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 NLP
Article 8 - Overcoming Past Failure
Many of us should have become movie directors!
We’re so talented when it comes to running movies in our
heads, usually highly negative ones!
Marie had a beauty. Whenever she thought about losing weight,
in her mind she’d run over about 3 past failures, fast
forward to “now” and then watch herself failing to
lose weight and continuing on to a catastrophic
“climax” where some disaster would happen (like her
husband leaving her or being embarrassed being seen with her in public)
and would fade out watching herself quietly weeping into a chocolate
cake. She should have had a career in Hollywood!
One of the best ways I know to mess up a mental movie so that it
entirely loses its impact is the NLP Fast Phobia/Trauma Cure.
Now, you might think “but I don’t have a phobia and
I’m not traumatised”. Don’t
worry, it’s only a name and it’ll mess up your
“weight” movies just as well as it messes up some
pretty scary movies for other people. If this one can mess up
something as severe as PTSD (post-traumatic stress syndrome),
it’ll make mincemeat of your weight movies!
The NLP Fast
Phobia/Trauma Cure
This interesting technique was first devised by one of the developer's
of NLP, Dr Richard Bandler. Since then it has been improved upon by
several NLP practitioners and today the following version, described by
Connirae & Steve Andreas in their most useful book "Heart of
the Mind" is probably the best known.
(The word trauma here has a very general meaning - could be an
accident, seeing someone come to harm, losing a job, a relationship.)
The Fast Phobia/Trauma Technique is shown step-by-step on the following
page. Read through the steps to familiarise yourself with
them prior to starting. It is essential that you remain
detached as the “movie” unfolds.
Warning: Do not use this technique to treat yourself for
strong trauma or phobia! It can be difficult or even
impossible to remain detached without competent/expert assistance.
Steps to the
Fast Phobia/Trauma Technique
1 Imagine you're sitting in a move
theatre all by yourself, looking up at a blank screen.
2 Put a black and white still shot of
yourself the day before the trauma (or before the phobic reaction, or
before you ever met the person you have broken up with).
3 Float up out of your chair into the
projection booth at the back of the theatre. Notice the window glass is
very thick and you are completely cut off from the theatre, although
you can see and hear everything.
4 Start to run a movie starting from the
still shot and moving all the way through the trauma, finishing well
after the traumatic event is over and everything has returned to
normal. This movie will take just a few minutes (ie, it is fast). It is
absolutely vital that you feel detached as the movie is playing. To do
this you keep in mind that you are merely watching yourself down below,
who is in turn watching the movie. If you feel any distress whatsoever,
distance yourself further by imagining you are going down to check on
ticket sales, or perhaps pop down to the corner to buy a hotdog while
the movie comes to completion.
5 Freeze the last frame of the movie,
making sure it is a shot in which you look relaxed and comfortable.
6 Jump into the still frame (ie,
associate into the movie as if you are actually in it).
7 Turn the frame big, bright and
colourful.
8 Run the movie backwards really, really
fast, just seconds like a really rapid rewind. Feel yourself being
pulled backwards all the way through the movie in just seconds, all the
way back to the beginning (the still frame of you at the start).
9 Come out from the beginning the movie,
go and jump in the end again, make sure it's big and bright and
colourful, and repeat 8.
10 Repeat 7, 8 and 9 several times, very
rapidly.
You should now find that when you think about that event, it has ceased
to have any impact on you. You may find that your memory of
the event is more “complete” and that the
information (learning) you can take from it has increased, making you
more confident about your present and future.
About
the
Author: Christine
Sutherland is the
founder of The Lifeworks Group Pty Ltd.
She is a behavioural therapist, clinical
researcher, and
internationally-published author of a range of reference texts for
health
professionals, corporate managers, and the general public.
You
can contact Christine on christine@lifeworks-group.com.au.
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