The Anxiety Cure: Live a Life Free From Panic in Just a Few Weeks by Klaus Bernhardt

Author:Klaus Bernhardt [Bernhardt, Klaus]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Tags: Non-Fiction, Self Help, Psychology, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Personal Development
ISBN: 9781473558670
Publisher: Ebury Publishing
Published: 2017-09-10T14:00:00+00:00

The 5 Senses Technique: the turbocharger for psychological well-being

Now that you have written down your ten sentences, the next thing to do is rewire your brain as quickly as possible. To do this we will make use of a little trick derived from modern neuroscience, which I like to think of as the turbocharger for psychological well-being. Every day, spend 20 minutes on one of your ten sentences, and as you do so, concentrate on one of your five senses in turn.

You will see, hear, feel, smell and taste one after the other, keeping each sensation as separate as you possibly can. This way of thinking does demand a little practice, but most of my patients still manage to integrate this quick but effective mental training into their lives within less than a week. For example, let’s take the following sentence:

‘I live in a joyful relationship and am full of happiness every day because of the wonderful and respectful person I am privileged to spend my life with.’

Important: if you are certain that this is never going to happen with your current partner, then please use a fantasy person in this exercise, someone you don’t know – yet. If you were to think of a real person, Rule 5 would come into effect; that is, the sentence is not self-achievable. What matters here is simply the human qualities that your dream partner should possess, not a particular person.

A particularly simple and effective move is to mention a concrete situation within the sentence that you would consider part and parcel of a perfect relationship. That might be a relaxing Sunday breakfast together, for example, a walk in the woods, a night of passion, or a visit to the cinema followed by a meal in your favourite restaurant. In the weeks ahead you will always have the chance to pick new scenarios to add to your mental training, as long as they fit the basic idea of a happy relationship. You must bear in mind, though, that you need to use positive formulations. Maybe you think part of a good relationship is having a good argument from time to time. But even the word ‘argument’ itself is loaded with negativity and therefore off-limits.

Using a visit to the cinema as an example, I will now show you the best way to keep the senses separate. But before I do, there may be some of you who are thinking: ‘Of all the things he might choose. I can’t go to the cinema any more because of my anxiety.’

You should be aware that the only reason you can no longer go to the cinema is that your brain is planning for the eventuality of you having a panic attack there. It generates images of you sitting panicking in the packed cinema and not being able to leave the auditorium fast enough. It storyboards scenes of you being tsked at reproachfully for squeezing your way through the narrow rows of seats so you can finally get outside.

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