Attempting to control, suppress or get rid of difficult physical and psychological sensations within the body is an understandable response to these experiences. Unfortunately, this type of response can lead to unintended consequences, such as intensifying the very sensations we are trying to change.

An alternative approach is to mentally step back from uncomfortable sensations and reduce the struggle to control them. This expansion exercise can help you to achieve this ‘unhooking’. You can listen to the exercise here, or download it to your device.