I have been recently reading about NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming). I won't describe it here, but it is super interesting and scary concept, one of mind blowing things about the brain. In this post I want to address two things that refer to what is known as NLP reframing. NLP reframing is about changing the context of facts, which can dramatically change the meaning of those facts without changing the facts themselves. It is actually what people do when they lie in a manipulative way, when it is hard to put a finger on where or when the lie actually occurred. I tried to exaggerate this type of lying in this art therapy piece.
But there is another application of NLP reframing, and it is a constructive one. It is a method for lowering the intensity of bad emotional experiences related to PTSD. I read about one visualisation exercise of trying to imagine the traumatic event, take a snapshot in one's mind, and then try to change the colours to black and white, make it blurry, add an old fashioned frame around, and imagine it hanging in a gallery where people briefly look at it and walk by. This sounded pretty silly, but actually worked for me for one unpleasant memory. Unfortunately it tends to work better when applied to PTSD traumas (one single traumatic event), while CPTSD (a prolonged and hopeless situation of being abused and brainwashed) is a tougher one.
Now back to the topic of this post. I was looking at the snow outside today and suddenly it felt like it's November and as if another winter was starting. I got all the cosy feelings of being inside in the warm, and suddenly all the recent bad memories felt so distant, so irrelevant. And then I thought - wow, this is why the seasons of the year play such a big role in getting over something. It's a natural NLP reframing. In fact, it is the other way round, the NLP reframing technique have been modelled on basis of what humans have been experiencing in the nature. That means that snow in April is my ally.
And second topic - I think I just discovered an easy NLP technique for lowering the intensity of bad emotions that are connected to hearing happy Christmas songs that talk about love and family - just listen to them in the summer! It is amazing how those songs have almost no usual effect when listened to outside of the Christmas context. I want to try it again on a hot weather, and I would guess that if I listened to all of the "Last Christmas" and "All I want for Christmas" in August for a thousand of times, then hearing those songs in winter would only bring memories of hot summer days instead of the pain of disappointments and rejection. So far it has been a vicious cycle as the more I hear those around Christmas time the more I reinforce the negative connotations. That seems to be a way to break out of this cycle.