Why do we behave the way we do? This book tells us more

Meet SS Tabitha, a student of MOP Vaishnav College who has penned a book on Neuro Linguistic Programming

CHENNAI: Ever wondered why people behave the way they do, or why you respond to situations the way you do? You definitely know it is the work of the brain, but, did you know you can control your emotions? No, we are not talking about meditation. SS Tabitha, a final year Sociology student of MOP Vaishnav College has penned a book on the concept called Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), NLP Book- Map the Maze. “The book is on the science of how people behave the way they do. There are several books on NLP, but mine is based on personal experiences and my sessions in NLP,” she says.

A freak accident while she was in Class 10 made her partially paralysed, and that’s when she had her first brush with NLP. “A coconut fell on my head and a month from then I started losing my speaking and motor abilities,” she recalls. Tabitha is very
fond of debates and this incident put a halt on everything she likes.  “I learnt to do everything with my left hand and was not liking being dependent on someone for my daily activities. That’s when I enrolled in NLP,” she adds.

NLP involves connecting your emotions with your language.  “Neuro is the use of your senses to understand and interpret the world around you,  Linguistic is the use of the language to communicate and influence others, and  Programming is the way you pattern your behaviour to analyse your external world and solve problems that you might have to face,” she explains.

Dependency crippled Tabitha, and to overcome the fear of becoming a dependent again in life made her take up this programme. “All of us have fears and one of the basic things NLP does is to overcome that. The techniques of NLP can be customized according to people and what they are going through. In the book I have written all that I have undergone and have also mentioned that people can modify it the way they want,” she says.

As the book is based on personal experience, she did not have to do a lot of research, but just refer to her sessions. Tabitha has also qualified two levels of NLP. “In any NLP technique, the principle is the same. There is a goal to be set before beginning it. The goal will be different for people but the approach can be different,” she explains.
Elaborating on how NLP works, she gives us a example of spinning wheel technique. “This is usually used to overcome fears. According to NLP, if you fear something, you’ll feel it in some part of the body. So, when I feared about being crippled, I found the fear in my legs. You need to train your mind to bring the fear in front of you, give it a colour a make it rotate like a wheel. After a point you’ll be comfortable with it and you need to make it spin in the opposite direction and give it a colour that you like. All this can happen only when you have conviction.”

Writing the book wasn’t hectic for this college-goer. “I am a student of sociology and NLP is all about social psychology. So it wasn’t a pressure on me,” she adds. “There are a plethora of scenarios like exam fear and relationships that many can relate to. And there are also puzzles and crosswords in the book after each chapter. I’m sure out of curiosity of this subject people will pick it up.”
Tabitha wishes to study political sociology to understand how political leaders make decisions and policies. She will have a soft launch of the book in her college in January.     

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