Schedule Appointment
top of page
Writer's pictureMary Cassidy

Anchors away! Unlinking cheese & joy



Let me start by saying that I'm a cheesehead #cheesehead--a cheese "believer", born and raised in the dairy state. But cheese is bad for my body. Cheese curds, cheese kabobs, cheese fondue, cheese sandwiches, fried cheese, cheese slices dipped in ranch, cheese balls with crushed almonds for holidays, cheese whisps, cheese sticks alone or breaded...I'm like Bubba Gump and shrimp, but it's sharp cheddar, muenster, swiss and havarti--for me.


The problem with cheese is that I'm actually lactose intolerant. When I eat it, I get puffy under my eyes, joints ache and I get itchy. But I can't seem to stop choosing it. The first way to stop of course, is to stop buying it. But nope, I hit the dairy aisle first. Why is that? Why do I do things that are obviously bad for my body? Addiction pops to mind, like drinking, smoking and caffeine. So, I wonder about the addictive qualities of cheese. I'll do a second blog about the addictive qualities of cheese, but first I have to deal with anchors. Good feelings unconsciously flood me when I eat cheese or plan to. When I'm unconsciously choosing something, it tells me I've got an ANCHOR.#anchor I want to release it so I can let go of the cheese habit with ease.


In NLP, #neurolinguisticprogramming anchoring "refers to the process of associating an internal response with some external or internal trigger so that the response may be quickly, and sometimes covertly, re-accessed.*" I somehow associated feelings of joy, family, love, connection, smooth and safe to a food item. Sounds ridiculous when I say it out loud. But that's what we do. We assign meaning to things and then, replay that meaning over and over so it becomes an anchor. Anchors are short cuts and in this case it's a short cut to feeling safe, loved and connected. If I take the cheese away without removing the anchor, I feel disconnected, restless, irritable and don't really know why.


How do we get rid of anchors? Tapping. #tapping #efttapping

1. Notice an unproductive behavior. In this case it's eating cheese when I'm intolerant of dairy.

2. Identify the feelings associated with the anchor. Happy, connected, joy, family, safe

3. Identify who or what is connected to the anchor. Family. Mom, Dad, kids, grandkids, memories of Wisconsin, camping trips where we were a happy family and bought cheese curds at a roadside stand.

3. Make a choice to remove the anchor. Ask self, "Am I really ready to let this anchor go?" Yes is the correct response here.

4. Tap points on face (see diagram) and say "I release and let this anchor go, this cheese, these memories of cheese, the feelings I've associated with cheese. I'm letting them go. It's not the cheese I love, it's people I ate cheese with. I love my family. Cheese is just cheese. I feel connected to my family and cheese is just a type of food we used to eat together. If I let go of cheese, it's okay. I'm loved and safe and accepted. Cheese is just cheese. I let this go of this anchor. I release this anchor now. I'm safe without this anchor. This anchor no longer serves me. I'm okay. Maybe just maybe, when I want cheese, I can think of the people I am missing and send them love. Maybe just maybe I can talk to them on the phone, in my heart or in my journal. It's the people I love and miss. Maybe I can still be connected to them and let go of this cheesy anchor."


5. Deep breath, squeeze wrist and say peace.

6. Check the anchor. Is it still there? How do you know?

7. Rate the intensity of the anchor: 0=gone 10=strong

8. Tap more rounds: Go back to step 4.

9. Check the anchor. If there, tap more, if gone go to step 10.

10. Take a deep breath, squeeze wrist and say peace.


Anchors away! As always, feel free to reach out if you get stuck trying to remove an anchor. We are happy to help. We have free one hour discovery calls, so call or text 406-223-2359 if you'd like one of those slots and we can let go of one of your anchors together!


5 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Opmerkingen


bottom of page