Allergy Papers: Study of Initial Response and Reversion Rates of Subjects Treated with the Allergy Technique
Section 2 – Methods
All test subjects, 8 women and 2 men, were unpaid volunteers who had at least one specific, testable allergy and who had not been trained in NLP. Allergies are defined as immune reactions characteristic of mast cell-mediated responses. These included upper respiratory symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, wheezing, itchy mouth, lips, and eyes, and itchy or red skin rash. Some of the volunteers had experienced symptoms from childhood while others had developed allergies as adults.
All clients had been consistently symptomatic for a minimum of 5 years prior to treatment. Volunteers were treated with the Allergy Technique essentially as described1 (and as detailed below in steps 1, 5-9) between May and June, 1989. They were asked to test their response immediately after treatment, periodically for two years, and then to report their subjective evaluation. Complete absence of symptoms was counted as a positive response to the treatment. Any remaining allergic symptoms were counted as a non-response to the treatment even if the client reported experiencing milder symptoms. I later retreated some of the non-responders and those who had reverted with the following modified method:
1. Explain the function of the immune system.
The function of the immune system is to fight pathogens (disease-causing organisms) and cancer. It can distinguish harmful from non-harmful microbes and cells. The “allergic arm” of the immune system is actually designed to fight parasites. Thus, an allergic reaction is like a phobic response of the immune system because it mistakenly overreacts to something that is not a pathogen.
2. Explain that the immune system can be trained to make a mistake.
When a person experiences a traumatic or otherwise significant emotional event the biochemical stress can adversely affect the immune system by triggering or suppressing an immune response.
3. Ask the client “What is objectionable about the allergen?”
4. Clear the negative emotional charge from the allergy-associated reference experience.
People associate a specific allergy with a reference experience that is emotionally charged. The memory of the experience is stored as a trauma imprint, a compulsion structure, or a learned family pattern that with sufficient repetition creates a significant emotional response.
Responses to the question in step #3 such as “dogs die” and “cats jump on you” are indicative of a trauma imprint. The negative emotional charge and associated limiting beliefs can be cleared with a phobia cure, change personal history, or re-imprint.
Responses such as “dogs are dirty and have germs” and “dust is dirty and I hate dirt” are indicative of a compulsion structure which can be cleared with a compulsion blow-out.
“I have to be polite, follow the rules, behave in a certain way, etc. even though I’m suffering” are examples of learned family patterns that have associated negative emotional charge. Phobia cure, re-imprinting, and re-framing are appropriate interventions here.
Occasionally, the client will assert that there is nothing objectionable about the allergen. In this case it is important to find the root cause (original event) and clear the negative emotional charge by performing Time Line Therapy10. (Ask “when did you decide to become allergic to X?”)
During any intervention, assist the client to substitute other physical and mental resources to deal with life situations not requiring immune intervention. Then continue with The Allergy Technique as described below.
5. Calibrate the client.
Ask the client to imagine that the allergen is present and ask him/her to tell you where in the body he/she begins to experience the first symptoms. Then tell the client that the allergen is gone, so that he/she can return to a non-allergic state.
6. Anchor an appropriate immune response to a similar substance.
Remind the client that his/her immune system is mistakenly overreacting, but is really capable of responding in an appropriate manner to many similar substances. Ask the client to pick something to which he/she knows he/she responds to normally that is just like the allergen. While holding the anchor have the client associate into the experience of the appropriate immune response.
7. While holding the anchor firmly, dissociate the client so that he/she sees himself/herself responding in an immunologically normal way to the resource substance.
Introduce the allergic substance and use hypnotic language to direct the client to have an appropriate immune response to this substance as well. Hold the resource anchor firmly during the entire intervention and instruct the client to see himself/herself at a distance (dissociated state) beyond a plexi-glass wall which would prevent any allergens from entering the room.
Have him/her interact with the substance to which he/she responds appropriately and notice that his/her immune system is functioning properly.
Introduce the allergen and use hypnotic language to suggest that his/her immune system can respond appropriately to the allergen in the same way that it responds to the similar substance.
Ask “how are you doing over there with substance X?” If he/she still imagines an allergic response, ask the client “what else do you need over there in order to respond appropriately?” Anchor in those resources and check the response again.
8. When the client indicates that he/she now has a normal response to the allergen, have them re-associate while you hold the resource anchor the whole time.
“Bring the you over there with the appropriate response back through the plexi-glass and into your body here bringing with it its knowledge of an appropriate immune response”.
9. Test the results.
Ask the client to imagine that the former allergen is present in the room and to describe their response, now. If the imagined response is appropriate, instruct the client to test the substance appropriately in reality with curiosity and caution until they can fully gauge their new
response.