NLP Compulsion Blowout

 

The NLP Compulsion Blowout is the compulsives best friend. Whether you are a compulsive eater, smoker, or just someone who wants to control a habit, then the NLP Compulsion Blowout is the exercise for you.

It is important to read the NLP Memory Manipulation and NLP Submodalities lessons before attempting this exercise.

So here goes:

Imagine in your mind the thing you have the most difficulty avoiding.

Be that a cigarette, cream cake, bar of chocolate or whatever?

Notice where in space the image is.

Is it in front of you, or to the side?

How far away is it?

How big is the picture?

Now I want you to think of something that you are not compulsive about, and using the following grids, compare their submodalities.

If you would like to print out the grids used in this exercise then refer to the Submodality Worksheet.

Firstly list the visual differences:

Submodality Motivated Image Not Motivated Image
Brightness    
Position    
Color    
Focus    
Size    
Distance    
Movement    
Border    
Associated    

Now the Auditory differences:

Submodality Motivated Image Not Motivated Image
Volume    
Tone    
Tempo    
Pitch    
Direction    

So now you should have a list of the differences between the two representations.

Notice the submodalities that are different between the two, and play with the submodalities of the compulsive representation, increasing and decreasing them until you work out which submodality has the strongest effect on the compulsiveness.

Now in most NLP techniques and in the submodalities lesson mentioned above you would want to lower the impact of the image. You would normally make the picture smaller, or move it away, but the NLP compulsion blowout doesn't work that way. Surprisingly it works in exactly the opposite way.

So if you discovered that the size of the image is the compulsive element, in the sense that a larger image is more compulsive for you, then in the NLP compulsion blowout you want to make the image larger and larger, very quickly until the image becomes so large that the compulsion just doesn't work any more.

In the NLP compulsion blowout, you're aiming to make the representation completely ridiculous, to the point where a threshold is reached and the compulsion disintegrates. In other words, the image becomes so extreme that it becomes unrealistic and cannot have the same pull that it had on you before. It's like imagining a cake you fancy then making the cake so large that you feel full already.

Obviously if you found a different submodality to size made the most difference, then you must work with that submodality, but size, nearness, and brightness of image are the most likely submodalities.

As with all submodality shifts, repeat the shift several times taking a break in between, and perform the shift as quickly as possible then test your work. Eventually you will think of the compulsion and it will automatically shift and you won't fell compulsive any more.

 
Comments

Previous comments

Dangerous

Using the NLP Compulsion blowout technique, isn't there a danger that in using the submodality that motivates me towards my compulsion, all I am going to do is make the compulsion stronger? I don't want to end up with my compulsion just getting worse

DaveG, London

Posted May 7, 2010 at 03:04

Test It

You'll know when you've got it sorted. Just test it by thinking about the compulsion. If you still want to do it then try again. You won't make it worse and then have to live with it.

Chris Harrison, UK

Posted May 14, 2010 at 21:36

eyes

do you have to close your eyes when you do this exercise?

harry handley

Posted January 23, 2011 at 15:55

I would

Some people manage to perform exercises such as the NLP compulsion blowout with their eyes open. Personally, I would say its much easier to close your eyes. There are far less distractions and it will be far easier to focus on the exercise itself. Good Luck!

Chris Harrison, UK

Posted January 24, 2011 at 19:13

Content and Submodality NLP Lessons

You say that it's important to read the Content and Submodality NLP Lessons before attempting this exercise, yet your link doesn't really go to such a thing. There is a link to submodality, but not to "content" lessons, whatever that means. Maybe you could make two direct links?

tami

Posted November 20, 2011 at 23:45

Re: Content and Submodality NLP Lessons

Sorry Tami, my mistake. This should have referred to the submodalities and memory manipulation lessons.

Chris Harrison, UK

Posted November 21, 2011 at 19:20

These words you share have been exactly what i need right now thank you i have hope again

carly

Posted May 13, 2012 at 15:48

pure genius

I used this with a friend last week and it worked wonders. we have drastically reduced her need to check that the doors are locked when leaving the house etc. she now has so much time in her day she never had before and now doesn't know what to do with herself haha

glenda, teesside

Posted May 29, 2012 at 16:39

Re: pure genius

Great Stuff Glenda!

Chris Harrison, UK

Posted May 29, 2012 at 22:57