Learning to Sit With Yourself When Something Feels Off

Learning to sit with yourself when something feels off is one of the hardest, yet most powerful, skills you can develop. When discomfort bubbles up—anxiety, sadness, restlessness—our first instinct is often to distract, to solve, or to push it away. We reach for our phones, we busy ourselves with tasks, or we talk ourselves out of what we’re feeling, trying to “fix” the discomfort as quickly as possible. But what if, instead, you learned to pause, to stay, and to listen?

Sitting with yourself when something feels off is an act of self-compassion and self-trust. It’s an acknowledgment that you don’t need to have all the answers right away, that sometimes just being present with what you’re feeling is enough. As a therapist, I’ve seen how transformative this practice can be. Learning to sit with yourself creates a space where emotions can exist without judgment, where you can gently explore what’s coming up rather than running from it. Over time, this practice helps to cultivate resilience, giving you the confidence that you can handle whatever arises within you.

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From a somatic perspective, emotions aren’t just mental experiences; they’re physical sensations that live in the body. When something feels off, your body often carries that discomfort, whether it’s in the form of tension, a tight chest, or a subtle unease in the stomach. By sitting with yourself, you’re creating an opportunity to reconnect with your body, to feel where the discomfort lives, and to give it the attention it’s asking for. This practice invites you to approach your body as a guide, trusting that it has valuable information to share.

Learning to sit with discomfort also challenges cultural narratives that tell us we should always be “okay” and that negative feelings are something to avoid or fix. These messages can make us feel like there’s something wrong with us for feeling off, which only deepens the discomfort. But emotions are neither good nor bad; they’re signals, cues from within that something needs your attention. When you give yourself permission to simply sit with these signals, you’re affirming that your feelings are valid, that there’s space for all parts of you, even the parts that don’t have easy answers.

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A Time to Practice

A meditation intended to support you in sitting with what is sticky.