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Source: Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, Edition 1, 1999 p2056.
Title: Neurolinguistic programming.
Author: Leonard C. Bruno
Subjects: Behavior modification - Technique
Neurolinguistic programming - Encyclopedia article
Self-care, Health - Technique
Full Text COPYRIGHT 1999 Gale Research, Inc.
Definition
Neurolinguistic programming (NLP) is a technique that shows people
how to change or "reprogram" their thoughts, feelings,
and actions by simple mental exercises.
Purpose
In the areas of medicine and health care, NLP can help people discover
the unconscious negative thought patterns they have about their
illnesses and help them to change their mental and emotional responses
so that they reinforce the positive, healing process.
Precautions
In case of a serious illness, NLP should not be used by itself or
to the exclusion of traditional medical remedies.
Description
Neurolinguistic programming has been called software for the brain.
If we take the computer as a model, our thoughts and beliefs are
regarded as software programs that, if changed, can alter behavior.
This concept was developed in the mid-1970s by Richard Bandler,
an information scientist, and John Grinder, a linguistics professor.
After observing several highly successful individuals in the fields
of linguistics, psychology, anthropology, and communications, they
were able to isolate the essential qualities common to each that
were responsible for their excellence and success. The essence they
distilled from their observation and study became their NLP model.
They named it Neurolinguistic Programming because "neuro"
refers to the brain, "linguistic" relates to verbal and
nonverbal expressions, and "programming" suggests habitual
thought patterns. NLP was devised first to make people aware of
their unconscious limiting thought and behavior patterns, and, second,
to show them how they can change these automatic patterns and create
new ways of thinking and feeling. These new patterns open up new
choices and new behaviors that help people achieve their goals.
While NLP can be applied to nearly any type of human activity,
from business to social relations, some practitioners use it exclusively
to enhance the healing process. Based on the theory that the mind
and one's beliefs and emotions have a vast power over what goes
on in the body, NLP seeks to assist people in changing their beliefs
about their illnesses and consequently about their ability to heal.
NLP proponents argue that helping people discover limiting beliefs
about their conditions allows them to direct their thoughts or beliefs
in a more positive manner. The redirected thought patterns allow
the brain to engage the immune system. In other words, if sick people
can discover their negative ideas are about their conditions, they
can replace them with positive, healing thoughts that allow them
to think, will, or imagine themselves back to health. NLP practitioners
say that many sick people identify with their illness. Thus they
would not say, "I have this condition of diabetes," but,
"I am a diabetic." The disease becomes their identity.
The NLP practitioner seeks to help the patient separate from these
negative and false identifications. This separation allows the person
to regain a balanced identity in which family, social, and work
relationships and value systems, talents, and beliefs are given
their appropriate value.
An NLP practitioner guides the patient in reinforcing pleasant
memories while diminishing those that are upsetting or negative.
In a typical technique, the practitioner instructs the patient to
think of a particular experience and to imagine it as a black-and-white
photo taken from afar. The patient is then instructed to monitor
his or her feelings as the photograph of the same scene changes
to an extreme close-up with vibrant, bold colors. This technique
allows patients to recapture the positive feelings of a good event
and to distance themselves from those that were unpleasant. NLP
practitioners closely observe a patient's physical reaction to these
mental images and thus help identify both the destructive and helpful
thought patterns. One of the two main health-related techniques
of NLP is reframing a past situation or event that may have left
a negative imprint and have a negative effect on physical well being.
Thoughts of an event such as a car crash cause muscles to tense
and create discomfort. By learning to change the internal representations
of the event and to relax, a crash victim can become less prone
to whiplash or other muscle spasms and pain. The second major technique
asks patients to visualize their bodies working in a particular,
positive way. If a patient with allergies to dairy foods can project
a mental motion picture of herself eating and enjoying cheese, then
she can overcome her allergy by overcoming her body's inappropriate
activation of the immune system against dairy products. Proponents
of NLP say the technique is especially useful in teaching people
to deal with phobias and undesirable habits. NLP can bring about
lifestyle changes that promote health--changes in diet and exercise
patterns for example. Others go as far as to claim that NLP can
reimprint the brain and thus trigger the necessary immunological
responses to promote healing. Although NLP can be a form of self-care,
it is necessary to begin with a practitioner experienced in healing.
Not all NLP practitioners are trained in the techniques of the healing
process.
Risks
NLP is a safe, non-intrusive technique or mental therapy that has
no physical complications or side effects.
Normal results
NLP claims to be able to adjust people's beliefs and behavior with
regard to their disease or condition and therefore to enhance their
healing process.
Key Terms
Anthropology
The branch of science concerned with the origin, development, and
behavior of humankind.
Immune system
The complex system within the body which resists disease-causing
agents.
Imprint
To make a deep and lasting impression; to encode.
Information Science
The systematic study of methodologies used to record, classify,
and retrieve knowledge.
Linguistics
The scientific study of language.
Phobia
Any abnormal, irrational fear.
Psychological
Relating to mental processes and behavior.
Software
Any computer program enabling the hardware to function.
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