Setting and Utilizing Anchors to Change a State (mood)

Setting and Utilizing Anchors to Change a State (mood)

          In the previous session we have seen the importance and uses of anchors. Using anchoring technique people can easily change their moods. We have seen in the previous session about changing the sad mood into happy. For that one should recall a past event that produces a happiness state. So the person is anchoring the happiness state with that particular memory by repeatedly re-living in it. In a similar way you can anchor your favourite resources.

          Being in a resourceful state is very important to lead a progressive life. Some people experience lack of resources or inability to access resources to perform tasks as and when required. An inaccessible resource is not at all a resource. Say for example you have very nice voice and you know music and have the ability to sing but when the orchestra starts your sound gets stuck at your throat. You can’t perform the music with the orchestra however your performance in the bathroom is wonderful. The ability to sing is your resource but you have no confidence.

          Some people can prepare a speech very well. They can train the children for elocution. However they can’t speak. In front of the audience they are unable to utter a sentence correctly. Their knees shiver. Throat dries. Word breaks. They have the resources to speak. But you are unable to perform because you have no confidence which is one of your primary resources.

Anchoring a Resourceful State

1.     Take a deep breath and relax.

2.     Think of one of your favourite resources say ‘confidence’.

3.     Recall an event in your life where you had managed it with full ‘confidence’.

4.     Re-live the experience as it is happening now. Associate yourself into the experience. See what you saw, hear what you hear and feel what you felt.

5.     Elicit submodalities for visual, auditory and kinesthetic modalities and at the ‘peak’ of each make a ‘soft firm fist’ (anchor) and hold it for ten to fifteen seconds.

6.     Release the anchor (fist) and simultaneously get rid of the re-lived experience.

7.     Break state – look around and take a deep breath.

8.     Repeat step 3 to 7 several times (at least five) carefully.

9.     Break state – take a deep breath and count the living things around.

10.Fire the anchor (means make the ‘soft firm fist’) and notice what happens. The resourceful state (confidence) and the associated emotions and feelings must come back. If not, repeat step 3 to 7 until the resourceful state gets anchored properly.  

          The anchor created as above can be used at any time when you are in an unconfident state. This is just an example of creating an anchor. Setting an anchor for self or for others in normal conditions is very simple if you know the steps to follow. However when a person is not in a normal condition such as depressed, panic, anxious etc. setting of anchor is difficult because they can’t think like a normal person. When they start eliciting something positive, probably negative things starts interrupt it. Sometimes their mind gets blocked. Sometimes unwanted or phobic thoughts come. The monkey (conscious) jumps here and there! In all such cases you can’t create anchors so simply. First of all you should change the mood or the state of the person and then create the anchor.

          The anchor (fist) we have created above is kinesthetic in nature. Even though anchors related to all the senses are useful to change a state, kinesthetic anchor can be used as a switch easily. Especially it is very useful in mood changing and healing interventions. Say for example when father touch a child on a particular point frequently and talk to him in such a way to get him cool. Later just touching on that particular point without speaking itself is understood for the child.

          From a mother’s kiss on the forehead of a child everyday just before leaving to the school remind the child that his mother loves and cares. There the kiss is an anchor. The husband’s emotional hug reminds the wife that he loves her very much. A counseller or healer or therapist can create kinesthetic anchors on their client to elicit particular emotions as and when required as part of therapy (we will discuss the application of this in detail in another session). 

Creating Kinesthetic Anchors on Others or a Client

1.     Chose a point on the client’s body, say the forearm for better, to set the anchor

2.     Hold the forearm with your right hand in such a way that you can use your thump freely

3.     Ask the client to elicit the required (positive) emotion experienced as part of a related (positive) event

4.     Let the client to feel the emotions as if it is happening at the present moment

5.     Instruct the client to let you know, somehow, the beginning of reaching to the peak of emotion (point 1)

6.     At point 1 you start pressing your thump with less intensity to the high so that at point 2 the pressure will be the maximum

7.     Let the client to release the emotion slowly and subsequently you shall reduce the pressure. The intensity of pressure at point 3 should be the same that you have produced at point 1

8.     You have to spend at least 15 sec for processing anchoring from point 1 to point 3

9.     Do not remove your hand so that the anchoring point will not be changed, else you have to mark the point with a pen.

10.                        Repeat step 2 to 8 several times