Monday, 28 May 2007

Day 32: The Swish

This is something I used today to help someone stop smoking. It is useful for anything but it is best to not use it for trauma. It is called The Swish and is a common NLP technique.
Start by having a picture or experience with you associated/looking out of your own eyes, that represents something you want to change - a habit or a feeling. For example, a smoker might see their hands in front of them and others smoking opposite them. Next, shrink that image down and have a full screen picture in your mind of yourself dissociated; ie you seeing yourself in a photo/picture with your desired outcome, ie relaxed and happy being with others who smoke and not wanting a cigarette. Make the image powerful by changing the details, ie light and dark, close and far, until it is the most positive it can be. Then, shrink this image down to the right corner and bring back the problem image. Then, repeating this seven times, SWISH the positive picture from the bottom right corner to take over the screen or what you see. The swish must be done very fast and take only a second or two each time you swish. When you've finished, be positive and trust. Many smokers can stop purely from doing this! Others may need more in-depth processes such as Time Line Therapy - one of the most powerful techniques to change quickly and easily.