There are two kinds of NLP. One you use on other people (I am not sure about the use of it) and one you use on yourself (I don’t know much about it either but there seem to be a few good ideas). I’ll be talking about the latter in this post. I’m no expert in NLP and I amn’t trying to become one as of now. So, just out of interest.

Pattern interruption. Think about it. You’re depressed and you’re going in a car. Suddenly, another car pops out of the other street and you must hit the breaks to avoid accident. Does your brain still remember it had been feeling depressed a few moments ago? No way, a rush of adrenaline has kicked in by now. Depression is gone.

That was an extreme example. Another one. You are on a high building and have a fear of heights. Suddenly, you notice a plain flying by with your name written on it. You immediately get interested. Ooops, where is your fear of heights? It’s gone for the moment, isn’t it?

Now, these are all pattern interruptions. They could help you get rid of small fears, laziness, anger and some other kinds of negative emotions. I could really see the use here. Now, the big question: can they be induced artificially? I am hoping the answer is yes.

I googleed a bit. Found a good site, read a bit and it seems it boils down to this NLP scheme for pattern interruption: IRC (just like internet relay chat).

1. Identify. Find the emotion and then the idea that’s causing the emotion. For example, if you’re afraid of spiders, the idea would be something like: “Spiders are dangerous for me”.
2. Ridicule. Imagine the idea said in a funny manner. Let mickey mouse say it. Or just use a funny voice in your mind. Use bad grammar or something. Anything that would make you think: “How silly…”.
3. Confuse. Confusion is the main concept in NLP. Now, what creates confusion? One answer seems to be: distraction. So, distract your thought! How do you do that? The way they suggest (and it sounds easy) is to use your surroundings as a source. Count the shades of black around you. Count the leaves of a branch of the tree in front of you. See how many faces you see around. Try to give names and remember to each person you see in front of you (if you are among strangers - this would also help train your memory). Anything to distract you from your original thought.

I like the idea. Seems easy. I have also tried it. It’s no magic pill but you don’t expect it to work magically especially the first time you try it, do you? It seems like it could become a really cool and useful psychological tool. You’re welcome. :>