Do you have any fears or anxieties that give you trouble from time to time? Most of us do. These things are particularly maddening because we never know when they are going to pop up. Fears or phobias of spiders, elevators, clowns, these sound silly, but for some, they can be absolutely debilitating. The good news is that there is a simple way to get rid of them once and for all, so they never bother you again.

The first thing you'll need to do is get a clear idea of what you want to get rid of. Is it a fear of snakes? A fear of flying? A fear of driving over bridges, or a fear of elevators? Don't feel bad, most every person has a secret fear that they are afraid to share with others.

Got it? OK. Now it's time to think back to around when that fear or phobia was created. When was the first time that fear became real for you? Let's take the fear of snakes as an example. For demonstration purposes, let's assume you first became scared of snakes when the bully on your block threw a snake at you when you were eight years old. Ever since then, even the thought of snakes paralyze you with fear.

Now, imagine that you are sitting alone in a movie theater. Well, almost alone. Up ahead, a few rows in front of you, is you. And you are watching a movie of the first time you learned to be afraid of snakes. So you are watching yourself watch a movie of yourself when you were younger.

Next, watch the movie play through, at normal speed. This is to train your brain to think of that event from a dissociated perspective, so it has less emotional punch when you remember it.

Next, watch the movie in reverse. Or actually, watch yourself watch the movie in reverse. This has the effect of jumbling up that memory even more, so it will become harder for your unconscious memory to associate snakes with that horrible incident.

Now that you've watched the movie in reverse, watch it in reverse, but in black and white and in double speed. Throw one some crazy music from the 20's if you want. Watch in reverse in double or triple speed a few times, so you really scramble up the memory of that event.

Now for the fun part. Begin to drop in different elements to the film. Whatever sounds, pictures, cartoonish ideas you can think of. Make the snake wear a cape as the bully throws him. Give the snake the face of Richard Nixon, with his two arms hold his famous "V" sign as he sails through the air.

The point of all this is to make that memory so nonsensical it will be impossible to bother you any more. To make sure it worked, close your eyes, and imagine a snake crawling across your lap. If it still bothers you, simply go in and change the memory some more.

Once you get the hang of this, you can go in and change around any memory that is giving you trouble. Have fun!