The Linchpin Effect: Why Big Problems Sometimes Have Small Solutions

5 minutes of change. 18 months of normal sleep.

A long time ago, in a world of wagons and carts, a tiny pin, called a linchpin, was inserted through the ends of each axle to keep the wheels in place.

Without it, the entire wagon fell apart.

With it, everything held together.

We can think about unwanted mental and emotional patterns the same way.

Sometimes, problems that feel enormous and complex are held together by just a single ‘linchpin’.

If we can identify and remove that linchpin, the entire problem collapses.

About 18 months ago I worked with Lauren, who was battling insomnia.

Insomnia can be due to a variety of factors—poor sleep habits, medication, caffeine, alcohol, pain, health conditions — but perhaps most commonly, stress and anxiety.

In Lauren’s case, it became quickly clear to me that her insomnia was solely due to anxiety.

Specifically, when Lauren started to get sleepy in bed, an automatic thought went through her mind:

“What if I don’t sleep tonight?”

That thought flashed Lauren back to memories of battles with insomnia she’d had in the past, creating sudden, intense anxiety about the possibility of her not sleeping in the present.

And, since anxiety involves our body mobilizing resources for action, Lauren didn’t feel sleepy anymore.

Lauren’s automatic ‘What if’ thoughts were a single linchpin holding the problem together.

The core of the session was probably only 5 minutes.

However, since thoroughness is always important, we then took a few extra minutes to ensure we hadn’t missed anything.

Total session time: 15 minutes.

Below, you’ll find a screenshot of my email to Lauren, and her feedback (which she kindly let me share with you).

Eighteen months later, Lauren was still enjoying the benefits of this session.

Two things worth saying clearly.

1) While I do occasionally have sessions that are over in minutes, like this one, Lauren’s experience is not typical. For example, this was Lauren’s second session. In her first session, I helped her resolve trauma related to the death of her mother, which took 66 minutes.

2) While insomnia can often be quickly eliminated when it’s due to a simple anxiety pattern, often multiple linchpins take several sessions to remove (and, sometimes medical help is required too—e.g. for conditions such as sleep apnea). 

The take-home message?

It’s not that “your problem is simple.”

It’s that, when it comes to psychological change, never assume that just because you have a ‘big’ problem, it requires a ‘big’ solution.

Maybe there’s just a ‘linchpin’ holding it in place.

Another way I describe this is ‘tapping in the right place’ — you can read more about that and other case studies here.