By Christopher Paul Jones, aka The Breakthrough Expert
Christopher Paul Jones
Could Harry Potter offer the solution when it comes to fixing your phobia? Could a magic spell be the cure you’re looking for?
Whenever Harry wants to turn a negative situation or feeling into a positive one, he uses The Ridiculous Spell. By waving a magic wand at a person, or scenario, Harry is able to transform a moment of fear into a moment of comedy.
Imagine how much easier your life would be if you could simply wave a magic wand at something you don’t like… whether it’s a spider, flying in an aeroplane, or going to the dentist.
The good news is; you can! When visiting a phobia-cure specialist they will actually use something very similar to the Ridiculous Spell to help desensitise you from your fear, memory or phobia.
Fixing your fear or phobia really can be as simple as waving ‘your’ magic wand at it.
Picture the scene; you’re faced with a gigantic spider. You see this really ugly, huge, terrifying spider, making its way over to you.
What do you do? Chances are, you start to panic, run around like a lunatic and scream at your partner or housemate to come and rescue you. If you live alone, you might make your way to another room and close the door behind you.
The situation that is happening here is serious – at least in YOUR mind it is. Over the years, from the original development of this fear or phobia (depending on the degree that it affects you), you have blown this ‘spider’ out of all proportion. He probably looks bigger than he really is, brighter than he really is, and you become more aware of sensations and sounds around you. You are in fight or flight mode and the adrenaline is pulsating around you.
Just like in a scary horror movie, you have, through time, created a scene that you play over and over in your head. You probably hear certain noises, see a certain scenario; and just like the horror movie, everything has been blown out of all proportion. The sounds are much louder than in reality, and the scene looks big, bold and… terrifying.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. You are the director of your own personal movie, and you can change and edit the scene, any time that you want to.
Here’s how to use the ‘magic spell’:
Take whatever it is that you see in your mind, when you are feeling terrified - and then reframe it as a family film. Change the colour, maybe make it black and white, and change the soundtrack. For example, if it is a spider that you are scared of, give him googly eyes and giant pink daisy-shaped sunglasses, and put him on sparkly roller skates, then add the Benny Hill theme tune. You can’t help but smile now, can you?
This is exactly what Harry’s Ridiculous Spell does – it makes a serious, scary situation funny.
Feels good, doesn’t it? Best of all, doing this works - and the reason that it works is that it is not actually possible to feel two emotions at the same time. So when you take charge, and edit your ‘movie’ from a horror to a comedy and it raises a giggle from you, then it is impossible to feel fear at the same time.
With my clients, I get them to change their movie, and their internal dialogue as many times as required, so that the movie is changed forever, and they find it impossible to feel the same way again about their ‘phobia’. It’s a pretty powerful ‘spell’.
So, next time you think Harry Potter is just some silly school boy Wizard, remember, he might actually be one of the world’s best phobia therapists.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christopher Paul Jones, aka The Breakthrough Expert, is a therapist based in Harley Street who specialises in helping people let go of their fears, anxieties and even their phobias; from a fear of public speaking to anxieties around work, Christopher has helped 100s of people ‘let go’ and get their lives back. He even cured his own morbid fear flying, to the extent he was able to take a sightseeing flight through the Pyrennees – strapped to the OUTSIDE of a helicopter!
http://christopherpauljones.net/
Tweets by @breakthruexpert
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ChristopherPaulJonesTheBreakthroughExpert/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherpauljones?trk=hp-identity-name
YouTube: www.breakthroughexperttv.com
Tagged in Harry Potter