Hi DeDe,

On 3/29/06, DeDe Spicher <dedespicher@...> wrote:

> So I've been lurking here for a week or so.

Glad to have you here.

> I just started seeing a hypnotherapist on a weekly basis about a month
> ago to stop overeating. We do a lot of guided imagery, visualization
> and NLP work, but of course I don't know the first thing about
> anchoring or firing and what not.

> I've had some tremendous emotional breakthroughs, but the behavioral
> changes haven't really manifested just yet.

> Is hypnosis and NLP a viable course of treatment for overeating?

O.K. this gets tricky ;-)

Firstly, almost anything will be "viable" if you want it to be. Any
system or technique you really believe will work -- WILL work. But
the operative word there is BELIEVE. Not "wish for", "hope for",
"kinda think maybe" -- but BELIEVE.

There are some legitimate differing opinions, but my own take on this
is that BELIEF is what brings about change. You overeat because you
have some BELIEFS which your subconscious mind uses to direct your
action. I don't know what yours are, of course, but hypothetically
maybe your mother gave you food whenever you were hurt or sad and you
linked that comfort to food and now you have the BELIEF that food is
necessary for pleasure. That is just an example.

In order to change your behavior, a number of things ought to (I'm
hesitant to say MUST because there are so many possible variations)
happen. Some of these are:

- Change your BELIEF about food and eating and happiness and pleasure
and pain and all of that. In my own experience the NLP belief change
methodology works best. (Do an Amazon search on Robert Dilts. He has
a couple of books on Beliefs and NLP.) If you want a short exercise
to change beliefs I can either dig one up from a past post or write a
new one for you. Let me know.

- Change your TRIGGERS. Pavlov's dogs salivated on hearing the dinner
bell. Some people feel all gooshey when in a church. You fell happy
when whistling a happy tune, as suggested by that guru of change,
Jiminy Cricket ;-) Those things TRIGGER change because a state has
become ANCHORED to them. You should investigate what TRIGGERS your
eating and then BREAK that link so it no longer works. The NLP Swish
pattern is helpful there. In addition, set up a new behavior to
replace eating for those triggers. Every time you would be TRIGGERED
to eat, begin to substitute a new BETTER activity to give you the same
thing instead of eating. Which brings us to ...

- The NLP presupposition: "Every behavior has a positive intent." So
find out what GOOD things you get from over eating and devise ways to
get BETTER things from NOT overeating. Obviously one thing might be
pleasure (but it could also be a respite from pain or feeling of
self-worth or ... you just have to figure out what it is in your own
case) so really THINK through much BETTER ways of getting whatever it
is.

- None of these things is a substitute for you TAKING RIGHT ACTION. I
am concerned about the way you phrased it: "... the behavioral changes
have not yet manifested." Can you sense how passive that is? It is
as if you are waiting for something to fall out of the sky onto your
head ;-) Realize that you will not go to someone who will make you no
longer get a rush out of eating. Some will disagree but I'm pretty
firm on this. You can get HELP from hypnosis and NLP, but it is YOU
who has to push away from the table. So plan your ACTIONS ...

- Use all of the TRICKS out there to help you.

- Try preparing simpler meals -- use fresh veggies and cook them
lightly without a lot of salt and sauce. Try to learn how FOOD
tastes. We often eat so much sauce that we could be eating cardboard
for all we can taste of the underlying food!
-Eat food that takes a while to prepare -- get away from INSTANT
foods. Make it COST you to eat and then enjoy the fruits of that
effort.
- Put your meal on a small plate (a saucer if necessary) so it FILLS
it and LOOKS like a lot.
- Weigh and measure things -- you really cannot trust yourself to
gauge portion size. Realize that the 100 calories on the label is for
1/2 cup but you probably think a "serving" is 2 cups or so. It does
not work to wing it that way.
- Drink a tall glass of water 1/2 hour before a meal.
- Go for a brisk walk before a meal.
- Put 1/2 of your meal on the plate, go sit down. Eat it, then WAIT
for 15 minutes then ASK yourself if you REALLY want to eat the rest
right now, or would it make a nice snack in a few hours or so.
- Do not eat on the run, or standing up, or in the car, or in front
of the TV. Sit down and focus on the process of EATING and the taste
of the food. Enjoy it for what it is -- something that tastes good,
not something that makes you FEEL good emotionally.
- Try to eat with a friend. Eating alone is dreary. Make meals a
social event, if you can, but watch the linkage. Don't set up a new
bad one ... make sure you define it so that it serves you well. And
when you eat socially, BE SOCIAL -- really get with the program and
enjoy the whole EXPERIENCE. Have fun!

I know you have heard many more tricks -- use them all. This is a
program of ACTION!

My last observation is that hypnosis and NLP are BRIEF therapies. I'm
concerned that you are in a "program" with this therapist. If you are
not getting results, look around for someone else. Going in, you
should agree on what would be a SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME ... in CONCRETE
TERMS before you start. Quantify what successful change is then hold
the therapist's feet to the fire. BUT, realize that it is also up to
you and you have to do your part.

If you have any more questions, please ask.


--
Cheers,
Mike