Resolve excessive emotional reactions to gain control, objectivity, and poise. This is also known as the “emo” pattern. This pattern is especially helpful for highly emotional people, whose reactions can be out of proportion or not appropriate for the context. “Contrastive analysis” and sub-modalities give this pattern its magic.

Step 1: Pick a situation in which you have an emotional reaction that causes you to over-or under-react, to lose your objectivity, to experience emotional suffering such as high anxiety, or to lose your poise. #

Connect that experience. Notice what kinesthetic sub-modalities are involved in that reaction. It’s possible to find sub-modalities like pressure or pulse, heat or cold, tension or suppression.

Step 2: Find key differences in sub-modalities between this state and a similar one that is positive. #

Think of an emotional state that has some similarity to the emotional reaction you are working with. However, the emotional experience must be positive. For example, excitement can be similar to anxiety but can be positive. Constructive motivation and passion for good outcomes can be similar in some ways to jealousy, but in fact they produce a positive state of mind. Experience the kinesthetic sub-modalities of this positive state. You don’t have to come up with a positive situation in order to come up with this positive state. The important thing is that the positive state is similar to the troublesome one. However, once you think of the positive state, it may help you to think of one or more situations in which you experience it in order to associate with it and review the kinesthetic sub-modalities that it contains.

Step 3: Determine the driver sub-modality that connects two states. #

Review all the sub-modalities that you have experienced in each of these two states. Notice what sub-modality is mostly shared between the two, and which is most similar. This is called the “driver sub-modality.” It remains the most stable when you move between these two different states.

Step 4: Do the same process for the visual and auditory rep systems. #

Do this pattern for your visual and auditory rep systems, one at a time. Use the same two reactions as you used for the earlier steps.