Today we are going to put the final piece in the puzzle and get rid of our phobias. Hopefully you have been following along and trying the mental exercises that will help you exorcise those demons!
If you haven't you can read parts one, two and three, here, here, and here.
For the rest of you, let's crack on and smash those phobias!
Phobia Eradication Phase One - Using The Cinema Effect
Whether you have managed to identify a memory and connect it to your phobia or not, you can use the cinema effect.
If you have made a link, then the first thing you need to do is to put the memory on screen, and imagine yourself watching it in a cinema.
Then I want you to pause the playback, and jump inside the memory. This is where your current self, is going to go and tell your past self how brave he or she is being, for even attempting to face their fear.
Once you've done that, put yourself back into the cinema and play the memory. As you play it, you will use a form of the distancing exercise.
The cinema you're in is getting bigger, the screen is getting further and further away from you, until it is so far back you can barely make out the image on screen.
Then you are going to imagine yourself up in the projection room of the cinema. You are watching yourself sitting in the seats, watching yourself on screen.
The image you are watching is now tiny, and the sound is very distant.
Repeat this step five times; make sure each time is as vivid as the last. Each time hold the final image of the tiny screen in your head for ten to thirty seconds.
If you find you can't attribute your phobia to a particular memory, then the scene you remember should be one where you have had to face your phobia and you did not feel great.
Or if you've never had to face your phobia, just imagine a scenario where you do have to, and put that on screen instead.
Then move onto phase 2
Phase Two The Mood Swap
This is the final stage now, even though it has taken a lot of words to get to this point, the process isn't actually that long. Go back over each step and you'll see it gets easier and more instinctive each time you do it.
This is where you will pull everything together and smash that phobia once and for all!
By now you should be able to pull up a memory, or conjure an image that triggers your phobia reflex. So I want you to do that right now, and imagine that scenario that makes you so uncomfortable.
You should also be able to recall good memories and enhance them so that they make you feel even better.
Along with these skills, you have learned how to make memories visually smaller in your mind. You can now also disassociate from you memories by putting them up on a cinema screen.
So now what I want you to do is to come up with the one memory that makes you feel the opposite of how your phobia makes you feel.
So if for instance you are scared of public speaking because of the shyness it makes you feel. Bring to mind a memory that makes you feel really confident.
You may have to search around in your long-term memory for a while, but once you find one, hold onto it and using all the techniques you've learned, enhance all the parameters that make the memory even better.
It is important to be able to call this memory up easily and hold it in your mind indefinitely. If you want, you can use a technique I've taught you in the past, called anchoring.
Once you have this confident memory, maybe tap your left wrist twice with your right hand, which anchors the physical act to the confident feeling.
Now it's time to face your phobia, conjure up whatever memory or image you used previously. Analyse how it is making you feel, notice your shortened breaths and increased heart rate.
Turn the image black and white and move it back, making it smaller and the sound quieter as it vanishes towards your imaginary horizon.
Once the image is just a small grey dot, I want you to zoom it back rapidly, with one major difference. When it comes back, it is going to be your super confident, super vibrant memory.
Do this at least five or six times; after doing this, you will find that you have anchored thoughts of your phobia, to a really positive time in your life.
Don't sweat if it doesn't work at first, you can repeat as many times as you need. Plus you can experiment with different positive memories.
Eventually you will see that you are not scared of the thing you used to be. You will have rewired your brain from thinking;
I'm scared of that
to
I feel confident about that
Conclusion
The techniques you've learned over these few articles will not only help you conquer your fears, they will also help you remain calm and to achieve a flow state.
We can not necessarily effect the memories we have, but we can control our reactions to them.
Flow in peace.
Incredible You! Smash Your Phobias Series
Incredible You! Conquer Your Phobias By Editing Your Memories Pt.1
Incredible You! Conquer Your Phobias By Editing Your Memories Pt.2
Incredible You! Conquer Your Phobias By Editing Your Memories Pt.3
I AM GETTING TOGETHER A FLOW STATE BOOK, HOWEVER I WOULD LIKE FEEDBACK FROM MY READERS. FIRST OF ALL, DO YOU THINK I SHOULD EVEN WRITE A BOOK? SECONDLY WHAT SUBJECTS WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO COVER?
I WANT TO MAKE IT AN AUDIO BOOK AS WELL, BECAUSE THIS WILL HELP PEOPLE FOLLOW ALONG TO SOME OF THE INSTRUCTIONS. WHAT OTHER TECHNIQUES SHOULD I USE? I WILL USE YOUR COMMENTS TO GAUGE INTEREST, SO AS EVER, LET ME KNOW BELOW!