Nigel 
August 10th, 2009
Now which one is the real memory?
I’ve given an example of how I once created and believed a lie memory without intending to. Now to describe how I’ve used NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) to help someone do much the same, except he knew what he was doing and why.
I’m not going to tell you too much about how we did it. If you think this would help you or a friend then please seek expert guidance. You’re looking for a qualified NLP practitioner.
The client was a student who had been cutting himself – a frighteningly common addiction. There were some things in his past which kept returning to haunt him, to make him feel bad about himself. The thing was if he’d known then what he knew now he’d have acted differently.
Okay, that’s easy then. I didn’t need to know anything else about the event except that it had happened to him. Over the period of about an hour we created what can best be described as a multi-sensory film of what he would do if he could go back and relive the event. He was able to see, hear and feel many aspects of what should have happened. At each stage I checked with him he was still clear which was the true memory. He became able to run either memory at will.
Now all he had to do was start the bad (true) memory and then rewind it and run it again as the amended version. We practised this, and he went away and practised at home once or twice a day for a few days. I checked he was still clear he knew which version was true. After that, any time he caught himself in the bad version he rewound and updated.
And yes, he found this helpful. As I understand it there was no need to create good versions of any other bad memories because just this one gave him the confidence to face the bad versions and believe he wouldn’t behave as pathetically now because he had grown as a human being, and was continuing to grow. Still is growing last time I saw him, which was quite recently.
This can be a powerful therapeutic trick, but it must be done with great care.
I’ve never used it on myself. Somehow I’ve survived my bad memories long enough to handle them without being damaged. The therapy that helped me the most with this was psychodynamic over eighteen months with a qualified and highly experienced psychologist. The trick is to pick the right tool for the job.
