5 Steps to Letting Go of Negative Emotions: The Sedona Method

We like to push negative feelings away or try to distract ourselves from them. That’s not healthy in the long run. The Sedona Method can help here.

Everyone deals with their own feelings differently. Dealing with negative feelings in particular is difficult for many people: some tend to suppress them or project them onto others. Others let themselves be overwhelmed by negative feelings. In the long run, however, an unhealthy way of dealing with negative feelings can lead to (health) problems.

The Sedona Method can help you learn to deal with and overcome your negative feelings in a healthy way. The method consists of five steps, which contain four questions and can basically be applied to any negative feeling.

The Origin of the Sedona Method

The Sedona Method was invented by Lester Levenson, a physicist and entrepreneur who lived quite unhealthily. He suffered from various health problems. In addition, Levenson had two heart attacks and after the second, his doctors were of the opinion that he could not do much more and would probably die soon. Levenson, however, did not want to accept the prospect of not living long and began to question his entire life.

He felt that the way he managed his thoughts, beliefs, behaviors, and the feelings that resulted from them led to his illness. Studies show that dealing with negative emotions incorrectly, such as fear or sadness, can lead to an increased risk of illness.

Levenson then developed a method to help him deal with his feelings better. Incidentally, he lived for another 40 years, during which time he continued to spread them. The method later became the Sedona Method, which anyone can use.

By the way: There are hardly any scientific studies on the Sedona method. However, a survey was able to show that stress can be significantly reduced in this way.

That’s how the Sedona Method works and that’s what its application brings

The Sedona Method is designed to help you deal with your negative thoughts and ultimately let them go.

There are five steps you should follow to do this:

1. The first step is to think about what feeling you want to let go of. Name the feeling and remember a situation in which you felt it or it arose. Consider if there is a feeling you would like to feel instead.
2. Then go to the second step. Now you’re asking yourself the first Sedona question. It is “Can I accept the feeling now?”. Be sure to answer the question honestly. If your answer is yes, you can move on to the next step. If she’s “no,” explore why you can’t accept the feeling. What is stopping you? How could you still accept the feeling? Once you’ve done that, move on to the next step.
3. In the third step you ask yourself the question: “Could I let go of this feeling? Even if it was just for a moment?”. Again, answer honestly. Whether you answer “yes” or “no,” there is no right or wrong. Try to choose an answer intuitively.
4. In the fourth step you can then ask yourself the following question: “If I were able to let go of the feeling, would I do that?”. See honestly which answer feels right to you. If you answer the question with “No”, you can ask yourself an additional question if you want. This is “Do I want to hold on to the feeling or free myself from it?”. When you have dealt with this question, move on to the last step.
5. The fifth step contains the last question. It is “When would I be ready to let go of the feeling?”. Every answer is possible and correct here. For example, you could answer “now,” “soon,” or “next Sunday.”

Once you’ve gone through all of these steps and asked yourself the questions above, go back to the first step and repeat the process several times until you find that you experience the feeling differently or it’s gone. The method helps you to get more in touch with yourself and your feelings. You will learn to understand your own feelings better and to be more present.

The method also shows you that it is only possible to let go if you believe in it yourself. You can use the method in relation to feelings, people and behavior.

Of course, this does not apply to all feelings or problems: deep-seated trauma or other psychological problems, for example, you probably cannot solve with the Sedona Method and in such a case you should seek professional help to deal with it.

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