Treatment of phobias by methods of psychotherapy and medication. Technique: Rapid Cure for Phobias
The image can be "broken" if you deprive it of most of its logical connections. For example, we can easily recognize a familiar melody, even if a person falsifies and distorts words, changes tones. But if you scroll it - even in the original - backwards, you will recognize the melody of a few: the image is broken, important connections are destroyed.
How can it be used? If it turns out that the fear that a person is experiencing now is associated, for example, with a picture, an image of an evil father (from childhood), who stomps, screams and rages, it can be broken by simply offering to consider it in detail. "Were the eyes red? Did the nose swell? Did the spray fly? Did he wave his arms? Like this? Show me how." - thus depriving the image of connections, breaking it into pieces that can then be folded differently. Surprisingly, the intensity of fear subsides before our eyes. The terrible image collapses, and everything is a miracle - he is not afraid of him, he begins to laugh. Wonder what he was so afraid of? And already at the next meeting he says: "This is a miracle. I am not afraid of screaming."
Reference Method
1. Think about the last time you got scared or about what happened when you got it.
2. Close your eyes and imagine that you are sitting in the middle of a movie theater and see a black and white slide with your image on the screen. Mentally go up to the cameraman's booth, where you can see yourself sitting in a chair in the hall and watching the black and white image on the screen. Train your imagination to be in each of these three places.
3. Arrange for yourself to watch a black-and-white "movie". Now you are in a camera booth and you are watching and listening to a black and white film about yourself, describing the very first or most unpleasant moment when you experienced this phobia. Watch and listen to this film in its entirety, from the moment that preceded this unpleasant event, until the very end, when everything became good again. Watch and listen, as an observer from the outside, as you go through trauma as a younger person - as if it happened to someone else. When you get to the point where everything is good again, stop the movie but keep your eyes open.
4. Create a movie review in reverse order. Now enter ("jump") the last frame of the movie you just stopped and very quickly reverse it in color: within 2 seconds and up to the start point unpleasant events. Do what is described in paragraphs 3 and 4 several times.
5. Checking and adjusting for the future. Try to trigger the phobia again by asking, for example, what would happen if you were in that situation now? If the problem reaction still persists, repeat the procedure, making it faster each time, until there is nothing left of the phobic reaction.
Fear is generated by a picture of the terrible, but the mind does not distinguish between imagined events and real ones. After you overcome fear many times in your imagination, it will be much easier for you to cope with this situation in reality, because the model of events has already been fixed at the subconscious level when you perform this action. The method of self-hypnosis is very powerful. Whatever happens, you can always apply it and you will be successful. Other methods of self-hypnosis can be used, but they are less effective against fear. The best is visualization. You will notice that even after a single five-minute visualization, it will be much easier for you to cope with fear.
Alexander Lyubimov
In our life, there are quite a lot of anchors for strong states: fear, resentment, love, hatred, anger. And we don't need all these anchors. Many are quite the opposite. So I would like to have a way to get rid of these strong anchors. Here is the “Quick Treatment of Phobias” technique that destroys these strongest anchors. Naturally, if you need it.
Despite the name, this technique
can destroy anchors to any strong feelings: fear, anger, delight, falling in love, hatred,
not just phobias and fears.
Richard Bandler once described how he came up with this technique. In classical psychotherapy, if you have mental illness, you need to find another dozen - a hundred of the same and study. But Bandler studied with Milton Erickson, and he suggested doing the opposite - to find those who coped with such a disease on their own and find out how they did it. So Bandler just found a couple of such craftsmen who coped with their own phobia, modeled them and oops - we have the “Quick Phobia Cure” technique.
A little about phobias
Phobia: an intractable obsessive fear.
Fear and phobia
The phobic reaction is an example of "instantaneous" learning. It can be described as the rapid creation of a stable anchor: bitten by a dog - scared - now I'm constantly scared.
That is, a specific experience usually stands behind a phobia.
Fear is more like gradual learning. First, a person learns to be afraid a little (the beginning may even be specific situation, and "assumption" about such a situation), then stronger and stronger. In the end, he may have quite an intense experience. In the process of fear formation usually plays an important role internal dialogue(Hell).
For example, a man was walking home in the evening and said to himself (Hell): "Here I am now walking along a dark street, but they might attack me." Then he began to imagine how this could happen (B K + A K). And every time he walked down the dark street, the fear grew stronger. At some point, a person began to be afraid of dark streets and walked only on illuminated ones. Then generally dark places. Then he began to be afraid to sleep in the dark. Etc.
And it all started with a seemingly harmless thought. But people are creative beings and can ruin their lives very large quantity ways.
Names for phobias
Many fears and phobias have beautiful scientific names:
agoraphobia - fear of open space;
Acnephobia - fear of acne on the skin;
apeirophobia - fear of infinity;
arachnophobia - fear of spiders;
bromhydrophobia - fear that others may notice a bad smell;
vinophobia - an obsessive fear of drinking wine;
hydrophobia - fear of water;
glenophobia - fear of the look of a doll;
intimophobia - fear of turning off lighting fixtures;
carcinophobia - fear of getting cancer;
keirophobia - an obsessive fear among hairdressers, the fear of cutting a client;
claustrophobia - fear of closed spaces;
xenophobia - fear of the unfamiliar;
mysophobia - fear of pollution;
microphobia - fear of small objects;
nyctophobia - fear of the dark;
teniophobia - fear of contracting worms;
theophobia - fear of God, God's punishment, God's intervention in fate;
harpaxophobia - fear of robbers;
hypengiophobia - fear of responsibility;
photophobia - fear of light;
ereitophobia - fear of blushing;
eichophobia - fear of uttering or listening to good wishes.
If you know a little Latin or ancient Greek, you can practice too.
One useful skill is needed to perform the Quick Phobia Cure technique: multidimensional dissociation. I already described it, but I can repeat it again. We can observe ourselves - see ourselves in a situation from the outside - this is one-dimensional dissociation. And we can observe ourselves, observing ourselves - this is already a double dissociation. And we can observe ourselves, observing ourselves, observing ourselves - this is already a triple dissociation.
It certainly seems like a perversion of the mind,
but with each subsequent level of dissociation, the degree of involvement in the situation decreases.
So if you need to lessen the experience of an event, but still remember it in some way, 2D/3D dissociation can be very helpful.
A joke on the subject. Announcement in a brothel:
“Woman - $100. Peeping - $200. Peeping for a peeping - $400.”
step by step
To perform the technique, you will need to do several things: put yourself a strong positive anchor, make a movie about the state object and learn how to fast forward and backward, associate in this movie and go through the situation from the inside back and forth. That is, skills are needed:
- the ability to multi-dimensional dissociation and dissociated view events back to front;
- associated living the event in reverse order;
- fast association into a visual image and fast dissociation from it.
And now in more detail.
0. What we work with
Determine which state you want to destroy the anchor for - I will denote it I -.
At the same time, remember that only the anchor is destroyed, the states remain as they were, that is, if the anchor for hatred is destroyed, then hatred for a specific “object” will disappear, but the ability to experience hatred will not go anywhere.
You can work with yourself with anchors for almost any strong state, both positive and negative: falling in love, anger, admiration, delight, anger, hatred. But if you have something “paralyzing” - a phobia, strong fear, horror - then an operator will already be required.
1. Create a powerful resource anchor
Anchor yourself to a strong positive state or states: happiness, joy, peace… You can use the set of states from the Circle of Excellence. The main condition: the anchor must be kinesthetic- clenching a fist, touching the thigh, connecting fingers. Here it will be labeled as I + .
2. Dissociation
At this point, you need to create a dissociated movie about the object causing the state. I remind you that dissociated is one in which you see yourself from the outside.
a) 1st step
Recall two events - one before "turning on" I - when everything is still good - and another - after the "shutdown" I - when all is well. For example, if you are angry with someone, then the first event is when you don't get mad yet, the second - when you don't get angry anymore. Take photos of these events - black and white of the first and color of the second, we will call them slide #1 and slide #2.
b) 2nd stage
Imagine that you are sitting in front of a TV that will show a movie about you. And now take another step back - and you see yourself sitting in front of the TV, which shows a movie about you. And you have a VCR remote in your hands, into which a cassette with a recording of this situation is inserted - and you can speed it up, slow it down, stop it or turn it off altogether.
You can take any other metaphor for controlling the viewing of a movie - you are a projectionist in a booth, you watch a movie on a screen and you have a remote control from a projector, etc.
3. Quick view of a black and white movie
Start a positive resource anchor I +
Now you can collect the whole movie - it will begin with black and white photos of the first situation, slide number 1,
after black and white a movie about a situation with an object causing an unwanted state I - ,
last frame - colored photo of the second situation, slide number 2.
The entire film is in black and white, except for slide #2 - it's in color!
While in the 2nd stage of dissociation, watch a black and white film while holding the anchor I + , starting with slide number 1 and ending slide number 2. Watch the movie several times, each time increasing the viewing speed. Repeat the review until you learn how to do it very quickly.
1. Start a positive resource anchor I + and hold it while watching a movie.
2. Being in the 2nd stage of dissociation is very quickly view a black and white film, from black and white slide #1 to color slide #2.
3. After that associate with color slide number 2- that is, "enter" it.
4. After association with slide #2, quickly associate all events back to front from slide #2 to black and white slide number 1.
5. Having reached to slide number 1go back to the 2nd stage of dissociation.
6. After that turn off the screen.
View order:
|
Dissociation |
fast dissociation |
Go through this process a few times until you get it fast enough.
5. Function test
Remember the object that previously caused the unwanted state and calibrate your own response. Do a behavioral check if possible. If it didn't work, go back to the first step and go through the process again, while checking that:
- Check I + - the anchor must be "powerful" enough and must be held during each movie viewing.
- The movie should scroll as fast as possible.
- While watching a movie dissociated, you are in the 2nd stage of dissociation - see yourself sitting in front of the TV and watching a movie to yourself.
- Re-experiencing the situation should be associated, very fast and backwards.
6. Adjusting to the future
Imagine a possible meeting in the future with an unwanted object. Find accurate sensory information about "criteria of caution": how you will understand that the situation is safe, and when it is worth being careful and accurate.
Demonstration of work with negative emotions
When working with yourself, you just have to regularly switch from the “Client” state to the “Operator” state. This option is suitable for strong emotions, like resentment, anger, falling in love, irritation, etc.
Trainer:- What will we work with?
Customer:- I'm angry.
T: - Who or what are you angry at?
TO:- I'm mad at myself.
T: - On yourself in general or on yourself in some situation?
TO:- There were situations where I could have acted differently. But he didn't. And I'm still angry with myself because of it.
T: - That was a long time ago?
TO:- A few years ago.
T: - And are you still angry?
TO:- Yes.
T: - And how do you know that it's time to remember this situation.
TO:- When I find myself in a similar situation, I remember that I somehow screwed up.
T: - What do you think - why are you angry with yourself, what's the point?
TO:“Maybe it made sense to do things differently next time. But I seem to understand everything and act normally, but the anger does not go away.
T: - And if you stop being angry, will it hurt you in any way?
TO:- I already thought - no, it won't hurt.
T: - Good. So you're ready to get rid of it right now?
TO:- Yes. Ready.
T: - Fine. Then the first thing you need to do is to establish a powerful positive anchor for yourself. What conditions would be suitable for changing the assessment of this situation?
TO:- Calmness, confidence, joy.
T: - What would you prefer to use as an anchor trigger?
TO:- Anchor must be kinesthetic?
T: - Yes, only kinesthetic.
TO:- Then let there be a clenching of the left hand into a fist.
T: - Amazing. Now do the following - induce a state of calm, bring to the maximum, anchor. Likewise with joy and confidence. then check how well it all works.
TO:- Made.
T: - Fine. We will need this anchor in the future. Now choose two situations - one, before you start to get angry with yourself and still feel good, the second - after you have finished being angry and already feel good.
TO:- Are these events that took place before and after the situation that I am angry at?
T: - No, these are events that took place before and after you remember the situation you are angry about.
TO:- Yes, I remember.
T: - Now take pictures of the first and second situations. Make the photo of the first situation black and white, the second - color. And let's not get confused, let's call them slide one - this is a photograph of the first situation - and slide two. And - importantly - in these situations you see yourself from the outside.
TO:- Yes. Made.
T: - Good. Imagine that you are sitting in front of a television, on which these slides are shown to you in sequence.
TO:- Introduced.
T: - Now imagine that you are standing behind your back - that is, you see yourself sitting in front of the TV - and you have in your hands the remote control from the VCR, from which the signal goes to the TV. And you can speed up the recording, stop it, turn it off - that is, you completely control it. Try.
TO: Yes, I submitted.
T: - Launch your resource anchor - squeeze left hand into a fist. And between the first and second slides, insert a movie about the situation that you are angry about.
TO:- Made.
T: - Fine. Now you do the following: while holding the resource anchor, you are viewing the movie, which consists of the first black and white slide number one, the movie about problem situation and ends with color slide number two. Then you turn off the screen. You will repeat this process several times, each time making it faster and faster, until you can make the viewing as fast as possible.
TO:- Film with sound?
T: - Dumb. But you can play some funny music in the background - you know, like in Italian comedies. Or silent comedies.
TO:- Yes, I did.
T: - The next step is that you quickly look through this film, as you were watching now, and then you jump into a color slide and associated you go through the movie backwards. When you reach slide one, you jump back into position with the remote control and turn off the screen. You repeat this, increasing the speed, until you get the fastest possible. During the whole process, you hold the resource anchor.
TO:- Is there sound?
T: - If only the music is from an Italian comedy.
TO:- Made.
T: - Amazing. Let's check how well it worked - remember a situation in which you used to be angry with yourself.
TO: She doesn't remember now. Something vague and neutral.
T: - Does that mean there is no more anger?
TO: At least I don't feel it.
T: - Fine. Imagine yourself in three or four situations in the future, when you used to start remembering this situation. What has changed there.
TO:- Something I don’t remember her there anymore - I just act normally and that’s it.
T: - Is this what you wanted?
TO:- Yes, it is quite.
T: - Thanks
Demonstration of work with phobias and fears
Trainer: - Who wants to get rid of fear? It is desirable that it be a strong enough fear.
Customer: - I'm afraid of cars.
T: - And how long have you had it?
To: - About a year.
T: - Olya, how much are you afraid of them?
To: - I try not to ride them.
T: How did you get here?
To: - Metro.
T: - That is, you are only afraid to drive cars?
To: - Not so much to ride - I'm afraid to approach them.
T: - What about buses, trolleybuses, trams?
To: They are all right.
T: - Trucks?
To: - It's okay too.
T: - And how long have you had it?
To: - About a year.
T: - So, do I understand the situation correctly - you are afraid to drive and even approach cars. And you want to change it?
To: - Yes, I want to change it.
T: - And how are you afraid of them? Do you not use them at all, or are you just afraid to approach?
To: - I'm afraid to approach them. [Coach sets To anchor I - ]. My husband takes me in a car, but I myself do not approach it.
T: - Good. Look around. [Checks anchor I -]. Good. Olya, first of all, think about something pleasant. About something really comfortable. Feel it to the fullest. … [Sets To anchor I +] Fine! Come back here to this room. [Checks anchor I +]. What was it?
To: - I would call it comfort.
T: - Before you learn to treat cars the way they really deserve it, I would like to know - what exactly is so dangerous about them? What should be feared?
To: - Well. I... They can knock you down.
T: - That is, you are afraid that a passenger car can knock you down? You know I'm afraid of that too. That doesn't stop me from driving though.
To: - I understand with my head that you shouldn't be so afraid of them. But I can't do anything with myself.
T: - Nothing, today you will deal with the relationship with cars. You can choose an experience that suits you perfectly. But think about it, what else does it give you that you avoid cars? What else do you get from it?
To: - The first thing that comes to mind - I can not learn to drive a car. And don't drive. The husband himself takes the children to school in the morning. And throws me to the subway.
T: - And what is it for you - when a husband takes the children to school and throws you to the subway?
To: - The manifestation of attention, care. Yes, attention.
T: - So, you get attention from your husband. And what else?
To: - Since I try not to drive cars, I will not get into a difficult situation. Well, you know, caught the car. And they didn't take you there. Raped. Well, and so on.
T: - And what do you get from not getting into a difficult situation?
To: - This is understandable - safety.
T: - So, you can use your fear of cars to get attention from your husband and to ensure your own safety? Is there anything else?
To: No, that's probably all.
T: - Or maybe then we’ll leave everything like that - so much good?
To: - Can you leave the benefit, but remove the fear?
T: - OK, let's try. As I understand it, you want not just to get rid of fear, but to learn how to determine the degree of danger of a particular situation?
To: Yes, probably so. When I'm afraid to cross the road with speeding cars or get into a car with a couple of healthy men - it makes sense. And if I'm afraid to cross the road to the green light when the cars are stopped - it's just stupid. Or get in the car with your husband.
T: - Well then. Let's get rid of the fear first. And then we will select those behaviors that will suit you more in specific situations.
First we need to make a small movie. Take the situation when you were last afraid of cars.
To: - When I came here - I was afraid to cross the street.
T:- Remember the moment before crossing the street when all is well.
To: - Yes, I'm coming from the subway.
T: - Take a photo: Olya is walking from the subway. That is, you see yourself from the outside. And let it be a black and white picture.
To: - Yes, I did. Such a black and white photo.
T: - Now think about a situation where you already was not afraid. And do color photograph this moment.
To: - Yes. I enter the building.
T: - Amazing. Following. You must have a VCR.
To: - Yes, I have.
T: - Imagine that you are watching a cassette on TV, which is played by a VCR. There's a movie about you on the cassette.
To: - Yes, I did.
T: - Now imagine that you are watching yourself watching a movie about yourself. And in your hands is the remote control of the VCR. You can stop the movie, play it faster or slower, forward or backward.
To: - I see myself watching a movie about myself?
T: - Yes exactly.
To: - Yes, I did.
T: - Experiment with the remote control: you can play the movie faster or slower, stop it and even turn off the VCR.
To: - I tried.
T: - Now you will watch a film about yourself, how you walked from the subway here today. The film will be in black and white: it starts with a shot of you exiting the subway, then crossing the street, then entering the building. The last frame is in color. And most importantly, you will be watching this movie quickly. I would say very quickly. So put on the cassette. [Plays and holds I +]. Now there will be an accelerated black-and-white film about how Olya walks from the subway. And you watch yourself watching this movie on TV. Ready?
To: - Yes.
T: - Run.
To: - Yes, I looked it up.
T:- [Removes I +] How comfortable were you watching?
To: - Enough. But there was a little fear.
T Q: What would make you feel more comfortable? Plus to this state [reproduces I +]
To: - Perhaps self-confidence. And calm. Relaxation.
T: - Feel as calm as possible. Even more calm. [Sets I +]. Shake yourself, look around. Now feel confident. Just gigantic self-confidence. Colossal. [Sets I +]. Okay, come back here. And, relaxation. You are completely relaxed. To what extent is this even possible. [Sets I +]. Fine. Let's see what happened. [Reproduces I +]. How do you like it now?
To: - Wow. Good.
T: Let's get back to the movie. Watch it a few more times, each time increasing the speed. At the end, you have to look through it very quickly. You left the subway, whack - and you enter the building.
To: - Yes, I looked it up.
T:- [Removes I +] Were you comfortable enough to watch the movie.
To: - Yes, now it's quite normal.
T: - Was the browsing speed high?
To: - Yes very.
T: - [Play and hold I +]. Okay, watch the movie again high speed, only back to front. You move with your back, the cars go backwards...
To: - Hmm, funny.
T:- [Removes I +] I'll tell you first, and then you'll do the following. First, you quickly watch the movie from the moment you exit the subway to the moment you enter the building. Then you mentally "jump" into a color photograph, where you enter the rear, and you live this film in reverse order from the inside, associatively. You mentally move back, and you see how the cars go back to front, and then you come up with your back to the subway exit ... And then you jump out of the film back into yourself, with the control panel in your hands. And turn off the tape recorder. Ready? [Plays and holds I +].
To: - Yes, I did it.
T: - Was it fast?
To: - Not good.
T: - Do it as many times as you need to do it very quickly.
To: - Now very quickly.
T:- [Removes I +] Okay, now think about cars.
To: - Well, cars are like cars.
T: - [Playback I - - no reaction]. What do you feel now when you think about them?
To: - Nothing special.
T: - Okay, now think about the following. There seem to be a number of car situations where you need to be vigilant.
To: - Yes, for example, when it even lit up " little green man", you should look at "is anyone driving?" Yes, and when you cross the street without a traffic light. And if I'm going to go in a car, it's worth assessing how safe it is for me to drive with this person.
T: - What will tell you that you should be vigilant? It must be something quite touchy.
To: - I see a car or cars on the road. And in the case when I get into the car - the driver's assessment. I have a fairly clear idea of who is worth going with and who is not.
T: - And what do you do when you see a car on the road? Imagine you're about to cross over to the other side...
To: - I feel ... something like a warning. Some excitement inside. And I begin to assess the situation.
T: - Imagine that you are going to catch a car.
To: - I get up on the road. I raise my hand. The car stops...
T: - What is going on inside you at this moment?
To: - The same feeling as when crossing the street - only more acute. And I clearly say to myself: "No!", Or: "Yes, you can." Depending on who I see behind the wheel.
T: - And what are you doing?
To: - If not, I wave, they say, drive through. And if "Yes" - then I begin to negotiate with the driver. If I don't like something during a conversation, I can say "No" too.
T: - Okay, now let's think about driving a car.
To: - I already thought. We have one car, so my husband will have the opportunity to show attention and take the children to school, and me to the subway. But then, if I learn to drive, I can go on business.
T: Are you satisfied with what happened?
To: - Yes, it is quite.
T: - Thanks.
Questions and answers
Why do anchors have to be kinesthetic?
T: - Kinesthetic anchors are the most reliable in this situation.
Why anchor a phobic reaction?
T: - To test the effectiveness of the technique. If the phobia is destroyed, this anchor will also be destroyed. That is, there will be practically no reaction to the reproduction of the stimulus.
- Why was it not immediately possible to establish a very strong positive anchor?
T: - You set it strong enough. But even this may not be enough. Then you add resources until the Client is comfortable enough to watch the movie.
- Is it necessary to look for intention and secondary benefits?
T: - Certainly. The phobic reaction is protective. That's just not always the danger is proportional to the intensity of the reaction. But it's still worth being vigilant in most cases.
What other experiences does this technique work with?
T: - Fears, falling in love, irritation, delight and so on
But delight is a positive experience, isn't it?
T: - And what if the experience is pleasant? It can be very detrimental to life. For example, delight may simply be inappropriate in certain situations. Imagine a man in his forties admiring any girl that comes across the road. Especially if he goes with his wife.
- Is multidimensional dissociation necessary in case of delight?
T: - Calibrated according to the state of the Client. Maybe in this case you need a three- or four-dimensional dissociation.
How are fears born? How is fear different from a phobia? What is the talent of people suffering from a phobia? Can phobias and fears be cured?
"I prefer five minutes to be a coward, than a whole life - a corpse "Lev Landau, physicist
Fear of the dark, mice, germs, enclosed spaces, heights, loneliness... So many people, so many fears. Every person has experienced this feeling in their life. Fear counts negative emotion. As a rule, this feeling is accompanied by an increased heartbeat, increased blood pressure, trembling, dilated pupils. From fear, everything is felt stronger, heard louder and seems larger than it is. That is why “fear has big eyes”. But, despite the unpleasant sensations, fear is our savior. One of the triggers of the instinct of self-preservation. Thanks to this feeling, adrenaline enters the bloodstream, it instantly rushes to the muscles and the person is ready to defend, attack or run away.
"Fear is deeply rooted in all of us, and to discover it,
All you have to do is look deep into yourself."
André Malraux
Fear can be caused not only by physical danger, specific objects, but also abstract concepts. For example, the word "evil", familiar to us from childhood from fairy tales and myths, symbolizes human fears from time immemorial. All religions and philosophical teachings describe how weak a person is, how many dangers threaten him and what he should be afraid of. The most common threat is the "end of the world". Representatives of various sects and filmmakers especially love this topic, fueling the excitement around the “close Armageddon”.
Culturologists explain that at the heart of the "catastrophic consciousness" lies the fear of the Future. This fear is associated with our genetic memory, which imprinted the fear of the unknown. This fear, according to scientists, appeared in a person when the chroniclers divided time into “past”, “present” and “future”.
Interestingly, the "fear of the future" was not known to primitive people. They didn't know about the timeline. Similarly, he is unknown to children. They live in a state of "here and now": a change of scenery, new impressions instantly affect their state, quickly "erase" the previous emotion.
AT ancient world information about the Fears was carried by members of the clan, family, and myths, fairy tales, and legends passed from mouth to mouth. The myths reflected the memory of generations, it was a symbolic, colorful instruction for survival and prosperity.
Now the experience of previous generations, including their fears, young people are not interested. Moreover, the fears of fathers and children are often at different poles. For example, previous generations were afraid of hunger, modern ones are afraid of obesity.
Today, there are more and more sources of information. The sophisticated presentation of news leads to the fact that fears are created on purpose and infect the masses with them. Just remember the media-fabricated “epidemic” of the flu at a time when before it (they were frightened by pandemics and what is the main word here: flu or epidemic?) It was still too far away or there was a “deficit” of the currency that generated a stir near exchange offices and in banks.
"I am not afraid of anything as much as frightened people" Robert Frost, poet
Fear helps us "get used" to society. According to E. Fromm, this feeling displaces personality characteristics that are in conflict with social norms. Each person goes through a kind of "sterilization" of instincts, feelings, desires, which "facilitates" for him mutual understanding and communication with other members of society. But you have to pay dearly for this: a person loses his individuality, becomes part of the mass, is absorbed by stereotypes. And suffers from the fear of being misunderstood and rejected.
This idea was developed in her research by psychologist Karen Horney. She proved that fear is a human reaction to cultural restrictions and traditions (fear of the other world, fear of breaking taboos) and social relations (conflicts, oppression, dependence, etc.). A person accepts these demands and ... puts on a mask of consent, and the conflict between internal motives and the requirements of society leads to an increase in feelings, to an increase in fears.
The aforementioned fears of the "end of the world", "epidemics" are classified by experts as social fears. Another example, in the second half of the 60s. 20th century scholars have described new form humanity's fears of itself and its own destructive capabilities - environmentalism. This fear gave rise to a whole range of moral requirements, the ideology of man's relationship to nature, trends in art and politics, the emergence public organizations type of "green", "environmentalists".
There are social fears on a smaller scale. For example, “fear of school”, when a child is afraid to go to the blackboard, to answer in class. Or "fear of getting sick", which leads to an obsession with " healthy way life ": passion for diets, irregular exercises in the gym.
"Fear is yours best friend and your worst enemy. It's like fire.
You control the fire - and you can cook food on it.
You lose control over him - and he will burn everything around and kill you"
Mike Tyson, boxer
Fears are also divided into real and neurotic. Real fear is necessary in case of danger, it serves as a signal to save life and health.
Neurotic fear is called "phobia". This is a painful fear that arises involuntarily, forcing a person to avoid some situations, actions, objects. Phobias restrict freedom of movement. For example, take the elevator, ride the subway or fly an airplane. Prevent communication, for example, fear of infection. They make us late because they didn't turn off the iron or left the door unlocked.
According to statistics, every tenth inhabitant of the Earth suffers from some kind of phobia. Why do phobias develop? One of the versions, our body creates a conditioned reflex. For example, seeing a spider and being very frightened, a person begins to be afraid of an insect all the time. Another opinion is that once experienced strong fear is forced out into the subconscious: a person may not remember the reason for his fear. But, from now on, everything that is connected with this cause - darkness, closed space, an unpleasant living or inanimate object - will cause an incomprehensible fear.
Fears and phobias have their own names: agoraphobia - fear of open space; arachnophobia - fear of spiders; acrophobia - fear of heights, zoophobia - fear of certain animals, hydrophobia - fear of water; carcinophobia - fear of getting cancer; claustrophobia - fear of closed spaces; xenophobia - fear of the unfamiliar; photophobia - fear of light; ereitophobia - fear of blushing; eichophobia - fear of uttering or listening to good wishes. On the net you can find a site that lists all the phobias registered and recognized by psychiatrists ...
"If you are moving into that direction,
in which your fear grows, then you are on the right track.
Milorad Pavic, writer
Fears and phobias are a separate topic in NLP. More precisely, the theme of "treatment of fears and phobias", associated, of course, with a positive intention. How? First, according to NLP masters, people with phobias are extremely talented! One of the founders of NLP, Richard Bandler, notes that, as a rule, phobias develop in people with a rich imagination and increased emotionality, who in their family or social environment have not learned to distinguish between fear caused by an imaginary threat and fear associated with a real threat.
Secondly, fears and phobias, according to Nlpers, are excellent teachers. A phobia is an example of lightning-fast learning, the development of a conditioned reflex, an anchor. Stuck in the elevator, scared, now in the elevator I feel the same sensations when it happened for the first time. Fear is a gradual learning. For example, when a person assumes that something can happen to him, then in his thoughts he "winds" himself more and creates a strong experience. For example, a wife is waiting for her husband late in the evening, and while he is late, she imagines pictures: “had an accident”, “robbers attacked”, “was detained by police”, etc. At the same time, she asks herself: “what could happen?”, “yesterday on TV they showed how a man was beaten on the street ..”. The more internal questions and answers, the stronger the experience: chest tightness, dizziness, cold sweat, etc.
“A person with phobias is good because he has already proven his ability to fast learning. Those who suffer from fears and phobias are able to quickly learn something completely ridiculous. Most tend to view phobia as a problem rather than an achievement. They will never stop and think: “If I can learn how to do this, then I should be able to learn how to do anything,” says Richard Bandler and offers a brilliant idea in its simplicity: since a person learns consistently and reliably as a result of an unpleasant experience to be afraid means he is able to learn pleasant reactions to make them as strong and reliable as a phobia. This means that thanks to the technique of treating phobias, a person eliminates unpleasant sensations.
“When we are afraid of something, I think
actually we want it.
Every fear hides a desire"
David Mamet, film director
Is it possible to cure phobias? In NLP, this question sounds different: "Is it possible to cure phobias quickly"? The answer seems incredible: a phobia can be cured in two minutes! And it cannot be cured if you work with it for many months.
The secret to fast healing unique feature our brain - to scroll through memories very quickly and construct new impressions, emotions and the reactions that follow them.
The key to healing is dissociation. The ability to look from the side. According to the NLP classics, association and dissociation are deep and qualitative techniques for changing human experience. The principle of using dissociation is simple: it is unpleasant for a person to look at what causes fear in him, but to look at himself looking at an object that causes fear. unpleasant emotions, possibly. Moreover, it is necessary to learn this in order to carry out the technique of rapid treatment of phobias. It's easy and fun to learn!
It remains only to try!
- First of all, learn and explain to yourself two points:
- Most people acquire a phobia as a result of a single situation that was very dangerous or seemed to be. That it only took one incident, just one test, to show fear (fear) proves that your brain is indeed capable of learning quickly, and it makes it easier for you to learn a new response.
- The part of you that has been protecting you all these years by keeping this phobia is an important and valuable part, and you want to keep its ability to protect you in dangerous situations - but polish and strengthen this ability by updating information.
- Access the phobia state(partially) remembering, for example, the last time you got scared or what happened when you had a phobia.
- Dissociate yourself, as if "spreading" into three places.
- Close your eyes and imagine that you are sitting in the middle of a movie theater (first dissociation) and see a black and white slide with your image on the screen (second dissociation)
- Now mentally go up to the cameraman's booth, from where you can see yourself sitting in a chair in the hall and watching the black and white image on the screen (third dissociation). And clearly separate these three places for yourself.
- Arrange for yourself to watch a black-and-white "movie".
Now you are in a camera booth and you are watching and listening to a black and white film about yourself, describing the very first or most unpleasant moment when you experienced this phobia. Watch and listen to this film in its entirety, from the moment that preceded this unpleasant event, until the very end, when everything became good again. Watch and listen, as an observer from the outside, as you go through trauma as a younger person - as if it happened to someone else. When you get to the point where everything is good again, stop the movie but keep your eyes open. - Create a movie review in reverse order.
Now jump into the last frame of the movie you just stopped and run it very quickly backwards in color for 2 seconds and up to the moment the bad things happen. Do what is described in paragraphs 4 and 5 several times. - Checking and adjusting for the future.
Try to trigger the phobia again by asking, for example, what would happen if you were in that situation now? If the problem reaction still persists, repeat the procedure, making it faster each time, until there is nothing left of the phobic reaction. - Conclusion.
Despite the name, this technique destroys anchorsto any strong feelings (including positive ones):fear, hate, love, delight, happiness, surprise, etc.
Step by step.
1. Create a powerful resource anchor.
The Operator helps the Client access powerful positive experience(s) and anchors this state. Anchor must be kinesthetic. During the execution of the technique, the Operator holds the positive anchor. The client should feel quite comfortable while watching the film. If not, add resource states to the same anchor.
2. Dissociation.
a) 1st stage.
The Operator offers the Client to remember 2 events (in the form of slides on the screen): one before the event when the Client more was in resource black and white slide) and after, when he came to his senses and already was in resource color slide).
a) 2nd stage.
Invite the Client to mentally stand behind him, sitting in the cinema and looking at the screen. You can watch both from the last row of the cinema and from the projectionist's booth.
If you notice that the Client is having a hard time dissociating, then you can anchor them to a state of dissociation.
3. Quick viewing of a black and white film.
Being in the 2nd stage of dissociation, the Client watches a black-and-white film starting with slide number 1 and ending slide number 2.
The entire film is in black and white, except for slide #2 - it's in color!
The client watches the movie several times, each time increasing the viewing speed. After that, this procedure is repeated until the Client learns to do everything very quickly.
4. Viewing backwards.
Being in the 2nd stage of dissociation, the Client very quickly looks through a black and white film, from slide No. 1 to slide No. 2 (Fig. 3)
and then associated with color slide #2. After association with slide #2, the Client quickly experiences (associated) all events back to front. from slide #2 to black and white slide number 1. Having reached to slide number 1 The client immediately goes into the 2nd stage of dissociation. After that, the screen turns off.
View order:
The client goes through this process several times until they get it fast enough.
5. Verification.
Have the Client think of a former source of the phobic reaction and calibrate its physiology. Do a behavioral check if possible.
6. Adjusting to the future.
Invite the Client to imagine a possible future encounter with the source of the former phobic reaction or to think about the possibility of a similar situation and find out his options for dealing with this. Obtain accurate sensory information from the Client about "criteria of caution": how he will understand when the situation is safe, and when it is worth being careful and careful.
Comments.
PHOBIA: An overwhelming obsessive fear; a state characterized by such unmotivated fear.
Fear and phobia.
The phobic reaction is an example of "instantaneous" learning. It can be described as the rapid creation of a stable anchor (conditioned reflex). I saw a spider - I got scared - now I get scared all the time.
Fear is more like gradual learning. First, a person learns to be afraid a little (not even a specific situation, but an “assumption” about such a situation can serve as a start), then more and more. In the end, he may have quite an intense experience. In the process of fear formation, internal dialogue (Hell) usually plays a large role.
For example, a man was walking home in the evening and said to himself (Hell): "Here I am now walking along a dark street, but they might attack me." Then he could begin to imagine how this could happen (B K + A K). Over time, he could pay attention to news reports and newspaper articles. Returning another time, he might think
Keep in mind that the Quick Phobia Cure technique can work with both phobias and fears.
Names for phobias.
Beautiful scientific names have been invented for many fears and phobias: agoraphobia - fear of open space; acnephobia - fear of acne on the skin; apeirophobia - fear of infinity; arachnophobia - fear of spiders; bromhydrophobia - fear that others may notice a bad smell; wineophobia - obsessive fear of drinking wine; hydrophobia - fear of water; glenophobia - fear of the look of a doll; intimophobia - fear of turning off lighting fixtures; carcinophobia - fear of getting cancer; cairophobia - obsessive fear of hairdressers, fear of cutting a client; claustrophobia - fear of enclosed spaces; xenophobia - fear unfamiliar; mysophobia - fear of pollution; microphobia - fear of small objects; nyctophobia - fear of darkness; teniophobia - fear of being infected with worms; theophobia - fear of God, God's punishment, God's intervention in fate; harpaxophobia - fear of robbers; hipengiophobia - fear of responsibility; photophobia - fear light; ereitophobia - fear of blushing; eichophobia - fear of pronouncing receive or listen to good wishes.
Environmental validation and secondary benefits.
Only the change pattern is described here. As with any technique, you need to figure out the intention and secondary benefits of the behavior and help the Client find other ways to implement them.
Education.
This technique requires several skills:
The first skill is the skill of multidimensional dissociation.
The second skill is the associated living of the event in reverse order.
The third skill is fast association into a visual image and fast dissociation from it.
The second skill also requires the skill of dissociated viewing events backwards.
Although, perhaps, associated re-experiencing of events can be learned in another way.
Multistage dissociation.
First, the Client learns to dissociate from unpleasant experiences. In principle, this does not have to be a two-stage dissociation - there can be one, three, or six of these stages. The Operator calibrates the Client's state and selects such a number of dissociation steps that the Client is in a sufficiently (as far as possible in this situation) comfortable state.
Sometimes it is useful to add "management metaphors": for example, at the last stage, the Client becomes a projectionist who manages the film and can turn it off at any time. Alternatively, you can first put the Client in front of the TV, then he mentally stands behind him with a remote control from a VCR or DVD player, and a film about a "problem" situation is shown on TV. In any case, in the last stage of dissociation, the Client will have a "control symbol" (VCR remote control, movie projector control buttons), and he should control the display of a film about a problem situation.
Apparently, multidimensional dissociation is needed for strong negative experiences. In the event that you are working with not too intense negative or positive experiences, one-dimensional dissociation may be enough. In any case, this is primarily determined by the Client's calibration.
Strong anchor breaking pattern.
The purpose of this pattern is to break a strong anchor. Other patterns of anchor destruction (collapse, re-anchoring) seem to work poorly with "strong" anchors. At the same time, this pattern can be used not only to destroy phobic reactions, but also anchors to any other intense experiences: fear, falling in love, rage, etc.
Actually, the pattern itself is described at the 4th step of the technique: the client "jumps" into the frame when he is already does not experience problematic experience, quickly re-experiences the problem situation backwards, until the moment before it starts, then dissociates.
Demonstration.
Trainer: - Who wants to get rid of fear? It is desirable that it be a strong enough fear.
Customer: - I'm afraid of cars.
T: - And how long have you had it?
To: - About a year.
T: - Olya, how much are you afraid of them?
To: - I try not to ride them.
T: How did you get here?
To: - Metro.
T: - That is, you are only afraid to drive cars?
To: - Not so much to ride - I'm afraid to approach them.
T: - What about buses, trolleybuses, trams?
To: They are all right.
T: - Trucks?
To: - It's okay too.
T: - And how long have you had it?
To: - About a year.
T: - So, do I understand the situation correctly - you are afraid to drive and even approach cars. And you want to change it?
To: - Yes, I want to change it.
T: - And how are you afraid of them? Do you not use them at all, or are you just afraid to approach?
To: - I'm afraid to approach them. (Coach sets To anchor I - ). My husband takes me in a car, but I myself do not approach it.
T: - Good. Look around. (Checks the anchor I - ). Good. Olya, first of all, think about something pleasant. About something really comfortable. Feel it to the fullest. … (Puts To anchor I + ) Fine! Come back here to this room. (Checks the anchor I + ). What was it?
To: - I would call it comfort.
T: - Before you learn to treat cars the way they really deserve it, I would like to know - what exactly is so dangerous about them? What should be feared?
To: - Well. I... They can knock you down.
T: - That is, you are afraid that a passenger car can knock you down? You know I'm afraid of that too. That doesn't stop me from driving though.
To: - I understand with my head that you shouldn't be so afraid of them. But I can't do anything with myself.
T: - Nothing, today you will deal with the relationship with cars. You can choose an experience that suits you perfectly. But think about it, what else does it give you that you avoid cars? What else do you get from it?
To: - The first thing that comes to mind - I can not learn to drive a car. And don't drive. The husband himself takes the children to school in the morning. And throws me to the subway.
T: - And what is it for you - when a husband takes the children to school and throws you to the subway?
To: - The manifestation of attention, care. Yes, attention.
T: - So, you get attention from your husband. And what else?
To: - Since I try not to drive cars, I will not get into a difficult situation. Well, you know, caught the car. And they didn't take you there. Raped. Well, and so on.
T: - And what do you get from not getting into a difficult situation?
To: - This is understandable - safety.
T: - So, you can use your fear of cars to get attention from your husband and to ensure your own safety? Is there anything else?
To: No, that's probably all.
T: - Or maybe then we’ll leave everything like that - so much good?
To: - Can you leave the benefit, but remove the fear?
T: - OK, let's try. As I understand it, you want not just to get rid of fear, but to learn how to determine the degree of danger of a particular situation?
To: Yes, probably so. When I'm afraid to cross the road with speeding cars or get into a car with a couple of healthy men - it makes sense. And if I'm afraid to cross the road to the green light when the cars are stopped - it's just stupid. Or get in the car with your husband.
T: - Well then. Let's get rid of the fear first. And then we will select those behaviors that will suit you more in specific situations.
First we need to make a small movie. Take the situation when you were last afraid of cars.
To: - When I came here - I was afraid to cross the street.
T:- Remember the moment before crossing the street when all is well.
To: - Yes, I'm coming from the subway.
T: - Take a photo: Olya is walking from the subway. That is, you see yourself from the outside. And let it be a black and white picture.
To: - Yes, I did. Such a black and white photo.
T: - Now think about a situation where you already was not afraid. And take a color photograph of that moment.
To: - Yes. I enter the building.
T: - Amazing. Following. You must have a VCR.
To: - Yes, I have.
T: - Imagine that you are watching a cassette on TV, which is played by a VCR. There's a movie about you on the cassette.
To: - Yes, I did.
T: - Now imagine that you are watching yourself watching a movie about yourself. And in your hands is the remote control of the VCR. You can stop the movie, play it faster or slower, forward or backward.
To: - I see myself watching a movie about myself?
T: - Yes exactly.
To: - Yes, I did.
T: - Experiment with the remote control: you can play the movie faster or slower, stop it and even turn off the VCR.
To: - I tried.
T: - Now you will watch a film about yourself, how you walked from the subway here today. The film will be in black and white: it starts with a shot of you exiting the subway, then crossing the street, then entering the building. The last frame is in color. And most importantly, you will be watching this movie quickly. I would say very quickly. So put on the cassette. (Plays and holds I + ). Now there will be an accelerated black-and-white film about how Olya walks from the subway. And you watch yourself watching this movie on TV. Ready?
To: - Yes.
T: - Run.
To: - Yes, I looked it up.
T: - (Removes I + ) How comfortable was it for you to watch?
To: - Enough. But there was a little fear.
T Q: What would make you feel more comfortable? Plus to this state (reproduces I + )
To: - Perhaps self-confidence. And calm. Relaxation.
T: - Feel as calm as possible. Even more calm. (Sets I + ). Shake yourself, look around. Now feel confident. Just gigantic self-confidence. Colossal. (Sets I + ). Okay, come back here. And, relaxation. You are completely relaxed. To what extent is this even possible. (Sets I + ). Fine. Let's see what happened. (Reproduces I + ). How do you like it now?
To: - Wow. Good.
T: Let's get back to the movie. Watch it a few more times, each time increasing the speed. At the end, you have to look through it very quickly. You left the subway, whack - and you enter the building.
To: - Yes, I looked it up.
T: - (Removes I + ) Were you comfortable enough to watch the movie.
To: - Yes, now it's quite normal.
T: - Was the browsing speed high?
To: - Yes very.
T: - (Plays and holds I + ). Okay, watch the movie again at high speed, only backwards. You move with your back, the cars go backwards...
To: - Hmm, funny.
T: - (Removes I + ) First I will tell you, and then you will do the following. First, you quickly watch the movie from the moment you exit the subway to the moment you enter the building. Then you mentally "jump" into a color photograph, where you enter the rear, and you live this film in reverse order from the inside, associatively. You mentally move back, and you see how the cars go back to front, and then you come up with your back to the subway exit ... And then you jump out of the film back into yourself, with the control panel in your hands. And turn off the tape recorder. Ready? (Plays and holds I + ).
TO: - Yes, I did it. T: - Was it fast? TO:- Not good. T:- Do it as many times as you need to do it very quickly.... TO:- Now very quickly.
T: - (Removes I + ) Okay, now think about cars.
To: - Well, cars are like cars.
T: - (Playback I - - no reaction). What do you feel now when you think about them?
To: - Nothing special.
T: - Okay, now think about the following. There seem to be a number of car situations where you need to be vigilant.
To: - Yes, for example, when the "little green man" even lights up, you should look "is anyone driving?". Yes, and when you cross the street without a traffic light. And if I'm going to ride in a car - it's worth evaluating how safe it is for me to ride with this person.
T: - What will tell you that you should be vigilant? It must be something quite touchy.
To: - I see a car or cars on the road. And in the case when I get into the car - the driver's assessment. I have a fairly clear idea of who is worth going with and who is not.
T: - And what do you do when you see a car on the road? Imagine you're about to cross over to the other side...
To: - I feel ... something like a warning. Some excitement inside. And I begin to assess the situation.
T: - Imagine that you are going to catch a car.
To: - I get up on the road. I raise my hand. The car stops...
T: - What is going on inside you at this moment?
To: - The same feeling as when crossing the street - only more acute. And I clearly say to myself: "No!", Or: "Yes, you can." Depending on who I see behind the wheel.
T: - And what are you doing?
To: - If not, I wave, they say, drive through. And if "Yes" - then I begin to negotiate with the driver. If I don't like something during a conversation, I can say "No" too.
T: - Okay, now let's think about driving a car.
To: - I already thought. We have one car, so my husband will have the opportunity to show attention and take the children to school, and me to the subway. But then, if I learn to drive, I can go on business.
T: Are you satisfied with what happened?
To: - Yes, it is quite.
T: - Thanks.
Answers on questions.
Why do anchors have to be kinesthetic?
T: - Kinesthetic anchors are the most reliable in this situation.
Why anchor a phobic reaction?
T: - To test the effectiveness of the technique. If the phobia is destroyed, this anchor will also be destroyed. That is, there will be practically no reaction to the reproduction of the stimulus.
- Why was it not immediately possible to establish a very strong positive anchor?
T: - You set it strong enough. But even this may not be enough. Then you add resources until the Client is comfortable enough to watch the movie.
- Is it necessary to look for intention and secondary benefits?
T: - Certainly. The phobic reaction is protective. That's just not always the danger is proportional to the intensity of the reaction. But it's still worth being vigilant in most cases.
What other experiences does this technique work with?
T: - Fears, falling in love, irritation, delight and so on
But delight is a positive experience, isn't it?
T: - And what if a person likes this experience? It can be very detrimental to life. For example, delight may simply be inappropriate in certain situations. Imagine a woman in her forties admiring any child that comes across the road. This can be very stressful for her relatives and neighbors. Yes, and herself too.
- Is multidimensional dissociation necessary in case of delight?
T: - Calibrated according to the state of the Client. Maybe in this case you need a three- or four-dimensional dissociation.
- Is the technique much different in case of fear or phobia?
T: - Practically no different. The states in both cases are very close, and fear or phobia is history. If you wish, you can delve into the structure to understand how this thing works. But in the context of performing the technique, there will be practically no differences.