to work better than other healthy habits you might already use. Worth knowing: none of these trials tested Letting Go Meditation as its own named technique, so what we know comes from the wider mindfulness research rather than a study of this exact practice, and the underlying trials varied widely in quality.

See full citation in references

The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: A meta-analytic review.

n = 1,140

Finding: This review of 39 studies, covering 1,140 people in clinical settings, found that mindfulness-based therapy produced moderate improvements in both anxiety and low mood from before to after treatment, with the strongest gains among those diagnosed with an anxiety or mood disorder. For someone drawn to a letting-go practice, that points to a real, measurable easing of worry and heaviness for people who stay with mindfulness training over time. Keep in mind that this looks at mindfulness-based therapy as a whole rather than Letting Go Meditation specifically, so the numbers describe the broader approach rather than this technique on its own.

Hedges' g = 0.63

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Minding one’s emotions: Mindfulness training alters the neural expression of sadness.

2010

Finding: Using brain scans, this study compared how people responded to sadness after 8 weeks of mindfulness training versus a group who hadn't yet started. After training, sadness activated the brain differently: less of the inward, self-focused rumination network and more of the regions that register bodily sensation, and people whose response shifted most toward that body-based pattern reported fewer symptoms of depression. In practical terms, this hints at how meditation may help you meet a hard emotion as a physical feeling to be noticed rather than a story to churn over. Keep in mind this was a study of general mindfulness training, not Letting Go Meditation specifically, so it points to a plausible mechanism rather than proof for this particular practice.

See full citation in references

A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation versus relaxation training: Effects on distress, positive states of mind, rumination, and distraction

2007

Finding: In this one-month trial with 83 distressed students, those who practised mindfulness meditation showed a clearer drop in repetitive, distracting, and ruminative thinking than students given relaxation training or no practice at all, and part of their reduced distress was explained by that quieter mental chatter. For someone drawn to letting-go practices, this hints at how the benefit may work: not by forcing calm, but by loosening the grip of looping thoughts. Keep in mind this was a short study in young adults reporting stress, so it points to a plausible pathway rather than settling exactly how the practice eases distress over the long term.

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New Evidence in the Booming Field of Online Mindfulness: An Updated Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

2021

Finding: This meta-analysis of 97 randomised trials of mindfulness delivered online or through apps found moderate reductions in stress, low mood and improvements in everyday mindfulness, along with smaller reductions in anxiety. For someone practising Letting Go through guided audio or an app, that points to a realistic, modest benefit for stress and mood rather than a dramatic or curative one. Keep in mind this evidence covers online mindfulness in general across a broad range of adults, not the Letting Go technique specifically, so it tells us more about the delivery format than about this practice on its own.

Hedges' g = 0.44

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Contemplating loss and loosening attachments can bring unprocessed grief to the surface as a wave of sadness or fear rather than ease. This is a practice-informed caution, not a measured safety finding. If you practise while grieving, keep sessions brief, choose something workable rather than your hardest loss, and where you can, work alongside a therapist or teacher. It can support your care but does not replace bereavement support.

Working with trauma

lowpractice-informed

Contemplating loss and releasing attachments can stir up unprocessed material that arrives as a wave of grief or fear rather than calm. This caution comes from how the practice works, not from trials of the technique. Move slowly, keep sessions short, and practise alongside a therapist or teacher rather than entirely on your own.

Perinatal distress

lowpractice-informed

During the perinatal period, loosening attachments and contemplating loss may surface difficult emotion before any settling. This is a practice-informed caution rather than a tested safety finding. Take extra care, go slowly, and where possible practise with the support of a therapist or teacher rather than alone.

Eating or body-image struggles

lowpractice-informed

When an eating or body-image struggle is severe, the inward attention and emotional release this practice invites can stir difficult feelings, so it is not a substitute for care. This caution reflects how the practice works, not a measured adverse-event finding. Move slowly and, where you can, practise alongside a therapist or teacher.

How to practise safely?

Letting go meditation is most approachable when you keep sessions brief and contained, since releasing an attachment often means feeling the emotion tied to it before any calm arrives. A sensible starting format is a short sitting of a few minutes focused on one workable attachment rather than your hardest loss, with room to pause and reorient gently afterward. If arousal climbs or difficult material surfaces, it helps to move slowly and, where you can, to lean on a therapist or teacher rather than working entirely on your own.

Start short

Begin with five to ten minutes so you can meet whatever arises without feeling flooded, and lengthen sessions only as they feel manageable.

Choose one attachment at a time

Pick something workable rather than your hardest loss, a single outcome, role, or worry you are gripping, so the practice stays contained.

Let feelings move without forcing them

If grief, anxiety, or restlessness surface, allow the emotion to be felt rather than pushed away or chased. Releasing tends to happen gradually, not on command.

Anchor in the body if arousal climbs

If you feel wired, tearful, or overwhelmed, pause the contemplation and rest your attention on the breath or on the contact of your body with the chair or floor until the intensity eases.

Close slowly

Give yourself a few minutes to reorient before returning to activity, especially after a session that stirred strong emotion.

Reach for support when you need it

If practice repeatedly brings up trauma memories, acute grief, or thoughts that feel unsafe, pause and work with a therapist or teacher, treating this practice as a complement to professional care rather than a replacement for it.

Medical Disclaimer

This information is educational and is not medical advice. This practice is not a substitute for professional care and should not replace prescribed medication or treatment for any medical or mental-health condition. If you are managing a health condition or taking medication, talk with a qualified health professional before changing your practice. If you are in distress or crisis, seek professional support.

Has letting go meditation been tested in its own studies?

No. No randomized trial has tested Letting Go Meditation by name; its support is carried over from the wider meditation and mindfulness research rather than studies of this exact practice (Galante et al., 2021), (Goyal et al., 2014).

No. There is no randomized controlled trial, a study that randomly assigns people to compare groups, of Letting Go Meditation specifically. The evidence is indirect, drawn from the broader meditation and mindfulness literature that shares its mechanisms of acceptance, reappraisal, and reduced rumination (Galante et al., 2021), (Goyal et al., 2014). That research reliably shows benefits over doing nothing but rarely a clear edge over other active approaches, so treat the findings as a reasonable basis for expectations rather than proof for this exact technique (Linardon et al., 2023).

Why does loosening your grip on something make you feel calmer?

Largely because loosening your grip changes how you relate to a thought or outcome. Reframing a fixed "this must happen" as one possibility among many (cognitive reappraisal) and watching worry as a passing mental event rather than a fact (decentering) can ease the revved-up arousal of holding on (Simón et al., 2022), (Jain et al., 2007).

The calming seems to come from two shifts researchers can measure. Cognitive reappraisal reframes a gripped outcome as one option among many, which tends to lower anxious arousal more than pushing the feeling away (Simón et al., 2022), (Hofmann et al., 2009). Decentering, seeing a worry as a passing mental event rather than the truth about you, loosens rumination, the circular thinking that keeps distress going (Jain et al., 2007), (Pablo et al., 2021). As that mental grip softens, the wired physical activation of clinging can settle. This is a likely mechanism drawn from mindfulness and emotion-regulation research, not proof from trials of Letting Go Meditation itself.

Can letting go meditation stir up difficult emotions before it helps?

Yes. Releasing something you have held tightly can briefly raise arousal, surfacing grief, anxiety, or restlessness before any calm arrives. This is a practice-informed expectation from how the practice works, not a measured harm; if intensity climbs, slow down, anchor in the body, and seek a therapist if material feels unsafe.

Yes. Because letting go often means feeling the emotion bound up with an attachment, some sessions may briefly stir grief, anxiety, or restlessness before things settle. This caution is inferred from how the practice works rather than confirmed by trials of the technique itself. One controlled study of young adults even found that brief meditation altered, and on some measures raised, cortisol, the stress hormone, rather than lowering it, a reminder that feeling calm does not always mean the nervous system has settled (David et al., 2014). Going slowly, keeping sessions short, and working with a therapist when distress feels unsafe all help, and this practice is not a substitute for care.

Is letting go meditation safe if you are grieving a recent loss?

Use care. For most healthy adults letting go meditation is low-risk, but in recent bereavement it can surface raw grief before any ease arrives. Keep sessions short, go slowly, anchor in the body if feeling floods you, and ideally practise alongside a therapist. This is a practice-informed caution, not a tested safety finding, and it complements rather than replaces bereavement care.

Use care. No trial has tested this practice for safety in people who are acutely grieving, so this is a practice-informed caution rather than an evidence-based safety finding. Because letting go asks you to contemplate loss and loosen attachments, it can bring unprocessed grief to the surface as a wave of sadness or fear before any settling. If you choose to try it while grieving, keep sessions brief, pick something workable rather than your hardest loss, pause and rest attention on the breath or body if arousal climbs, and work with a therapist or teacher where possible. It can support your care but does not replace bereavement support.

How long should a letting go meditation session be when you're starting out?

Start short. Five to ten minutes is a sensible beginner length, long enough to name and loosen one attachment but short enough that you can meet whatever surfaces without feeling flooded. Lengthen sessions only as they feel manageable.

Start short, with roughly five to ten minutes. Because letting go can briefly stir grief, anxiety, or restlessness before any calm arrives, a brief session keeps the practice contained and lets you pick one workable attachment rather than your hardest loss. Extend the time gradually as it feels comfortable, and if arousal climbs, pause the contemplation and rest your attention on the breath or your body's contact with the chair. This is practical, practice-informed guidance for comfort and containment rather than a trial-tested optimal dose; no study has established an ideal session length for this specific technique.

What do you do if strong feelings come up during a session?

Pause the contemplation and steady yourself first. Rest your attention on your breath or the contact of your body with the chair or floor until the intensity eases, let the feeling move without forcing it, and close slowly. This is practical guidance rather than an evidence-based safety finding.

Pause and ground before continuing. When grief, anxiety, or restlessness surface, shift your attention to the breath or to the physical contact of your body with the chair or floor until the wave settles, then allow the emotion to be felt rather than pushed away or chased. Give yourself a few minutes to reorient before returning to activity. If strong feelings recur, or trauma memories or thoughts that feel unsafe come up, treat this as a signal to work with a therapist or teacher; this practice complements professional care rather than replacing it. These steps are a practice-informed caution drawn from how to practise safely, not a proven treatment for acute distress.

What's the difference between letting go meditation and mindfulness?

The main difference is the gesture. Letting Go Meditation is deliberative: you name a specific attachment, look at what holding it costs, and rehearse releasing your grip (Frewen et al., 2008). Open-monitoring mindfulness simply observes whatever thoughts and feelings arise and pass, without steering them.

The main difference is active versus observational. Letting Go Meditation actively works on one attachment at a time, examining and loosening it (Frewen et al., 2008), while open-monitoring mindfulness watches whatever surfaces on its own without trying to change it. The two overlap in their underlying processes of acceptance, reappraisal, and decentering, so they can feel related in practice. No head-to-head trial establishes that one outperforms the other; the distinction here is one of form, not proven advantage.

Can letting go meditation replace therapy for anxiety or depression?

No. Letting Go Meditation may ease anxiety and low mood as a complement to care, but it is not a substitute for therapy or treatment of a diagnosed condition. If distress is clinical, work with a qualified professional (Hofmann et al., 2010).

No. The evidence here is indirect: no randomized trial has tested this exact practice, and while meditation reliably beats doing nothing, it rarely shows a clear edge over other active treatments (Goyal et al., 2014), (Galante et al., 2021). Guided meditation can produce small-to-moderate reductions in anxiety and stress (Hofmann et al., 2010), which makes it a reasonable support alongside professional care rather than a replacement for it. When anxiety or depression is clinical, seek a therapist or clinician instead of relying on the practice alone.

Interoception

The sense of internal body signals such as heartbeat, breath, and muscle tension, which lets you feel an emotion land in the body rather than only think about it.

Effect size (Hedges' g)

A statistic that describes how large an effect is rather than just whether it exists; roughly, values near 0.2 are small, 0.5 moderate, and 0.8 large.

[3]other peer reviewed

Madhav Goyal, Sonal Singh, Erica Sibinga, Neda F Gould, Anastasia Rowland-Seymour, Ritu Sharma (2014). Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.13018

DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.13018

Cited in: Benefits, Faq, Research

[4]randomized controlled trial

Creswell J David, Pacilio Laura E, Lindsay Emily K, Brown Kirk Warren (2014). Brief mindfulness meditation training alters psychological and neuroendocrine responses to social evaluative stress.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.02.007

DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.02.007

Cited in: Faq, Research, Use with care

[5]other peer reviewed

Stefan G. Hofmann, Sanna Heering, Alice T. Sawyer, Anu Asnaani (2009). How to handle anxiety: The effects of reappraisal, acceptance, and suppression strategies on anxious arousal. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2009.02.010

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2009.02.010

Cited in: Faq, How it works, Research

[6]meta analysis

Jake Linardon, Mariel Messer, Simon B. Goldberg, Matthew Fuller‐Tyszkiewicz (2023). The efficacy of mindfulness apps on symptoms of depression and anxiety: An updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2023.102370

DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2023.102370

Cited in: Benefits, Faq, Research

[7]other peer reviewed

Roca Pablo, Vazquez Carmelo, Diez Gustavo, Brito-Pons Gonzalo, McNally Richard J (2021). Not all types of meditation are the same: Mediators of change in mindfulness and compassion meditation interventions.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.01.070

DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.01.070

Cited in: Faq, How it works, Research

[8]randomized controlled trial

Constance Karing, Andreas Beelmann (2021). Evaluating the Implementation and Effectiveness of a Low-Dose Mindfulness-Based Intervention in a Student Sample: a Randomized Controlled Trial. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01613-9

DOI: 10.1007/s12671-021-01613-9

Cited in: Benefits, Research

[9]meta analysis

Julieta Galante, Claire Friedrich, Anna F. Dawson, Marta Modrego‐Alarcón, Pia Gebbing, Irene Delgado-Suárez (2021). Mindfulness-based programmes for mental health promotion in adults in nonclinical settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003481

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003481

Cited in: Faq, Research

[10]other peer reviewed

Stefan G. Hofmann, Alice T. Sawyer, Ashley A. Witt, Diana Oh (2010). The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: A meta-analytic review.. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018555

DOI: 10.1037/a0018555

Cited in: Benefits, Faq, Research

[11]other peer reviewed

Norman A. S. Farb, Adam K. Anderson, Helen S. Mayberg, Jim Bean, Deborah McKeon, Zindel V. Segal (2010). Minding one’s emotions: Mindfulness training alters the neural expression of sadness.. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017151

DOI: 10.1037/a0017151

Cited in: Research, What happens in the body

[12]randomized controlled trial

Shamini Jain, Shauna L. Shapiro, Summer Swanick, Scott C. Roesch, Paul J. Mills, Iris R. Bell (2007). A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation versus relaxation training: Effects on distress, positive states of mind, rumination, and distraction. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15324796abm3301_2

DOI: 10.1207/s15324796abm3301_2

Cited in: Faq, How it works, Research

[13]meta analysis

Marion Sommers‐Spijkerman, Judith Austin, Ernst T. Bohlmeijer, Wendy Pots (2021). New Evidence in the Booming Field of Online Mindfulness: An Updated Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. https://doi.org/10.2196/28168

DOI: 10.2196/28168

Cited in: Benefits, Faq, Research