Your imagination can cure your fears, phobias and anxiety. It’s a scientific fact.

This was one of the most fascinating demonstrations during my Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) certification course - and it’s effectivity has now been proven scientifically by the University of Colorado, in a new brain imaging study led by CU Boulder and Icahn School of Medicine researchers.

The technique that was being shown to my class was called Fast Phobia Cure. And it works on the exact principles identified by the study (but with a unique NLP twist, which will be revealed later.)

The study found that imagination can be a powerful tool in helping people with fear and anxiety disorders, to overcome them. In my NLP class I literally witnessed a woman with paralyzing fear of snakes overcome her fear in 20 minutes, through the use of her imagination. Her fear was so extreme she couldn’t even hear the word ‘snake’ or see an image in a magazine - let alone film footage - of a snake, without getting into a state of high anxiety.  So what was happening, what was the lecturer doing? The CU Boulder Today article  says “Imagine a barking dog, a furry spider or another perceived threat and your brain and body respond much like they would if you experienced the real thing. Imagine it repeatedly in a safe environment and soon your phobia—and your brain’s response to it—begins to subside.”  

As promised, here’s that NLP twist that adds powerful components to help your imagination to be even more effective in neutralising the fear instantly without need for repetition: after accessing the phobic state the coach places you in an imaginary movie featuring you and the fear in all its fearsomeness; the use of Carnival or Circus Music and visualisation of the perceived threat gradually being rendered ridiculous, with an imagined costume or comical accessory; and disassociation from the fear or anxiety through the creation of distance and absence of colour in the imagined scenes. It’s not quite as simplistic as it sounds of course -  those are the ingredients. The recipe and the steps in leading the client through the imagined experience are key to what produces instant results and instant relief for the phobia sufferer.

 So how was the study done? “... 68 healthy participants were trained to associate a sound with an uncomfortable, but not painful, electric shock. Then, they were divided into three groups and either exposed to the same threatening sound, asked to “play the sound in their head,” or asked to imagine pleasant bird and rain sounds—all without experiencing further shocks. The researchers measured brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Sensors on the skin measured how the body responded.

In the groups that imagined and heard the threatening sounds, brain activity was remarkably similar, with the auditory cortex (which processes sound), the nucleus accumbens (which is associated with reward learning) and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (associated with risk and aversion) all lighting up.

After repeated exposure without the accompanying shock, the subjects in both the real and imagined threat groups experienced what is known as “extinction,” where the formerly fear-inducing stimulus no longer ignited a fear response.

Essentially, the brain had unlearned to be afraid.” CU Boulder Today

Abstract fears and anxieties (as opposed to fears of physical things, places etc.) like fear of failure or anxiety about the future are handled with a number of other techniques and processes in NLP. The common denominator however is the use of your Imagination. Whether you are visualising or emoting, your imagination is your greatest friend - as much as it can also be your greatest enemy by creating disastrous scenarios to supposedly keep you safe. But that’s a whole other fascinating topic we’ll be looking at in the future. 

Read the full article for the details on the CU study here: https://tinyurl.com/y3kjt4ex