Here are some NLP techniques often used for anxiety, with a practical, grounded view:
1) Reframing
This means changing the meaning you give to a situation.
Example: “My body is anxious” becomes “My body is preparing me to respond.”
This can reduce the feeling that anxiety is a sign of danger.
Why it may help: anxiety often grows when a situation is interpreted as threatening. Changing the frame can reduce the emotional intensity.
2) Swish pattern
This is a visual technique used to interrupt an anxious mental image and replace it with a calmer one.
Basic idea:
Bring up the anxious image.
Create a preferred image of yourself feeling calm and in control.
Quickly “swish” from the anxious image to the calm image several times.
Why it may help: it can weaken the automatic trigger-response loop tied to a specific mental picture.
3) Anchoring
Anchoring links a calm state to a specific touch, word, or gesture.
Example:
Recall a time you felt deeply calm.
As the feeling peaks, press thumb and forefinger together.
Repeat a few times.
Later, use the same gesture to help bring back that calmer feeling.
Important: this works best when the calm state is strong and clearly evoked first.
4) Submodalities work
Submodalities are the small features of mental images, sounds, and feelings.
You can change things like:
brightness
distance
size
color
speed
Example:
If an anxious image feels huge and close, try making it:
smaller
farther away
dimmer
less vivid
Why it may help: anxiety can feel stronger when internal images are intense and close.
5) Dissociation
This is a way of stepping back from the experience rather than being fully inside it.
Example:
Instead of seeing the scary event through your own eyes, imagine watching yourself from across the room or on a screen.
Why it may help: it can reduce emotional intensity and create more space between you and the feeling.
6) Future pacing
This means mentally rehearsing yourself responding calmly in a future situation.
Example:
Imagine:
entering the situation
feeling the initial anxiety
using your breathing or anchor
staying steady and responding well
Why it may help: the brain often responds better when it has already “practiced” the desired reaction.
7) State change
This involves shifting your body and attention to change your emotional state.
Examples:
stand up and stretch
change posture
breathe more slowly
look around the room and name objects
change your internal self-talk
Why it may help: emotional states are closely linked to physiology and attention.
8) Positive self-talk and language patterns
The words you use matter.
Instead of:
“I can’t handle this.”
Try:
“This is uncomfortable, but I can take it one step at a time.”
“I’ve handled difficult moments before.”
Why it may help: language shapes attention and expectation.
9) Parts work
This technique treats anxiety as one part of you trying to protect you.
Example:
Ask:
“What is this anxious part trying to do for me?”
“What is it worried would happen if it stopped?”
Why it may help: when anxiety is understood as protective rather than hostile, resistance often drops.
10) Timeline-style methods
Some NLP approaches use mental time lines to revisit past anxious experiences and change how they are stored.
Caution: these methods can be powerful, but they should be used carefully, especially with trauma or intense anxiety.
A simple 3-step NLP-style exercise for anxiety
If you want something quick:
Notice the anxious image or thought
What exactly are you seeing or saying to yourself?
Change the submodalities
Make the image smaller, dimmer, and farther away.
Anchor calm
Recall a time you felt steady.
Press thumb and forefinger together while the feeling is strongest.
Repeat several times.
Important note
NLP techniques can be useful for some people, but the evidence base is mixed, and they are not a substitute for proper assessment when anxiety is severe, persistent, or interfering with daily life. For significant anxiety, approaches like CBT, exposure-based methods, and evidence-based hypnotherapy may be more reliable depending on the case.
[^1]: Sturt, J., Ali, S., Robertson, W., Metcalfe, D., Grove, A., Bourne, C., & Bridle, C. (2012). Neuro-linguistic programming: a systematic review of the effects on health outcomes. British Journal of General Practice, 62(604), e757–e764. https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp12X658287
[^2]: Witkowski, T. (2010). Thirty-five years of research on neuro-linguistic programming. NLP research data base. State of the art or pseudoscientific decoration? Polish Psychological Bulletin, 41(2), 58–66.
[^3]: Lilienfeld, S. O., Lynn, S. J., & Lohr, J. M. (Eds.). (2003). Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology. Guilford Press.