35 Ways to Let Go

35 Strategies to Let Go of Unpleasant Memories and Reclaim Your Peace

1. Reframe the Memory as a Story of Growth
2. Practice Gratitude for the Negative
3. Laugh at Your Past Self
4. Use the Doorframe Technique
5. Visualise a “Memory Bank Withdrawal”
6. Engage Your Sense of Smell to Anchor the Present
7. Name the Emotion, Not the Memory
8. Create a Reverse Bucket List
9. Time Travel: Offer Compassion from Your Future Self
10. Touch Something Cold to Interrupt Thought Loops
11. Ask, “Will This Matter in Five Years?”
12. Deliberately Misremember the Memory
13. Sing the Memory Away to a Silly Tune
14. Assign the Memory to an Object and Release It
15. Explore Backward Gratitude
16. Try the Rubber Band Snap Technique
17. Watch the Memory Like a Movie
18. Write a “Breakup Letter” to the Memory
19. Balance It Out with a Memory Jar
20. Use Time-Changing Meditation (like sand dissolving)
21. Change Your Environment for New Stimuli
22. Rewrite the Memory in Your Dreams
23. Perform Tiny Acts of Kindness
24. Practice Radical Acceptance
25. Turn It Into Art (draw, paint, sculpt)
26. Shake It Off – Literally Move Your Body
27. Savour Micro-Moments of Joy
28. Create a Letting Go Playlist
29. Speak to the Memory as if It’s a Child
30. Do a Brain Dump – Write It All Out
31. Distract Yourself with Something New
32. Guided Visualisation: Let the Memory Float Down a River
33. Adopt Minimalist Thinking: Does This Serve Me?
34. Mirror Affirmations: “I Deserve Peace”
35. The 10 Deep Breaths Rule

Letting go is not about forgetting.
It’s about freeing yourself to fully live in the present.

For a more detailed explanation, click here.

Created by Caroline Crotty, Psychotherapist
www.carolinecrotty.ie
hello@carolinecrotty.ie