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TV Therapy

·3 mins

I fainted in a first aid class about 10 year ago. It was at my local St John Ambulance Brigade, in a hot stuffy subterraean room, at least that was my excuse. We’d gone through blood and gore, burns and shocks, this morning we were due to do broken bones. As the lesson started I felt more uncomfortable, hot and lightheaded, I thought that I would get a breath of fresh air, got to my feet and headed for the door, one moment I was vertical, the next I opened my eyes and couldn’t work out why my cheek was pressed up against the carpet.

The instructor was expertly arranging me in the recovery postition, which is good for faints it doesn’t do anything for embarrassment. The other participants of the course where convinced it was a put up job so the instructor could show us how unconciousness could be treated. I came to the conclusion that me and broken bones didn’t mix.

Last year I went, with a friend, to watch Touching the Void a fabulous drama-documentary about an ill fated mountaineering expedition to Sule Grande in the Andes. In the film the hero falls and suffers appalling leg injuries. So here I am in a darkened cinema getting more and more anxious as the moment approaches, not only do you get the re-enactment but the lucky recipient of this event, Joe Simpson, tells you in graphic detail just how he was injured. Thankfully I didn’t pass out, but I didn’t enjoy myself, one advantage of being in the dark is that other people can’t see how ill you look. After that part I managed to sit through the rest of the film (which I can’t recommend enough by the way) in more comfort.

Late last year the film was shown on television and I was invited round to the same friends house to watch it. I decided that as soon as I started to get the broken bones feeling I would start tapping. So for fifteen minutes I tapped away whilst the horror unfolded on TV and my friend watched me with an expression reserved for nutcases. I didn’t go pale, and I didn’t feel weak, and I watched the film unfold in relative comfort.

In this respect TV is very useful it allows you to tap into experiences in the comfort of your own home. Some of these experiences will be happy and satisfying some will trigger negative responses. If the response is available to conciousness then it can be tapped on. If you want to you can use the TV as a stimulus to help you relieve your negative emotions. All you need to do is sit there and tap (make sure the rest of your familiy is either sympathetic or out)

Here are some suggestions:

  • Casualty: Fear of blood, hospitals, doctors etc etc

  • I’m a celebrity get me out of here: spiders, snakes, creepy crawlies (no, not the celebreties)

  • Nature programs: spiders, rats, etc, etc

  • Newnight: conflict and argument

Of course here in the UK we will soon have the opportunity to treat our responses to:

  • Deceit

  • Deception

  • Lies

  • Smug people you cant stand.

Of course if you tap, party political broadcasts may actually be worthwhile.