by Lara Coulson
This Fibromyalgia message was posted to the IASH site by Lara Coulson on August 20th 1999.
After working successfully with approximately 20 women with fibromyalgia, I am in the process of forming a model for an appropriate NLP intervention. I thought I'd test out the model, being I had the perfect opportunity, last weekend, working with yet another woman with fibromyalgia (I'll tell you about that in a few).
Some of the things I noticed in common with these women, was at or about the time of the onset of the pain, there was some kind of second position shift, either conscious or unconscious, creating an identity ownership of the pain, "my pain", or fibromyalgia. Once the pain became theirs, it became worse, and once the pain became fibromyalgia, it became constant.
With the majority of the women, the pain became an "it". "It makes my bones hurt" (yet "it" was not a definable part of "them" etc. The pain became nominalized (do the wheelbarrow test!) The pain owned a separate set of submodalities, depending on the area of the body it manifested itself. In one woman, she had suffered chronic pain central to all four areas of her body. Each area had a separate set of submodality distinctions. Once the submodalities were expanded upon and opened up, "it" became an introject of a person, and occaisionally, an object with distinct characteristic traits.
There was only one common belief among the women, "I have no control". With each woman, I was able to trace the initial (the first place in their body where they began to feel pain) area of pain to imprint experience, where they had done a second position shift, and mindread the "pain they (other in the imprint) must be feeling", and had unconsciously taken "it" out on themselves.
So, let me give you an example of one client, this woman had three central areas of pain, and the addition of severe swelling in her ankles and feet. Follow closely, as the underlying processes and results are basically the same for every woman.
When I met with Jan, she was sitting/leaning back on her couch, with her feet elevated. I noticed the swelling in her ankles, and when she made any body movements, even minute, she would cringe in pain. I knew for right now, I would not comfortably be able to do stand up work with her.
Jan had broken her tailbone approximately 15 years ago, and had been experiencing chronic pain for the last five. Her recovery from the broken tailbone had been excellent, and she could not understand how so many years later, it could begin to cause her pain again. When asked to point out where THE pain was centrally located, she incongruently pointed to her neck and shoulders, then her lower back, and then her thighs. She had been on high doses of pain medication, and had been pretty much immobilized for the last two weeks. She did not want to take pain medication any longer, as it was not congruent with her definition of a healthy body.
We decided to proceed in her hierachy of criteria, and began with her neck. I asked her to put my hands on the pain. She did so, then I explained to her that I was going to hold on to it. I then asked her to move her neck forward, away from my hands, and leave the pain in my hands (nice Milton there huh). As soon as she pulled forward away from the pain, I quickly said YUK! and threw it out on the floor in front of her! Being she had a visual lead, I proceeded to say, "now, that's better, now we can take a look at what's really going on here". I had her imagine where abouts the pain had landed and she followed my eyes to the floor. I asked her, "Now, if there was a colour to this pain thing, what would it be?". She said imediately, "Red!, Bright Red" so again, onto submos. Is it lifesize? "No", OK, let's just imagine putting it in a stretcher for a second here, and go ahead and stop when the red shape is approximately life size. OK..... Does it feel too close, or too far away (implying that it is too something). It was definitely too close, so we moved it back, a foot at a time, until it suddenly began to take on shape.
I then asked her if it had a texture, or feel, and she suddenly began to burst into shaking tears. I instantly pulled her out of it, and explained that I recognized that whatever, or whoever this pain was, was part of an imprint experience (following her pupils, it was obvious, that the red shape was connected to many traumatic imprints). I explained to her that there were both positive and negative imprints, and that an imprint was an experience that was so powerful to THAT person, that it causes them to make a decision, or form a belief, that causes them to act differently from that point in time on.
I then offered her a choice of options, and explained each of them. I told her that we could do one of two things. We could do a reimprint, and actually find the experience, and go into it, and add some resources and shift the experience, removing the trauma, or we could create a new imprint, just before the traumatic one, that may help her to move through the experience more resourcefully (I knew that we would need to go into the experience, due to the physiology of her facial, and hand and leg posture, and her lack of words. I could easily guess that the imprint was around the age of two or three).
She decided to do a reimprint. We did the ol' time line thing, and ended up at the age two give or take 6 months. Her physiology shifted to one of unhappiness, and loneliness. She expressed this. She also expressed that she resented herself (now, it is obvious that a 2 year old child cannot resent themselves, they are not yet emotionally capable of doing so) So I asked her who else was in the experience with her. She immediately pointed and said my mommy. Mommy doesn't want me. She won't come to my cry. I pulled her off her time line, and had her examine the situation. She noticed immediately that the mother had a look of resentment on her face. I asked her to step into the mom's shoes for a moment, to check in with how she was feeling. The mother was feeling lonely and resentful. We then stepped into the child's shoes, and took off the feelings that didn't belog to her, and gave them back to mom, explaining that we were next going to help mom not to feel that way anymore.
We then gave the child the resources of safety, and well beingness, and the happiness and wonder of being a little girl. Then gave mom resources of safety and self confidence. We then grew her back up, and again pulled mom off her neck, the color and other submos had immediately shifted, I then explained to her that this was not really her mother, and really a part of herself and that she had allowed to take on the form of her mother. We got the positive intent of the other, which was wanting her to have self confidence, and self love. We then transformed the other into the image of Jan, and allowed her to see herself as that person with self confidence and self love, and brought Jan back into herself.
She was now able to stand easily, and the pain in her neck was gone, and her flexibility and mobility in her neck was returned to normal, no, better than normal. The pain, had also lost it's "it". Her language patterns had shifted incredibly, and now we were easily able to move to the other area
The basic strategy I have been using that has been working, is to ask he client which areas the pain is centred, not as a Separatist move, but more to chunk things down. The language patterns I have noticed with fibromyalgia are the "always", "everywhere" very big chunk. So by dividing up the central locations, my intent is to unconsciously form a counter example in the clients mind. Once I find several areas of central pain. Then, I go with the second position shift presupposition, and immediately form a dissociation from the pain, by myself physically removing, or myself holding on to the pain, and having the client walk away from it. Then I identify the submodalities of whatever I pulled off. I do my best not to give it a NOM. Then, the basic moves from there, are to transorm in some way, the image/sound/feeling that was removed, into something else, and whatever it becomes, I work from there.
Usually, by adjusting the submos, an image of a person will unfold, then judging on the physiology of the client at the time, I can tell if there is an imprint going on, or trauma, or an introject. If it is an introject, the language patterns are usually second position person, and critical. If it is an introject of a person, then have the client step into the others shoes, get the positive intent, step back into self, receive the positive intent, then explain to the client, that this is not actually this person, but only a part of yourself, that has taken on the form of this person, then allow the image in some way to transform back into the image of the client (Tim Halbom's Remodelling Process). Have them see the other over there with this positive intent. Now allow them to bring this part back into themselves (sometimes six step reframing is needed here). If a submodality image/shape/object appears, and you've had no luck of the object turning into a person, which is often the case, transform it into something else with different submodalities.
Such as with one client, with chronic pain in her right leg, a green box came into shape. It was very heavy, and had three holes in it. It was very geometric in shape abot 3 feet tall and smooth in texture. And a silentsound. First we tried to shrink it. It wouldn't shrink. We tried to fit a key into each of the holes, and see if it would open, wouldn't open. Next, we used pretend sink drains, and plugged the holes. Aha! suddenly the box became lighter now that we could lift it, we put it in a pretend plastic garbage bag, imagined driving it to the dump, watched the garbage worker drive over it and bury it with a CAT, and then decided it was biodegradable. We imagined watching it decay, and grow into a beautiful 3 foot tall sunflower.
The pain had left her leg, and it has been four weeks, painfree. She had been having chronic pain in her leg since 1978. So, we didn't get a positive intent, didn't bring the part back in to her, and didn't identify any moment in time where she had associated with the part. And were still successful. So whatever process you do, as long as you remember the underlying goals, of DISSOCIATION, and TRANSFORMATION, the model will work.
Lara
Responses
Post by Terry Marshall - August 26th 1999
Lara,
I am anxiously awaiting the story about testing your fibromyalgia model with that woman....BTW why is it you've worked with only women with fibro? Have you heard of many men diagnosed with this?
I am going to "walk" with my friend tonight who has been "labelled" as having fibromyalgia. I would like to know how you have helped with fibro in so many cases, just in case I run across it again - as I'm sure i will.
Terry
Post by Terry Marshall - August 31st 1999
Do you do reimprints for the other sources of pain as well, or are these different in some way? I worked with my friend before your last post and I'd the positive intent of one area of pain, which was to get her to relax and not push herself so hard. We worked with that and "it" decided that it would use a different signal for this message. While this has been working for that site....other areas have been active. So I was wondering what the general format has been for all of your success with these women? I'm also still wondering if you've heard of any men being "diagnosed" with fibromyalgia?
Always smiling, Terry
Post by Cherie Newland - sept 2nd 1999
Terry,
Sounds as if you are coming right along on your own.
Regarding the other painful sites, here is something to ponder: If you start by asking what they all have in common then ask if there is anything else, the questions will group the sites together in an agreement frame, making it easier to work with them as a "whole". The more a person/practitioner plays into the idea of "separateness" the more "splitting" of one's self is suggested by presupposition, if not by implication. Just be-with-it for a while and see what your unconscious competency provides for you.
Cherie
Post by Terry Marshall - Sept 2nd 1999
Thanks for the suggestions Cherie!
So are you saying that I ask what they all have in common then ask if there is anything else.... the anything else question will cover any other site specific intent?
I'm really curious....in regards to health issues (or any others I guess) what is your philosophy on "separateness" and "splitting"? Does it cause more problems......make things more difficult? I respect everyone here at IASH a lot and would welcome anybody's perspective on this....any experiential anecdotes would be great as this helps my understanding tremendously.
Always smiling, Terry
Post by Cherie Newland Sept 3rd 1999
Terry,
Yes, going for what the 'parts' have in common is a way to approach 'the seemingly many' as one united front, so to speak. It neutralizes the 'overload/threshold' factor. When I ask for 'anything else' and get yet another intention/function, I follow with 'thankyou for that communication and tell me, how is that an example of (positive intention #1)'. Or I might ask 'How does this relate to (already stated positive intention #1)'. Listen to the structure being presented and respond accordingly. I want to get all aspects relating to one another under a common intent and go for the cause. You will have to chunk up to get a common intent, but it's well worth it in the long run. Which process you will use will be defined by how the client verbally structures what they perceive as a limitation, i.e the presenting problem.
Cherie
Post by Terry Marshall - Sept 3rd 1999
Hey eveyone!
I got to work with my friend last night that "had" fibromyalgia......I say "had" because after we were done....she commented without prompting how her whole body felt better and that she couldn't believe she wasn't feeling any pain....she had been in some sort of constant pain for as long as she could remember (and she ain't no spring chicken either).
The previous work we had done on the pain in her hip had held for the whole week and she was very aware tha there was no pain.....she kept telling herself that if there was even a "twinge" she was going to give me hell.
This time we talked about what was happening with her hip....she really started to get pains all over her body.... I asked her which place hurt the worst. Her knee; she had had surgery on it and it hurt ever since. So, thinking about what Lara had said with the general intervention of "dissociation" and "transformation" I did the same thing as Lara described in working with Jan. I "grabbed" the pain and threw it on the floor. Then asked her to describe it....it was really interesting.... but no images came so I went the same route Lara did with the other woman and she eventually was going to destroy it, but "something" told her not to and after a little prompting she turned this area that the pain had occupied into a playground using the transformed stuff that had been the pain as the cushioning for the ground of the playground!
I could see the change in her body as we went through this and knew that it was successful....and I also knew we weren't done. We sat down and now her knee felt fine but the other areas that she felt pain in were even worse (I felt like they were calling out for us to help them!)
Letting my subconscious guide me as well as thinking about what Cherie had said about asking what they all have in common and getting them all under one umbrella, so to speak, they all wanted her to take care of herself and relax. I asked her about the first time she could rmember having this pain and she replied that when she was a teen she had it and she feared going to sleep because it would hurt worse....I asked if she feared going to sleep before she was a teen...yes...so I asked again when was the first time she could remember having this pain....this time she looked right at me and said, "I know when the first time I felt this was, I was in the womb"!!!!!!!
OK, shift gears Terry....so we walked the ol' time line and as a just conceived embryo she felt abandoned because her mother didn't want her (the baby interrupted the mother's marriage). Reimprint here, giving her mother spiritual belief that everything happens for a reason, love for this child and all children and a support group of friends that let her know she's not in it alone....give the baby the knowledge that it is perfect....walk back up and.....
Done.
This is my first work on something so pervasive....and I loved it!!!! Thankyou to everyone here at IASH....special thanks to Lara and Cherie for letting me "steal" your thoughts
Always smiling, Terry
Post by Lara Coulson - Sept 4th 1999
Steal them, steal them! We want you to use them. When we find something that works here on the IASH board, we WANT all of you to test it. I think it is a part of all of our common goals to change the world, and assist others in changing their worlds. I am so happy for you Terry and your friend! Hip! Hip! Hooray! (get it, hip hip.....). Good job!
Remember it may also be useful to teach her Aligning Perceptual positions to make her future second position shifts clean ones. Lara
Post by Cherie Newland - Sept 4th 1999
Fabulous Terry!
Stealing?? I don't think so. For me, this site is here for the express purpose of sharing ideas, sharing case studies, finding out what's working or not. It's a continual learning process for us all. You are not only welcome to use what you read here but are free to evolve it to the next level....and, of course tell us about your discoveries! Successes are very exciting indeed, and so can challenges be on the edge of exciting new things to learn.
Thanks again for bringing your case here for open discussion. I have a question: So what new adventures were in her future that she hadn't even thought possible until now, when you future paced how she would be utilizing all that freed energy? I love this part of the session. I've found that sometimes a little boost in a client's motivation or planning strategy could be applied at this point.
Great work, thanks again for sharing with us.
Cherie
Post by Lara Coulson - Sept 17th 1999
Hey guys! success again. It seems as if the model is working. Two more successes this week with fibro. Instantaneous painfree state achieved by all. We need to do a research study for this one. It would be an awesome one for books and NLP's reputation.
Lara