I interrupt this thought …

Emotional effects
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On today’s programme, I would like to talk about Visual-Kinesthetic Dissociation (VKD) technique. Please don’t change the channel …

I was listening to an audiobook on certain psychological matters and a technique was mentioned that I am giving a go and would like to share with other survivors. It’s pretty simple and is often used with those suffering PTSD which can often affect stroke survivors because after stroke there is likely post traumatic stress caused by the strike.

The technique is used to take control of intrusive thoughts, these can induce heightened states of anxiety and can replay in one’s mind. I, normally, shush these away but am starting to learn that repressing these thoughts might actually be making them more potent, like an avalanche building momentum over time.

So, here is the technique. When an anxious thought pops into your head, you imagine it on a television screen and change the channel to something peaceful, enjoyable or a task that needs to be done. Yes, it is that simple but what it does is allow you to take control of the thought or image and gives you the capacity to change it. Not only that but it allows you to see the thought from outside of it and we all, mostly, have experience of televisions, so it is well ingrained in our psyche. Don’t try it with a cinema screen because that would require going up and convincing the projectionist to change the reel and that might be a bit of a fuff.

When the thought returns, click the control or dial again. Repeat.

I’ve been experimenting and if the thought is visual, I use the television technique, if it is part of my inner monologue, I use a radio and change the channel to a song I like, and sometimes I imagine a window, close the curtains on that scene, open the curtains on another scene. Intrusive thought, it’s curtains for you.

I am finding this technique useful so far and I hope that it may help others sweep anxious thoughts aside and give them no power to have power over our wellbeing.

And now for the weather …

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This works because you become the observer 1 step removed. You record events from the outside, and they lose their hold on you. Nice technique

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Very jnteresting. I work with someone who is extremely anxious. I think i will pass this on to her. It definitely sounds like it would work.

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Aye, the brain defaults to negative memories or thoughts over positive ones as a core function of evolutionary survival. This process is useful for avoiding repeating embarrassing, shameful or risky situations but it comes at a price and we have built societies that are more ethically, morally and consciously cluttered then when this survival function once worked efficiently enough to prevent us from patting crocodiles, so it is harder to step away and observe these intrusive thoughts objectively.

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I’m leaning on this technique a lot at night when the ghouls come out to play in my mind.

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Very interesting. Many years ago I was taught if these things come into your head then count backwards from 100. If they come back start again and eventually you will fall asleep. And yes it does work. It looks like the same idea but updated to switching channels

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So we have work to do ; learn to return to Parasympathetic state quickly & effortlessly like the fauna do in the woods. We have to meditate every day, breathe and focus on good emotions ; awe, gratitude, appreciation, inspiration .. there’s more, of course. Everyday we can soak ourselves in the sun-filled waves that wash ashore … all by flipping a switch to engage our imagination. It’s just as good as being there, and our genes know not the difference, whether this beach is real or in our imagination. They know that we are happy, and express themselves accordingly. Thus they elevate and upgrade our health, spirit and mind. The art of epigenetics abides!

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Now, that is a darn good idea. Its a problem I often have to deal with. Back in the days when hypnotism was new and in the experimental mode I wondered if it was possible for me to use it to get rid of a persistent unwelcome mental problem that occasionally comes to visit me.

I wonder if anyone has ever tried this solution?

Deigh Davies

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I have in the past had a series of hypnotherapy sessions, before stroke, to attempt to eradicate or manage panic attacks. For me, it didn’t achieve the desired results and at £80 a session, I was limited to how many times I could attend, however, self-hypnosis is possible, so who knows, I might try that sometime in the future.

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Might this work for you?

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Not guided hypnosis … something like this I might have a crack at …

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@Rups I do this naturally but I did not realise it had a name. Very interesting. Have a great day :revolving_hearts:

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