The Lightning Process

[madbubbles]

Hi all

Was wondering if anyone else had heard of The Lightning Process?

Here is the link www.lightningprocess.co.uk

I am thinking about taking part in this training program, but am obviously sceptical, hence me posting here.

Any comments would be appreciated

Madbubblesx

[Judi]

Me! Heard of it, done it, recommend it.

Initilly I looked at this training programme because a friend had ME. We concluded that there was too much hype for it to be true (could ALL the poeple listed on the site have really recovered?) and that at £560 it was too much to risk. However my friend later heard of someone she knew who had done the course and she decided to give it a try. For the next 3 days I got incredible text messages about the things she had achieved each day, walking distances and going places she couldn't have imagined a week earlier.

I started looking at the information on the site for anxiety/stress but there was a lot less than for ME. When she returned, my friend suggested that I wait to see if her recovery continued, but I was under threat from work that any more time off, even with a doctors note, would result in dismissal.

I agonised over what to do, the possibility of wasting the money, having to stay away from home (no practitioner within a 2.5 hour drive), coping with the drive. In the end I admit that having a friend speak of it so highly was the deciding factor. I was determined to go, but dreaded the drive, I kept re-running everything that could go wrong. Sheer determination got me into the car and I was in tears a few times during the journey.

After the first day I wasn't sure it would work but I could understand the basics and was still convinced I had to give it 100% because it was only for 3 days. The second day was my 'golden day.' I was the confident person of my fantasies! I went out for a meal on my own and not only walked into the restaurant alone but suddenly realised I was enjoying the meal instead of worrying about the future or re-running the past. The following morning I went shopping, not really thinking of anything in particular and then realised it was 11am and I hadn't felt scared all morning. I was all alone in a strange city and calmly shopping. No fear, no breathing problems, no having to stop and force myself simply to walk on. For me, depression was constant fear and anxiety was sheer terror, constant and mind numbing.

It IS a training programme, so you have to be all the more careful when you get home to break old patterns and constantly reinforce new ones. From what I have read of the processes of NLP and hypnotherapy there is a lot of those components to it but I confess I don't know much about either. Although I had been for hypnotherapy and done weekly sessions of CBT/person centred therapy I was recovering while attending these sessions and slipping back as soon as I was back in stressful situations without having the weekly sessions.

[neptuno]

Thanks for this info Judi.
Can I ask a couple of questions ? ........

Do you have to personally attend a course or can it be done by remote ?
Are you panic-free now ?

[Judi]

Of course I'll answer anything that I can.

You have to attend a three day course, someone will talk to you over the phone beforehand to answer any questions and to be sure you are ready to go along with it. I found that part very reassuring, as you talk to the trainer with whom you have chosen to study.

If the person with ME hadn't been a close friend whom I trusted I wouldn't have believed it could be so effective. I still have a feeling of disbelief 6 weeks on. I can't believe this is me and this is how 'normal' people function. It wasn't easy though, I don't know if this is the same for everyone but I had non-existent self-esteem, not just low, and all of us on the training ended in tears at one point or another. For me it was uncovering things that 2 five month sessions of weekly therapy had missed. Deep inside I *knew* I was worthless & useless and was trying to bully myself into 'being normal.' My GP diagnosed depression/anxiety but I didn't want to take tablets again as they made me so ill two years earlier. Even when I was gasping for breath I was convinced drugs weren't the answer, though I did actually get a prescription filled in case things got to desperation level again.

Just like any other training you have to keep it up and not be complacent. However my boss referred to the change in me as 'incredible.' I would suggest choosing a trainer and having a chat with them. I'm no professional, I can only speak from personal experience and I know how hard it is to trust a stranger. The people quoted on the LP website seemed too good to be true to me. Now I realise why they were so enthusiastic.

There must be people for whom it doesn't work, nothing can be 100% successful and I have no way to judge how effective it is, other than my co-trainees on that particular course, and my own reactions. I'm not just panic free I'm happy, I'm actually seeing more around me because I'm looking up instead of at the ground. I'm not scared all the time, I'm not tight chested and about to start crying or gasping at a harsh word, or sometimes at sympathy. To get to the course I had a 2.5 hour drive and I spent part of it in tears (I think at 3 different times) with a deathgrip on the wheel just to force myself onwards!

Best of all at any signs of previous reactions/behaviour I have a way to stop them before they build, but each of us had a different way to deal so it's not a simple formula to pass on by rote. The more I think about the course the more I see subtleties to it and how the components fitted together. I think a big chunk is NLP/hypnotherapy.

[Hillbilly]

Hi, I am doing the Lightning Process next week. Judi your comments have been very helpful. I'm very excited to do it. I am nervous that it won't work for me (for anxiety / depression) but there is so much positive stuff written about it that I've decided I have to at least give it a try. I've decided to just go for it 100% and trust that I will get at least something out of it. I'll post how I get on.

[neptuno]

Hello Hillbilly !
Keep in tough - I'd really like to know how you get on. There seems to be much secrecy surrounding it and a reluctance to share information because of a commitment you make to the course. I don't want you to break any confidentialities but I would appreciate the full story - warts and all ! I'll keep looking for your post

[Judi]

I think the secrecy comes from the idea that if you explain it badly, (and how do you compress 3 half days into an email?) you risk messing it up for anyone trying it. I had two breakthrough moments when I realised things that a year of therapy hadn't reached fully. These were due to the therapist noticing hesitations and pushing me places I didn't want to go.

The formula is also tailored to the individual and you spend a lot of time discussing it, and especially when to use it, so I imagine a lot of people feel as I did. You don't want to give anyone the basics and wreck their chances of a recovery. It sounds very lame tho.

I know it's not helpful but I don't think that there IS a short explanation becuase I can't see it working without the background and work you need. It's now been 4 months since I did the training and you have to keep alert for when you need to do the process. I think that's really the hard part, the NLP side, recognising the dangers which are personal to you.

I haven't been here much tho because I've been so busy!

Bleargh it's so hard to explain. Did that help at all?? However I'll try to answer anything I can, what did you want to know?

[neptuno]

Thanks for that Judi. Can I ask what specific difficulties you were experiencing and how the process helped (cured ?). Can you recommend any reading ?

[Judi]

I'll be fascinated to hear how Hillbilly got on and if you want to email me HB just send a PM here. I found it a great help having a friend already through it.

The difficulty I found, was after the first euphoria of feeling great when I was slipping slightly into the depression spiral again. My own litany of being useless, hopeless, helpless was easy to spot. Other triggers less so, for example "looping" constantly re-running hurtful conversations. The good part is that you get one or two phone sessions after the course and can discuss this stuff. They don't expect you to walk out and manage on your own and I found that very helpful too. (That part varies, some seem to do one follow up & a CD, others do 2 follow ups).

LP helped because unlike therapy counselling when you know you shouldn't be doing it but it's hard to stop, you have a specific routine to run thru to stop. I have no idea why it works so well I think that's the NLP part tho there are other components too. Tailoring it to yourself is important and emphasis, it's a bit like having a drama coach in the training! Getting that bit right is what makes me wary of trying to simplify it becuase I can see it won't work. You need someone to check every word, literally!

It costs nothing to have a chat to one of the trainers, I think that would be the best way forward. I can only answer for myself, but they have a lot of experience to rely upon. Look at the websites and find someone you like the sound of, I did read "An introduction to the LP" but it's expensive (small print runs always are) and I found talking to the trainer much more reassuring. You can get it from the LP website tho.

All they want is for you to commit to it 100% and see what happens, then if you feel better commit to keeping up with the training, by that I mean continuing to be alert, not that they ask for more cash However you can have more chats after the course (other than 1 or 2 included) I think if you pay.

It's like dieting, if you won't follow the diet you can't blame the dietitician, on the other hand if you follow it then they'll give you the help you need but they emphasise it's training not cure. For me I got the tools I needed.

I've seen people being accused of being sales staff by spreading stories like this on forums, but if it was a scam why aren't there more folks saying it was rubbish? I couldn't find anyone who had done the course trashing it, just those who judged it from outside. That was a big plus for me.

One last example, a bad day at work used to ruin my weekend, I'd rerun conversations, get IBS, stop sleeping and dread Mon morning. Worst case I'd have a panic attack. A few Mondays ago I honestly couldn't remember if I'd had a bad Friday or not as I walked in. Partly because I have a lot more things to do now, partly because I walk out and honestly forget work.

[thedood]

hmmm next week I'm having hypnotherapy and its covered by my Prue Health insurance under 'complimentary/alternative therapy'. I wonder if health insurace would cover LP?