The power of mental rehersal

Details
Requirements: 
Just your imagination

This tool can be used for the likes of public speaking, by imagining standing up and delivering the speech in a calm and confident manner, by the time that the speech comes around the mental preparations have worked and the person will have no problem delivering the speech perfectly. They have practiced in their head, therefore are prepared for the feelings and will act out the calm and confident person that has been rehearsed.

Top athletes use the same power to help them achieve great results.

Before the competition they visualize themselves performing to the best of their ability, they picture themselves winning and receiving a trophy over and over again. Therefore when it comes to the big race their subconscious mind is aware and programed to win and pick up the trophy.

Visualization has powerful effects on the mind and your achievements. You don't realize your true potential until you make a start at trying and visualization help your reach it.

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're probably right!" A great quote by Henry Ford.

Adapting mental rehearsal to bulimia

You can use visualization to help combat bulimia. It can also be used  help combat binge cravings and enable you to feel much more relaxed and comfortable around food. In time you will be able to  manage a binge trigger situation more effectively.

How does this work?

It works on the simple principle that your nervous system cannot tell the difference between a real or vividly imagined thought.

When you imagine performing a situation perfectly you are training your brain to perform this way in real life. This process isn't intended to build unrealistic expectations, or to use magic, it is simply designed to improve your readiness for the real situation.

This exercise is based on visualization which is very simple and is something everyone has the ability to do. For example imagine what the earth would look like from space, how big is it? What color is it? To be able to answer those questions you had to visualize an image of earth within your imagination.

 

Instructions

Please read through all the steps first before attempting this exercise

Step 1:The Set Up

Choose the situation in which you want to perform better. It could be shopping for food, eating dinner, dealing with stress at work, or any situation that would normally cause you to go on a food binge.

Once you have selected the situation, next ask yourself what would I like to happen? what would be the perfect result?

What would be the ideal way for this situation to turn out?

Step 2: Get the right feeling state

Ask yourself: "What would be the ideal feeling state to help me deal with this situation?"

  • What feeling state will allow me to be more effective?
  • Is it stability?
  • A feeling of being centered?
  • Relaxed?
  • In control?
  • Take a few moments to decide what feeling state would be ideal for you?
  • Are there any words or phrases that come to mind?
  • Have you ever felt that feeling state or something similar before?

Step 3: The Rehearsal

Take a few minutes to imagine you are watching a movie of the situation, make this image vivid and bright.

  • What does your posture look like?
  • How do you move?
  • What are you saying?
  • Are there any smells or tastes?
  • What is your feeling state?
  • Try to enhance the feeling state, make it more real.
  • What is the outcome of this event?
  • What does success look like?

Note: If you have any resistance or it feels uncomfortable, just rewind the movie a bit and change it to something that makes you more comfortable. Allow your intuition to guide you. Remember each time you do this exercise you can change the movie a little until you get it just right.

Step 4: Replay the movie from your point of view

Once you are comfortable with the movie and happy with the outcome, replay it, but this time I want you to go into the movie and see everything from your point of view. Notice what you see, notice what you hear and how you feel?

Spends a few moments absorbing feeling this way.

Spend time in the movie, enjoy the movie, make as much detail as you wish, relax and let imagination carry you away.

Tips & Advice

Repetition

Repetition is the key to success here. Try to do this once a day and encode the positive feelings into your neurology. Stick with it, try it everyday for a month and see how you feel. It only takes a few moments but it can have profound effects.

Keep on refining

Keep on refining your vision of success and deepening your understanding of the feeling states involved. You may be surprised about how much you learn about the ideal feeling state. As the vision matures so will the ideal feeling state.

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The information provided in this website is for information purposes only. The information on this website is NOT a substitute for proper diagnosis, treatment or the provision of advice by an appropriate health professional. Please refer to the full disclaimer and copyright. If you do think you might suffer from an eating disorder, it is important that you talk to your General Practitioner, as there are many physical complications that can arise from being at an unhealthily low weight or from losing weight very quickly, or from purging. We advise you to seek professional help with working on an eating disorder.

 

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