Reducing Negative Emotion

The ‘Shrink and Bin’ Technique

Negative emotions are often triggered by us accessing memories or imaginings in the form of internal ‘pictures’ that capture or represent the event. The strength of the emotion is more to do with the qualities of the ‘picture’ than just the content – change the qualities, and the strength of the emotion very often changes.

 Process

1.   Using the ‘Mercedes Model’ be curious about what ‘picture(s)’ - either remembered or imagined - you might be accessing that could be provoking the negative feeling.

2.   Give a word to the feeling (eg sad, angry, anxious), and a strength on a scale 0-10, where 10 is high

3.   Notice, if the picture were on a screen,

o  how close or far away is the picture

o  how big or small is the picture

o  is it in colour or black and white

4.   Change the qualities, and notice how the change impacts on the intensity

o  move the picture further away

o  shrink it down to postage stamp size

o  change it from colour to black and white

5.   Re-rate the strength of the emotion