It’s not uncommon to have irrational thoughts about things or situations which panic you – even when you’re aware that other people don’t suffer in the same way, if at all. Maybe you have a fear of flying or heights, are terrified at the sight of a spider or a snake, perhaps you worry at the thought of enclosed spaces, big crowds or the dark, maybe you’re unable to contemplate getting in a lift or going on an escalator. For some the idea of vomit is unbearable, others cannot cope with buttons or exposed tree roots … I could go on but I’m sure you get the picture.
Of course, if you’ve adapted your life around your phobia and are managing just fine then great. But if it’s causing you distress – whether it’s interrupting how you want to live your everyday life or stopping you from achieving a goal then perhaps you’d like to make some changes.
You may know exactly when and why this reaction began or maybe it just came out of the blue - either way the fact is your Primitive Mind – or your chimp (as we like to call the Primitive Mind) is now on high alert and whenever it perceives that so called threat you’ll be encouraged to respond in the same way again … and again … because although it isn’t pleasant or comfortable (possibly it’s even embarrassing) you do at least survive! The trouble is that your chimp, in its efforts to protect you, will always jump to the worst case scenario and can sometimes misunderstand or over react.
By focussing, just for a moment, on those feelings it’s possible to notice where they bother you most physically. By using the Spin technique you can then take back control to feel calmer and more relaxed, release the negative energy from your body and finally get rid of it. Another method allows you to rewind to the key moments in your past when you experienced an illogical response. Because you’re disassociated from the memory you can safely and calmly process it in a way that diminishes the danger until any unnecessary emotions are removed. Your chimp feels reassured and safe so now you can use your Intellectual Mind to choose freely how you’d prefer to think and feel and behave. We can then build on this positivity to visualise success and imagine what a difference it will make - so generating new neural pathways and improved options for your future.
Call me or e-mail if you’d like to find out more about how Solution Focused Hypnotherapy and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) can help.
Be more you,
Katherine.
BA (Hons), DipSFH. Reg AfSFH, CNHC, NCP
Kommentare