Edit the movie!
By Jayne Walker
Worrying is the ability to create home movies in our head, run them and feel bad about something that might never be a reality (and in the rare event that it does, feeling bad ahead of time isn't much use!)
We tend to believe that we have no control over these 'movies' in our head – that there must be a rougue projectionist in there playing disaster movies at will, so we have no choice but to feel bad!
Our usual solution is trying not to think about it........well ,to test the usefulness of this strategy - for the next 10 seconds try not to think about a pink elephant......especially one laying on its back juggling a beach ball!
Fortunately there is a simple and more effective way to deal with the movies in your head .It has been discovered that how we feel about our memories and imaginings is largely decided by how we play the movies......
Remember an occasion when you were having a really good time.....is it in black and white or colour? For most of us it will be colour – but however you remember it change it ( colour to B&W or vice versa) and notice how you feel about it .......Change it back then notice whether you are remembering it as if you were back in your own skin (seeing what you saw etc) or watching yourself in the situation.Most people will be back in their own skin but however it is change it to the opposite and notice how you feel about it.......
You will probably have noticed that some versions of the movie feel better than others- same facts but different feelings. Leave the memory in format that has the best feelings.
Repeat the exercise with a stressful or annoying memory....then when you have found the format that reduces the feelings the most, run it through 3-5 times in the new way- it will go into the 'projection room' in the new version and it will never keep you awake again!
You might like to try some additional variations- change the voices into Donald Duck or Miss Piggy......think of some silly music ( Birdie song or Monty Python's 'Always look on the bright side of life' etc.and play that in your head as the sound track.
The key is to deliberately think about it, re-edit it and play it through a few times.
Contrary to what we might believe, we actually are the producer, editor and projectionist of the movies in our head.
Jayne Walker is a Holistic Therapist with more than 20 years experience. She combines her Therapies to offer a powerful yet gentle healing process.
This article was posted by Jayne Walker
View all articles posted by Jayne Walker
