Painful memories can be dealt with by connecting with them and then letting go of them says John Russell.

The experience of being a person with a stammer is often a complex one. For example, we may have many negative emotions or limiting decisions about how we see ourselves, and what we are capable of. Where did these emotions come from? They may come from significant emotional experiences which impact greatly on our lives, such as being teased or bullied at school, or in my own case, being held under water in a swimming pool.

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) is the study of subjective experience. It focuses on what we see, hear, feel and taste in order for us to have an experience. I have recently completed a master practitioner training in NLP, time line therapy (TLT) and hypnotherapy. I wish to share my findings and experiences from the training.

First, time line. Imagine a task that you did last week. Where is that task now? Is it behind, to the side or is it in front of you? Wherever it is, make a note of it. Now, imagine doing that task next week or next month, and note where it is. Imagine a line between the two events. The line between your past and future events is called your timeline, and in between your past and future, are all your experiences.

Time line enables the person to access experiences from the past where they have felt a negative emotion, like anger or sadness or a limiting decision such as 'I am never confident when speaking', and to assist them in letting go of those events which may have prevented them from being who they want to, and to preserve new learning from the experiences.

I recall a painful incident from school when I was mimicked by someone in my class when I blocked on the word 'I'. Using timeline to release the negative emotion about that incident, I have seen myself as the child in class there, and asked myself, 'what can I learn from that situation?' This helps me to reframe the event (putting it in a different context) and so feel differently about it.

Time line therapy isn't exclusively for people who stammer; however it is another tool to use to break down negative beliefs and emotions about ourselves. As a person who stammers, I use time line therapy on myself, and use NLP to change my perception of myself and change any situation (speaking or otherwise) so that a positive outcome will emerge.

I intend to describe the techniques of how to let go of limiting decisions, negative emotions, etc in a future issue of Speaking Out. If any member has experienced time line therapy for their stammer, or have any views or comments, I'd be keen to hear from you.

Email: john.russell14@ntlworld.com

From the Spring 2005 edition of Speaking Out