Last Night I Watched PBS, and Am I Pissed

It was just a few minutes from the second episode of This Emotional LIfe.  This episode, called “Facing Our Fears” focuses on the emotions that are obstacles to happiness, things like fear, anger and anxiety.

Yes!

I love this kind of thing. Start talking neuroscience and emotions, and I get a little weak in the knees from excitement.

The segment I watched was about a young woman, Christina, with a severe flying phobia. She was undergoing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to overcome the fear.

The show cut to a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist who explained the theory behind this type of therapy: our thoughts (not external things) cause our feelings and behaviors. Which means that if you change the way you think, you can feel better/act differently even if the situation doesn’t change.

I’m all over that.

That’s what drew me to NLP and Hypnosis in the first place. The idea that my perceptions create my experience. Shift the perceptions, shift the behavior and the feelings.  And best of all, no reason to delve into the past and figure out why.

So, we’re good right?  No.

Cut back to Christina and she’s talking to her therapist about the fears, and she clearly starts to experience the physical symptoms. Heart racing. Shortness of breath. Sweating. Shakiness. And finally, tears. If you’ve ever had a panic attack, you know what I’m talking about.

This is when I started to get angry.

“Experiencing the trauma is completely unnecessary!” I yelled said loudly to the TV.

But then it got worse. They took her on a flight. It was clearly traumatic. And completely unnecessary.

It doesn’t have to be that painful.

I, like thousands of NLP practitioners around the world, have helped people dissolve phobias and debilitating fears without them having to experience the extreme trauma. This short clip of Paul McKenna working with a phobic client shows just how opposite of traumatic using NLP can be.

I’ve coached myself through a phobia of water that caused panic attacks. There are ways to do it, that aren’t so painful.

The whole premise of the Boring Change kit that I developed is to help people make change so easy it’s boring.

I was happy to hear Christina say at the end of the segment that she felt better about flying.  However, the ends do not justify the means.

Now, back to the PBS site, to see when the show’s airing again so I can watch the entire episode.

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