THE 5 HINDRANCES
In the Buddhist tradition, the five hindrances are identified as mental factors that hinder progress in meditation and in our daily lives. These factors are identified specifically as obstacles to the jhānas (stages of concentration) within meditation practice. Within the Mahayana tradition, the five hindrances are identified as obstacles to (tranquility) meditation.
The five hindrances are:
1. Sensory desire (kāmacchanda): the particular type of wanting that seeks for happiness through the five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and physical feeling.
2. Ill-will (vyāpāda; also spelled byāpāda): all kinds of thought related to wanting to reject; feelings of hostility, resentment, hatred and bitterness.
3. Sloth-and-torpor (thīna-middha): heaviness of body and dullness of mind which drag one down into disabling inertia and thick depression.
4. Restlessness-and-worry (uddhacca-kukkucca): the inability to calm the mind.
5. Doubt (vicikicchā): lack of conviction or trust.
-Wikipedia
MICHAEL: In other words, because I am feeling tired and worn out, I am agitated. Because I feel agitated I seek relief via pleasurable stimulation and avoiding unpleasant stimulation. Therefore, I cannot fully trust anything since a pleasant experience can turn unpleasant at the drop of a hat, and so doubt is my constant companion.
Since doubt and uncertainty are exhausting to lug around 24/7, I naturally feel tired and worn out, and the Samsaric cycle repeats over and over and over.
So what’s the solution? See it for what it is. Stop believing your mind and just watch it. See what it’s up to. Start to notice its patterns rather than just robotically reacting to them again and again and again. Remember, the moment you stop observing the mind you fall under it’s spell and believe you are the mind. When this happens simply notice this and continue noticing without skipping a beat. But the catch is you actually have to do it.
Michael Jeffreys 
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