Triggers are stimuli that elicit a emotional response in the present that is similar to the one experienced in the original event or related event. So if you broke up with your boyfriend or girlfriend six months ago and you see a car like the one they drove and that causes you to think of them (and call them names and curse they very being) that is a trigger.

There are also physical triggers which occur when a body part is touched and a memory is elicited. I remember about 20 years ago I had learned about this concept and was getting a massage in San Luis Obispo. The therapist was working on my back and touched, with pressure an area in my upper shoulder. To this day I don’t know what that trigger was, but it instantly created a flood of sadness in me. It was pronounced that the therapist sensed and stopped working to ask me what was wrong. Being the macho guy I had to be I denied everything. I had come into the room cheerful and bright, and left sad and depressed without knowing exactly why.

One of the keys premises of NLP is that the body can lead the mind. This is best demonstrated with war veterans who suffer from PTSD. When a person not suffering from PTSD is given the drug yohimbe, their heart rate and blood pressure will increase and they might feel a little more “frisky”. When a PTSD sufferer is given the same drug, the increase in their heart rate simulates the physical response they experienced under the traumatic event and they relive it!

To disrupt the recollection process, there is a technique called eye scrambling. I’ve done this on people and they describe a feeling of being brainwashed after it’s done – and it takes less than a minute. It works best for mild to moderately intense memories that you tend to ruminate on.

Here is how it works. While holding on to the memory in your mind as best you can, rapidly move your eyes in random directions – up and down, back and forth, diagonally, etc and continue to do this for at least 30 seconds, preferably a minute. It may be helpful to have a grid of dots in front of you to focus your attention on and then just scan the dots rapidly in random order. You must work to hold on to the memory while you do this. Why? Because the act of getting up and moving and moving your eyes will cause your brain to want to release the memory. This won’t “reprogram” it though so it could return with whatever stimulus brought it up the first time.

There are several reasons for this, let’s look at a couple. We now know that emotions affect not only the brain, but every cell of the body. This comes from the Unified Theory of the Nervous System. But there is a chicken and egg question here. We know that our brain releases certain chemicals in response to stimuli in the environment. Just which chemicals and what dose depends on  – our perception! You see the circle here. When those chemicals are released into the bloodstream, we have not only an emotional response, but a physiological response. We know what that feels like when we see the flashing lights in our mirror. Yet if I measured the chemical response from everyone in this room to that particular stimulus, I would get a unique measurement with each person. That physiological response is not only measurable by the chemicals in your bloodstream, it is perceptible by an outside observer!

You get embarrassed, your face flushes. You fall in love, you smile more. You get depressed and what happens? Your body droops, your muscles relax and allow your skeleton to collapse. Your facial muscles assume the shape of a frown. Your every movement slows down and you lose strength as well as speed. Your ability to respond quickly to events around you decreases.

Is it possible to create those same chemicals by assuming the body posture of depression? Absolutely! It is because your cells have memory for every one of our emotions and usually we let our brains lead our bodies, but if we are conscious, our bodies can lead our brains.

1. Thinking. When you’re feeling depressed, you’re thinking depressing thoughts. But where do these come from?

2. Language. Your thoughts are made up of language and there is some key language that is connected with depressing thoughts. These are habits developed in childhood that can be changed and will make a major difference in every area of your life. (semantics)

3. Philosophy. Your beliefs and generalizations about the world around you creates rules for how you respond to things in your environment. Your rules about what should be and how you, and the people around you are expected to behave influence the way you feel. This is somewhat related to language, but it goes deeper than that.

4. Physiology and Behavior. As we just saw, your body has a lot to do with the way you feel. The way you hold yourself and the way you move affect the way you feel. How much sleep and exercise you get will also affect your body and therefore you mood. The things you do and the way you engage with others are also a critical components.

5. Triggers. Adverse events that one has learned to associate with the feeling of being depressed. The association can be triggered by a symbol, a sound or even a physical  sensation. Once again, these can be changed.

6. Environment. You’ve probably heard at some point that you’re responsible for your thoughts. Well you’re also responsible for your environment and that includes the TV you watch, the things your read, and the people you hang out with. It also includes your job and your daily routine and activities. Some of the things in your environment either condition you and reinforce your mood, or are the source the triggers as I mentioned before.

7.  Bio/Chemicals. This includes food, alcohol, legal and illegal drugs and nicotine. I will also include here the chemicals that naturally swim around in your brain.