Every year, when the beautiful Japanese spring arrives, I see people unable to enjoy it because of allergies. The most common type is an allergy to pollen, either hinoki or sugi. It is estimated that about one third of all Japanese people now have pollen allergies and it is common to see masks on every second or third face in February and March as people try to keep the pollen out of their eyes, nose, and mouths. Inevitably, some pollen gets in and the unhappy result is that eyes are streaming, noses are running, and a lot of people are in misery. The clinics are full of people getting allergy medicine – a strong antihistamine. The medicine is relatively effective, but it dries out the nasal passages and throat and can be very uncomfortable. For most people, the allergy season starts as just one month, perhaps an allergy to sugi pollen, but gradually the allergic response generalizes to other substances such as other tree pollen, house dust, rice, and grasses. Depending on the person, it can extend for months or even throughout the entire year. The allergen changes, but the symptoms continue.
I am very aware of this problem because I have suffered from allergies for about 9 years now. Since I first heard of the NLP Allergy Relief process, I have had other people try it on me and tried it myself numerous times. In some cases, I have had success. For example, I used to be highly allergic in February to one type of pollen, but I managed to clear that allergy with the NLP process. However, allergies to other substances have been more stubborn and the symptoms have often returned. This is the year that I plan to completely get over these allergies and to use that successful experience to help other people to get over their allergies. I have outlined one version of the allergy relief process below. A key element is identifying a counter-example, something that is similar to the allergen but does not produce the same response. An alternative type of counter-example is to find a time or a place where the allergen did not produce the allergic response, for example at a younger age or in a different country.
I believe that my own limited success to date has been primarily my inability to find a really suitable and safe counter-example, something that is close enough to the allergen that my neurology can accept that the allergen itself is truly safe and that the immune system can relax and act normally.
NLP Allergy Relief Process
1. Identify the allergic response
2. Elicit the symptoms in an associated way. You don’t have to elicit a full allergic response, but just by having them associate into the experience, they will start to demonstrate some of the symptoms. Anchor the allergic response so that you can test it later.
3. Preframe the experience by asking when they first learned how to do it. This presupposes that it is something that the person can control at some level of their neurology. Explain that an allergy is a over-reaction by the immune system to a substance that is actually perfectly safe. It is simply the immune system making a mistake.
4. Check the ecology by asking if there is anything that they might lose if they no longer have the allergy. Is there any benefit that they get from having the allergy that they would like to keep.
5. Find a counter-example. The counter-example can be something that is similar to the allergen which does not cause the allergy. For example, if they are allergic to cedar pollen but not to spruce pollen, then spruce pollen would be a good counter-example. If they are allergic to cats, the counter-example could be dogs. Or the counter-example can be a different place or different time where they did not have the same allergic response. For example, if they developed the allergy at the age of 30, you can ask them to find an earlier time where the allergen was not a problem.
6. Have them associate fully into the counter-example and anchor the counter-example with a slight touch on the shoulder or arm, being careful to remember the exact position and strength of the touch so that you can reproduce it later.
You can fire the counter-example continuously through the remainder of the process.
7. Now have them imagine a large glass wall which divides the room in two. Imagine another version of themselves behind the glass. Slowly, expose the person behind the glass to the allergen and have them notice how the person behind the glass is perfectly safe.
8. At some point, you will notice a sudden physiological shift in the person. For example, the body posture might change, or the face might relax, or their breathing might change.
9. Now bring the person behind the glass right into their own body.
10. Then dissolve the glass wall and allow the allergen to enter the room around the person, slowly so that they can integrate the new learnings completely at an appropriate pace. Also, fire the allergic response that you anchored earlier to test whether it elicits the symptoms. If it does, repeat the earlier steps.
11. FInally, future-pace the process by asking them to think of a time when they used to have an allergic response to a certain substance and to notice how it has now changed completely.