MRI Phobia
Don’t you love an MRI? They’re awesome at pinpointing our internal physical anomalies but they freak me out!
I’ve been fed into the murmuring brute four times, and I swore after the last episode that I would never offer myself as a medical sacrifice again without chemical intervention.
Now I’m up for another living nightmare, and even though I have a prescription fora quick acting, short-lived sedative, I have decided this should be a last resort.
What sort of NLP practitioner would I be if I didn’t practice what I preach?
As individuals we learn though one or a combination of four fundamental processes.
Visual – What am I seeing?
Auditory – What am I hearing?
Kinaesthetic – What am I feeling?
Auditory Digital –What am I telling myself?
Here are some suggestions for using these sensory modalities to overcome an MRI phobia when we are trapped in our clinical cocoon.
Visual confrontation:
Our new world is bland, bleak and boding. If we are at all prone to anxiety in this torpedo tube, there are no visual distractions to break the spiralling cycle of despair. From memory there’s a pinkish display iterating breathing instructions which Ironically exacerbates anxiety, making “free breathing” almost impossible. Oh yeah, there’s that comforting sign in large red capitals, “INCASE OF PANIC, PRESS THE EMERGENCY SQUEEZE BALL.” That’s helpful.
Visual solution:
We have a blank canvas all around, so much potential. We can surround ourselves with visions of things that make us feel happy and safe. There’s no limit to the depth of colour, size and behaviour of the objects our imagination generates. Visions don’t have to be static; we could create a slideshow and travel from scene to scene admiring our artistry and enjoying our journey.
Auditory confrontation:
The growling and grinding noises within the bowels of the MRI beast resemble digestive tract activity of some ravenous science fiction monster. Some MRI technicians offer ill-fitting, low-fidelity headphones playing our choice of harmonies to attempt to disguise the sounds of our imminent assimilation. Artificial acoustic camouflage is inefficient and unreliable.
Auditory solution:
Use our imagination to manipulate the raw soundwaves into friendly melodies. We can look for rhythm in the operational resonance or we can allocate a benevolent purpose to the bustle. All hell could be breaking loose outside our bubble while our benefactor protects us from immediate danger while processing data to prepare a long-term health care plan.
Kinaesthetic confrontation:
Imprisonment is intolerable, yet we surrender to this dispassionate juggernaut so it can probe us using technology we can’t understand. We could be forgiven for feeling like victims of an alien abduction.
Kinaesthetic solution:
Aah, the comfort, security and joy of a hug from a dear friend or a passionate cuddle with a loved one. We crave these embraces and now would be a great time to recall our favourite personal experiences.
Auditory Digital confrontation:
“This can only be a bad experience. I won’t handle the starkness, noises and confinement of this wretched machine.” “That unemotional voice telling me when and how to breathe, really?”
Auditory Digital solution:
Vulcan logic. The circle is the strongest engineering shape, so if an earthquake hit, the safest haven would be inside an MRI.
I vividly recall slumbering in a swag by the riverbank on a humid mid-summer night. Tightly wrapped in a sleeping bag for warmth and comfort, I watched the stars through a fine mesh screen supported inches from my face. I smiled contentedly as I dozed while thousands of screaming mosquitoes launched countless failed sorties.
Safe, relaxed and in control in a canvas casing with the same dimensions as an MRI chamber…