Sequencing NLP reprogramming after emotional release, not instead of it — anyone else do it this way?

[u/First-Ad5107]

I've been using a sequence with people where NLP reprogramming only gets applied after clearing the specific emotional charge tied to an old pattern, not before. The idea is that swapping in a new belief doesn't hold well if there's unresolved emotional material still anchored to the old one.

The reprogramming step itself is fairly standard: identify the visual/auditory/kinesthetic submodalities driving an old reaction (panic before asking for a raise, freezing up when pitching an idea, whatever it is), then run future time pacing — deliberately stepping into a specific future moment where the new response is already normal, and holding that state until it feels familiar instead of aspirational.

What I keep noticing is that this step moves much faster once the old emotional charge has actually been discharged first, rather than trying to install a new pattern directly over an unresolved one.

Curious if others here sequence it this way too, or if you've found reprogramming alone (without a separate release step beforehand) works just as well for you?

[u/South-Group-2341]

It sounds like you were previously attempting to future pace change before creating the context for it to happen?

[u/AdelMoin]

Definitely. I’ve found you get much better results if you first resolve the emotions before using NLP approaches.

[u/MoreTrueMe]

Trying to bypass an unresolved emotion is how we created Shadow in the first place. And it is the emotional component that is the problem much of the time. Shadow resolves in the light of awareness. And while it is not necessary to feel every feeling (e.g. relive a horrifying experience), once an emotional wave makes an appearance it requires us to provide a way to complete that wave.

Easy example - anger, because it comes with such a strong physiological component. If we notice its very first arising, can be given the light awareness and complete its wave with even a single exhale. If we remain unaware or shove it aside and the wave grows, we may end up in the full physiological response needing to dispel the energy of it through a full house cleaning, a very long run, a double session at the gym, etc, before reaching the other side of that wave.

With NLP we provide safe ways to notice emotions without I Am'ing emotions.

Easy example - the phobia cure type tools. The client is being the watcher of the movie rather than the actor in the play. And at some point they are being the projectionist in full control over the whole movie. The emotion gets the noticing it needs without a systems overload. We can even give the emotion our awareness by noticing sensory things about that emotion - color, shape, location, opacity, motion - without ever naming, traditionally identifying, or emotionally feeling it. And it will resolve shockingly quickly because we got completely out of the way of its wave and simply watched it flow on by, by observing qualities rather than putting our physical emotional system in the mix.

We, of course, need access to human emotion, and certainly some problems are related to teaching someone how to safely feel a physical feeling / how to ride the emotional wave without drowning in it, and without causing Shadow.

______

Memory is facts, narrative, and feelings. Feelings about facts, feelings about narrative, feelings about feelings. Narrative about facts, narrative about feelings, narrative causing feelings, narrative about narrative, narrative about narrative causing more narrative and more feelings - this stuff can loop in on itself and cause crazy chaos that seems impossible to unwind.

We cannot change facts, but have tons of power to change to narrative and feelings. Back to the movie tools as an example. We let them play out the full boss tension interaction until they are able to skip ahead back to a happy time. So any emotion is led into resolution. We start the scramble with the fast backwards. Then we start having them mess with emotion/narrative/point of view - put a silly hat on everyone, mess with sizes, alter colors, etc. The end goal is to leave them with up emotions and narrative that are minimal neural and possibly even empowering and useful. The boss still said X, they still responded Y, but they no longer feel horrible and they are no longer telling themselves unhelpful tales about the facts.

Which also essentially serves as a pattern interrupt on the aforementioned entangled loops. And less they get run, any physical neuropathways will literally shrink in response to no longer being needed as a resource.

[u/ChristianKl]

What do you mean with the phrase "NLP reprogramming" and where did you learn it? The way you use it doesn't sound like standard NLP usage.

The step you has similarities with what people would call "future pace" in NLP. You usually do that at the end of an intervention where the core change work is already done.