Using NLP To Release Negative Feelings

Have you ever been so angry or annoyed with somethingthat you couldn’t get it out of your mind?

All you could think of was how upset you were, you told everyone about it, just thinking about it was enough to get your emotions boiling over, again.

Why does this happen?

Well, its because you store your memories in groups of similar events, mostly in the form of pictures, which are all linked together by whatever emotion your felt at the time. So if you felt angry at the time, that anger is attached to that picture. If that picture is grouped with similar pictures and emotions, just thinking of one picture can set of the emotions attached to the whole group of memories, or Gestalt.

This is why sometimes a small thing can trigger a massive and over the top reaction. So what can I do about it?

There are several solutions involving professional therapy but NLP offers practical options in terms of dealing with the emotional responses, by creating an alternative outcome. Humans are born with only two fears, a fear of falling and a fear of loud noises, every other fear or response is a learned response, a coping strategy. The good news is that anything you learn can be unlearned, so you can modify your response by replacing negative outcomes with positive.

In this way, it is your choice how you react, if you are not happy with your reaction, decide on the reaction you would like to happen. Imagine a spotlight shining down from above, creating a circle of light on the floor, see yourself standing in that circle of light, reacting the way you want, impressing people with your calm, charm and charisma, be as amazing as you want.

Walk around the circle, watch yourself inside the circle from every angle, from the side, from behind, in front, even from above and below. Tweak and fine tune your performance until you are really pleased with how it looks, now step into the circle of light and become one with yourself. Feel yourself acting as you want things to be, listen to the sounds, see how it looks, now make the picture sharper, brighter and more vibrant, really turn up the energy until it feels like it just cannot get any better, now close your fingers on your left hand around your left thumb and squeeze.

Now, think of a pink elephant in a blue tree*

Thats right, now, bring back your memory of the thing that upsets you, got it, good.  Where does it rate on a scale of 1-10, 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest, if its not at least an 8, double it, now double the feeling again.  Now fold your fingers on your right hand round your right thumb and squeeze.

Now think of a red cat in a green tree*

Now squeeze your right thumb with your right hand but at the same time see your negative feeling draining away, going from colour to black and white, as at the same time you squeeze your left thumb feeling your new and amazing self flooding you with confidence and energy.

You cannot feel 2 emotions at the same time, and positivity is stronger than negativity.

You can test it by trying to get the negative feeling back, whilst squeezing your left thumb with your left hand.  The harder you try to get the old feeling back the more it seems to go away, as if it no longer exists.

If this article has helped you, please leave a comment.  If you have other issues affecting you, please feel free to contact me for a confidential discussion.

Technorati Tags: anger, anger management, stress, stress management

Tags: anger, anger management, stress, stress management