subject: The Process of NLP Anchoring [print this page] Anchors are basically conditioned responsesAnchors are basically conditioned responses. In itself this would seem quite a logical and natural process, which of course it is, but anchors, as well as being negative and positive can be debilitating and disempowering. Whilst anchors can also be empowering and may remind us of happy events in our lives, generally speaking these conditions do not generally dis-empower us.
As with all NLP processes, what matters is the extent to which anchors are desirable, empowering and supportive of the process of life. A very dear friend of mine is an actor, and we have discussed many times how one can recreate a variety of emotions through anchors. What is interesting is that a sad story in itself, or a sad memory, doesn't tend to work in creating tears, for example. What actually creates the tears is usually something unusual or unexpected within the story itself, but not the actual story or outcome. Here is proof of the power of anchors. Think of a sad story and tell it to a friend. Somewhere in the tale is an anchor-something that will trigger tears in your eyes.
The principle of less subtle anchors is used to obvious effect when advertisers incorporate the association of fear, greed, power, wealth, control, love, passion etc. to their product or service.
Whilst there are the clear benefits of positive, empowering anchors, one of their most unfortunate and undesirable characteristics is the way in which they can slowly and parasitically burrow their way into personal relationships, creating, over time, conditioned responses that have attached themselves to painful events within the relationship.
Anchors provide a challenge for therapists and councillors, especially where couples are counselled together, because, in developing discussion about feelings, there is a danger of reinforcing some or all of the negative anchors that toe has created within them and associated with each other.
