Incredible You! Conquer Your Phobias By Editing Your Memories Pt.2

Yesterday we looked at the first two steps in the process of getting rid of your phobias. Today we will explore the next three.

If you didn't read part 1, you can do so here. Otherwise, get comfortable and lets continue.

Step 3. Memory Mood Change

One of the most fun, and at the same time most powerful things you can do with this technique, is to change the mood of a memory.

This works best with negative conversation memories (I see no valid reason to want to make a happy memory sad). So try and recall a conversation you have had with someone that really annoyed you.

It might be someone saying something you found irritating, or it could be a full on argument. It's fine, as long as people are talking.

As before you will focus on the event, noting down how you're remembering it, and how it makes you feel.

With negative memories it is best to pay attention to your breathing and heart rate. The former will go shallow, while the latter will speed up.

Once you have that conversation running in your mind clearly. I want you to change the voice of the main antagonist to a squeaky helium-induced one.

How does the memory make you feel now? Hopefully it should have made you smile a little.

Clear your mind palate and start again.

This time give everyone squeaky voices, and monitor how that makes you feel.

Laughing yet?

Perhaps you could give everyone ridiculously huge, Mickey Mouse ears. Or turn the person you're thinking about's nose into an elephant trunk.

Funny much?

Keep doing this until you find something that amuses you, or even downright makes you laugh out loud.

Maybe you'll end up with an image of your old boss in his underpants, with huge mouse ears, a long trunk and a squeaky voice.

Don't just stop there, go to other memories that trigger you in a negative way, edit the mood of these as well.

The great thing about this exercise, is you can decide that that is how you will always remember the particular negative event you've chosen.

Doing that of course, will mean you are no longer negatively triggered by the memory.

Win! Win! Win!

Step 4. Memory Distancing

Now I want you to bring to mind a recent memory, it could be a meal you had yesterday, or a walk you took last week. It doesn't matter if it is an emotional memory or not, just that you can recall it vividly.

If the memory has sound, then you should work on that first.

I want you to distort the sound, make it sound like it is being broadcast over a bad radio channel. After adding the crackle I want you to distort the voices, add that kind of electric interference you sometimes get on a bad phonecall, making the sound slightly robotic.

Then muffle the sound beyond all recognition, if you need to reset the image to the start, do so, just keep going until the you are picturing your memory with the new bad sound quality.

Now lets move onto the picture, now blur the image slightly so that you can still make out what it is you're remembering.

Then allow that image to grow smaller in your mind, as if it is on a screen being moved back away from your field of view into darkness.

As your picture slowly recedes, I want you to turn down your muffled sound. Try and sync the pace of the slowly receding picture to the lowering volume.

Just before you allow the picture to become a small white dot on the horizon and the sound volume to be almost at nil. Imagine the whole process in reverse, the screen is now coming nearer to you and the sound is getting clearer.

By the time the picture fills your horizon, it should be crystal clear, with perfect sound (if you had sound in the first place.)

You may find it easier to think of a memory that is still rather than a moving image. You will also find that you'll have to do this a few times before you master it.

It is a very important step if you want to use this technique to get rid of your phobias. So have patience and practice it until you feel you can do it at will.

Once you have mastered the technique with a simple recent memory, move onto more emotionally charged ones, perhaps you can use one you have already used in the earlier steps.

Soon you will be able to distance yourself from any memory using this technique. Once you feel comfortable, you're ready to move on.

Step 5. Memory/Mood Replacement Therapy

I call this step therapy because when you master this, you will find it an immensely therapeutic exercise.

Simply begin by recalling a time when you felt happy. Then using the techniques from the first three steps, I want you to enhance that image so that it is bright, colourful and vivid.

Try and engage all your senses when concentrating on this happy memory. Can you remember the smell, or perhaps how the air felt on your skin?

Carry on past physical sensation and imagine how you actually felt internally. Whatever inputs you are concentrating on, enhance them so that the memory feels even better than before.

Hold the image in your mind long enough to know it will stay there with ease.

Then using the memory distancing technique from above, make the image recede to a small point on the horizon. However this time don't mess with the sound or picture quality.

Once it is just a small square in the distance, snap it back quickly to full size.

Repeat this a few times, it is OK to turn the volume down like you did in Step 4, however keep the quality the same, and make sure you turn it back up when you snap it back to full size.

Once you have mastered this, you will do exactly the same thing for a sad memory you have, only this time, instead of enhancing it, you will do what we did in step 4 and mess up the picture and sound quality.

Before moving on, notice how the happy memory is happier when close up to you and enhanced, and the sad memory evokes less emotion when the picture and sound are mussed up, and it is just a tiny image.

As with all the steps, do this till you are comfortable, and practice with multiple memories.

Incredible You! Conquer Your Phobias By Editing Your Memories Pt.1

PRACTICE THE THREE TECHNIQUES AND TOMORROW WE WILL MOVE ONTO TACKLING YOUR PHOBIAS USING THE TECHNIQUES WE'VE LEARNED SO FAR. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, LET ME KNOW BELOW!

Cryptogee