Stress Reduction Using NLP Part 1

Hello again, as I was getting this post together I realized that it was going to take me a bit longer to give you the step by step method that is important for success. So this post will be in two installments.  The first part is important.  You will learn to rate your level of emotion, using a very simple rating scale. It is vital to know where you are on the emotional scale before doing an exercise, because then you will easily notice when the emotion changes.  Even a slight change will be obvious when you use the rating scale before and after any stress relief exercise.

As we discussed last week there are many ways to use your mind to stop negative thinking.  If you haven’t already done the exercises I gave in my last two posts, please do it now.  Each exercise builds on the one before it.  Although they can stand alone, you will probably find that things will flow more easily if you have been following along  and doing each exercise in the order I have set up.

Because we are moving into very powerful techniques, if you have any medical or emotional conditions I advise you to check with your doctor before doing any of the following exercises.

Overview for today’s exercise:
1. First you need to get the memory that you want to work with.
2. As you think about the event in the memory,  you will rate your emotional level on the zero to ten scale.
3. Then you begin to write down all the elements in the picture.  Color, size, clarity, focus, sound, I will repeat the questions today to help you with this.
4. Once you have the elements the next post will tell you how to begin to change them.  It will be very important, to follow the directions for this and to change only one element at a time.

NOTE:   When we are working with a memory or image of something that brought on negative feelings, some element changes will make the feeling worse, some will make it better and some will have no effect.  That is why it is so important to change just one thing at a time.  This is so powerful that some people feel more comfortable having someone trained in these techniques to help them the first time. I am happy set up an appointment to do that, and I offer a free consultation, just contact me at askdraudrey@gmail.com.

Part 1: Recap of  information for changing negative feelings:
1. Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) gives a very powerful way to use your mind.  What we will be experiencing today is just a small part of what is possible using NLP techniques.

2.  Last week we answered the questions to help you to recognize the elements or parts that make up the picture that causes distress. Some of the parts we talked about were: color,size, focus,brightness.  If you haven’t done the exercise yet, the questions will be repeated in today’s exercise.

3.  As we discussed in the last post, we will be changing small parts or elements of your “stress picture.” This is the image that creates upset when you think about it.  It can be something that happened in the past or something that you are worried about happening in the future.   Remember as you do this exercise that changing each element will have a different effect.  Changing some elements will create a change in a positive direction, some will have no effect, and others might even make the feeling worse.

4.  If you have any concerns, it would be best to have a person trained in these techniques to guide you through on a one to one basis.  Feel free to send any question to me before continuing with the exercise at askdraudrey@gmail.com.

Part 2: NLP Exercise.
1.  Think of the event or situation that typically causes you stress. (If you didn’t do the “2 for 1 Exercise for Stress Relief” it might be helpful to go back to that post and practice it before continuing).

2.  The very first thing I have my clients do is to rate their level of stress before doing any exercise.  To rate your emotion using this scale is very easy.  Imagine that there is a scale that goes from zero to ten.  With zero meaning no emotion or you can do what some of my clients do and think of the 0 as being calm.  Ten would then represent the highest level of emotion.  Ten could stand for panic, anxiety, sadness, fear or whatever emotion you are rating.

3.  Rate the level of emotion as you think about the negative memory. For example: If it is towards the calm side of the scale it could be in the 0 to 3 range, some anxiety could be 4 to 6 and beginning of panic could be 7 to 10.  You just pick the number that best represents the emotional level for you. This is your rating gauge, so for example if we were rating pain and typically you were in a lot of pain,  but today was a good day, you’re level 2 might be another person’s level 6.

4.  Rate how intense the feeling is on a scale of 0 _________ 10. As you think about the negative event or memory.
(Zero representing calm and Ten representing the highest level of emotion).
Write down a number that represents your  level of emotion.  Since this is just a slightly negative memory  the number will probably be between 3 to  6.

5. Remember, for this exercise use a slightly negative memory, not a major problem.  We are using this as a practice exercise, so you can experience what happens when we start changing the elements in the picture.

6. The questions that follow are designed to help you to uncover the elements of the picture that we will be changing. Answer the following questions to learn about the elements or parts that make up your picture:
a. Is the picture in color?  Or is it in black and white?
b. Is the picture bright or dim?
c. Is it in focus or out of focus?
d. Is anything in the picture smaller than life?  Larger than life?  Or is everything life size?
e.  Are there any sounds in the picture?  (For example: people talking, cars, birds chirping, the wind)
f. If there are sounds are they pleasant or disturbing.
g.  Is it a “snap shot” or still picture?  Or  is it a moving picture?
h. Is any one else is in the picture?
i. If there is someone else, notice their expression? What feeling does it create?

Once again rate your discomfort (feeling) on a scale of 1  to 10. With 1 being totally calm and 10 feeling the emotion. (ie. annoyed, scared, irritated, fearful, sad)

Next post will give the details for Changing the Elements for an amazing experience.