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Emotional Freedom
Techniques
(EFT)
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When Nothing Else Works...
EFT: Emotional Freedom TechniquesTM
Rapid Relief From Stress and Distress
Introducing EFT
How EFT works
When to use EFT
Using EFT on Fears and Phobias
The Process -
Setup and Sequence
EFT as an Energy Therapy
Acupressure and Energy Medicine
Relationship Of Mind & Body In Terms of Healing
EFT Strategies
Practice EFT in the comfort of your home
Introducing EFT
EFT is a therapeutic approach to discharging excess
emotional distress and liberating one's natural
growth process. It has its roots in ancient Chinese
medicine and the modern science of Applied
Kinesiology. The basic theory is that the cause of
all negative emotions is a disruption in the body's
energy system. By correcting the disturbance on an
energy level we simultaneously correct it on the
emotional level.
These techniques are gentle, rapid and startlingly
effective. New or old emotional upsets can often be
released in less than half an hour! Similarly, life
long phobias, compulsive behaviors and unhealthy
patterns of belief can be eliminated. This method of
treatment never ceases to amaze me. When I first
heard of EFT, it sounded too good to be true - until
I experienced the results - personally as well as
with friends and clients. The process itself is
actually quite simple. While holding a problem in
mind and feeling the feelings associated with that
problem, you tap with your fingers on specific
acupuncture points. This opens the meridians and
balances your energy.
EFT has a success rate of about 85-97%, depending on
the problem. As a psychotherapist, I am quite
enthusiastic about these techniques. Many issues
which previously may have taken months or years of
work with more traditional approaches, can be worked
through in half an hour. In fact, these techniques
are so unintrusive, so painless, that clients will
often say, “Thank you for your time, but it seems
the problem went away by itself.” That is what, in
EFT, we call the “apex effect.”
How EFT Works
The more complicated issues often have a number of
different facets or layers to them, which we call
aspects. We may be feeling sad and angry, as well as
hurt over a feeling of betrayal or abandonment
either current or in the distant past. Each one of
the aspects of that emotional upset will need to be
balanced in turn. Each aspect characteristically has
a slightly different feel or emotional quality to it
so that one can usually tell when another aspect has
arisen. The idea is simply to persist with the
treatment until all the relevant aspects have been
released and desensitized.
When working with long standing belief systems or
trauma, you may find that more aspects show up over
the course of time. It may appear, then, that an
issue is stubbornly persisting but the fact is that
another aspect has most likely surfaced. In this
case, we follow a regular schedule of treating the
issue several times a day for as long is necessary
to root out all the aspects. Like the layers of an
onion, we peel off one layer at a time until all the
layers have been revealed and appropriately treated.
Deeply rooted behaviours or beliefs will necessarily
take longer to eliminate but ultimately these
techniques will rid us of excess emotional baggage
so that we may be free to get on with our lives and
realize the full range of our potential.
To add a word of caution, a session of EFT may rid
you of a phobia but you still must still demonstrate
fitting caution in the face of real danger. You may
have alleviated your back pain but you must realize
that in the case of real physical injury, you must
take appropriate care not to do anything which would
exacerbate that injury.
When to Use EFT
Addictive Cravings (food, cigarettes, alcohol,
drugs), Allergies, Anger, Anxiety and Panic Attacks,
Compulsions and Obsessions, Depression and Sadness,
Dyslexia, Enhance Your Self Image, Fears and
Phobias, Grief and Loss, Guilt, Insomnia, Negative
Memories, Nightmares, Pain and Symptom Management
(fibromyalgia, arthritis, back & neck pain),
Physical Healing, Peak Performance (golf, tennis,
public speaking, performing in public), Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder, Sexual Abuse Issues.
Using EFT on Fears and Phobias
About 10% of the population suffer from one or more
phobias. What is a phobia? A phobia is any “excess
fear” over and above normal caution or concern. They
can cause intense fear and often severely limit the
lives of those who have them. There are hundreds of
possible phobias and EFT can be effective on all of
them. Below are some of the more common ones:
Bridges, Being alone, Claustrophobia, Computers,
Dentists, Disease, Driving, Elevators, Flying,
Heights, Marriage, Needles, Public Speaking,
Rejection, Sex, Snakes, spiders, bees, The
telephone, Water
EFT - Emotional Freedom TechniquesTM As An Energy
Therapy
The first manifestation of an emotion, either positive
or negative, is a change in the body's electrical state.
EFT is a wonderful self-care tool that can be learned in
minutes because you use only your fingers. While
acupuncture is used by doctors, chiropractors and
therapists, it requires years of education and
experience to use properly. EFT, like acupressure, makes
use of the same system that is used in acupuncture.
Points on the body, known as meridian points, are
stimulated to assist healing. The techniques are gentle,
quick and painless. They often bring about rapid and
lasting relief.
Acupressure works by neutralizing disruptions in your
body's electrical system, which then stops the chemical
chain reaction and frees you from emotional and physical
discomforts. As you gently tap or press on a point,
neural receptors under the skin convert the pressure to
an electrical impulse that is transmitted to the brain.
It is the same as using a VCR remote control or tapping
a key on a keyboard to send an electrical signal to the
computer.
Our thoughts are constantly creating patterns of
electrical energy that cause the release of
neurotransmitters, hormones and other chemicals in the
body that we feel as emotions. When there is a
disruption in the body's electrical flow, such as the
fight or flight response, we feel it. If the disruption
continues, it can lead to emotional distress and
eventually physical problems. When the disruption is
removed, the distress stops.
Acupressure has been practiced for over 5000 years in
the Orient. Today, it is used to treat a wide range of
issues, including physical pain, stress, anxiety, fears
and phobias, trauma, anger, depression, migraines,
fibromyalgia, asthma and addictions. Acupressure is also
used to improve personal performance in academics,
business and sports by removing anxiety, doubt and
negative self-talk.
There is now a great deal of research that supports the
idea that the body's "energy system" is primarily
electromagnetic and that it can be directly adjusted
just like VCRs and computers. Using discoveries from
quantum physics, orthopedic surgeon Robert Becker mapped
the entire meridian system in the late 1960s. In the
1977, researchers Fritz Popp and Walter Kroy
demonstrated how cells in the body communicate using low
energy light photons and microwaves. In the 1986,
Stanford cellular biologist Bruce Lipton described the
interface between the mind and the cells of the body.
Around 1979, after studying applied kinesiology,
including the work of George Goodheart and John Diamond,
psychologist Roger Callahan, combined elements of
quantum theory, kinesiology and acupressure to begin
curing people with phobias and traumatic stress
disorders. Initially, Dr. Callahan thought of his method
in terms of cognitive therapy but later changed his view
and referred to his technique Thought Field TherapyTM (TFT).
Emotional Freedom Techniques™ (EFT), evolved from TFT
under the guidance of Gary Craig, one of Dr. Callahan’s
first students. Gary is moving EFT away from Roger’s
scientific model, where TFT has its own rules and
terminology, into a more holistic context. For instance,
he teaches the importance of a supportive relationship
between therapist and client and he stresses the value
of persistence in treating various aspects of a problem
on order to resolve all parts of it. While Roger
promotes different combinations of tapping points for
different issues, Gary uses one, all purpose sequence
which is easier to learn and remember. Both are
extremely effective, however and the differences between
them are simply a matter of personal preference.
We don’t actually consider TFT and EFT acupressure
although there is some resemblance in that they both
address the acupuncture meridian system. Unlike
acupressure, these therapies are specifically
psychologically oriented.
Almost everyone is skeptical when they first hear about
these Tapping Therapies, as they should be. Our society
is constantly bombarded with rave reviews about new
products and services and the alternative health
community is especially vulnerable to bogus new
discoveries. The claims of TFT and EFT fly in the face
of everything we thought we knew about psychology and
emotional healing, It sounds too good to be true.
Despite my own initial skepticism, I have been using EFT
successfully on clients as well as on myself.
Although nothing is perfect and even these techniques
are not always completely successful, their success rate
cannot be ignored. It is estimated that about 85% or
more of emotional issues treated with these processes
are eliminated within four sessions with the majority of
them being resolved even more quickly.
Why is it that more people are not aware of these
techniques? First of all, it is difficult to describe
them in a way that sounds convincing. There is nothing
familiar with which to compare them and the tapping
procedure itself can sound rather absurd. There are no
clinical studies available to empirically prove the
validity of these tapping techniques to traditional
professionals. Most of the evidence of success for these
techniques exists in the reports of hundreds of
therapists around the world who have successfully
treated thousands of patients. It may take some time for
this span between energy work and psychology to prove
itself solid and reliable enough for the
traditionalists. Meanwhile, alternative therapists and
lay people alike, are quietly embracing these techniques
to heal themselves and others.
Acupressure
and Energy Medicine
Chinese health providers have been using acupuncture for
at least 5,000 years. It has only been accepted by
Western practitioners – and tentatively at that – for
the past twenty-five years. In order to explain how
acupuncture/acupressure works, the ancient Eastern
practitioners theorized that a life force called ch’i
dominates every living organism. Opposing forces within
the body, designated yin and yang, must be in balance or
harmony before ch’i can get our vital functions –
spiritual, mental, emotional and physical – to work
normally. The ancient Hebrews referred to this life
spirit as chai, the Hebrew word for life. Ch’i is said
to flow along fourteen invisible, interconnected main
channels, referred to as meridians, on each side of the
body. These meridians crisscross the arms, legs, trunk
and head and course deep within the tissues. These
meridians surface at various locations on the body
called acupoints or energy points. At least 360 such
points have been identified and we now believe that
there are thousands. Each meridian attends one or more
specific organs such as the kidney, liver, gall bladder,
colon or heart which can be influenced by stimulating
the appropriate acupoints. Dietary changes, emotional
crisis, sexual malfunction, physical injury, physical
stress, cancer, infection or any of the six pernicious
influences of wind, cold, fire, dampness, dryness and
heat can interfere with or reflect an altered flow
pattern of ch’i. The resulting imbalances between yin
and yang and the five elements of the universe – wood,
fire, earth, water, metal – cause lactic acid and carbon
monoxide to accumulate in the muscles. This makes them
stiff and creates abnormal pressure on the circulatory
system, lymph glands, nerves, skeletal system and other
body tissues. By stimulating the appropriate acupoints
the accumulated lactic acid is dissipated and the
yin-yang balance is restored along with the flow of ch’i.
Western scientists have another explanation for
acupressure’s effect. They believe that stimulating an
energy point causes the release of opiates known as
endorphins, within the brain. These natural substances
reduce one’s perception of pain as effectively as any
combination of narcotics but without the side effects.
Even though there is no convincing objective evidence of
meridians, when looked at microscopically, the acupoints
reveal a greater concentration of nerve endings than do
other skin locations. These points, upon examination,
also generate measurably more electromagnetic energy.
Relationship Of Mind Body In Terms of Healing
Everything old is new again. Up until very recently,
physicians would deal only with what the establishment
referred to as “real” diseases. Diseases that could be
seen - as with a skin lesion, heard - as with a heart
murmur, felt - as with a lump, smelled - as is
characteristic of certain diseases or documented in a
so-called objective blood or urine test, X-ray, EEG or
ECG. Complaints that had no measurable or discernable
physiological basis were deemed “all in the head”. Those
patients were regarded as not really being sick and were
referred to a psychiatrist. Today, more doctors and
patients alike, are convinced of the link between
physical disorders and emotional stress. We now realize
that serious disease can cause depression and that
chronic depression can cause serious illness.
It is not necessary to do double-blind, placebo
controlled studies to know that people can literally die
of fright - that when you’re scared the heart pounds,
the blood pressure rises, the mouth becomes dry and we
may lose control of bodily functions or break out into a
cold sweat. When you are embarrassed or angry, your face
may become flushed, blotchy or red – very much the same
as what occurs during an allergic reaction. Put all
these observations together and you’ve made a case for
the unity of mind and body. The truth is that symptoms
resulting from emotional stress are often
indistinguishable from symptoms of organic disease. A
temporary blush or transient rise in blood pressure,
heart rate or cholesterol in response to a short lived
emotional crisis may not be harmful in the long run.
However, such reactions will do you no good if the
stress is ongoing.
The immune system co-ordinates our mental processes and
bodily functions. It controls how effectively we ward
off infection, cancer, heart attacks, strokes and
virtually every other illness that may befall us. It
even controls our rate of aging. Many of the chemicals,
blood cells, hormones and other components of the immune
system have been identified and can be measured. This
has lead to the development of psychoneuroimmunology
which is a new and important medical discipline devoted
to the understanding and documentation of the mind-body
relationship. Eastern cultures have been aware of this
unity for thousands of years and have evolved techniques
to influence it. In our modern society this has largely
been the domain of practitioners of alternative
medicine.
EFT
Strategies: Caveman Analogy
As the caveman was walking through the jungle, he passed
a big rock. As he passed the rock a tiger jumped out at
him.
His body was equipped to deal with this emergency
through a hormonal response that caused his heart to
beat faster, blood vessels to constrict and he was
pumped with adrenaline to have the energy to fight the
tiger or run from him. He ran back to his cave; he had
survived! He rested for a few days and then went walking
through the jungle again. What do you think happened
when he saw the big rock? His brain had saved all that
information, including sights, sounds, smell, feelings,
thoughts, and physical sensations. It saved the
information as part of the survival instinct. Any time
one of those aspects are triggered, the body, mind and
emotions will immediately respond as if back in the
original situation and give him the energy to protect
himself. EFT will help discharge those old emotions, so
that one does not have to respond to "big rocks". When
dealing with clients, I point out what triggers or big
rocks they seem to have. All my clients have responded
positively to this analogy. Of course we must still fear
the tiger, be aware and proceed with caution. EFT does
not take away realistic fears.
EFT Sessions By Telephone
Sharon Cass Toole, M.T.C.
Certified Psychotherapist
http://meridianpsych.com/
For Appointment: (416) 221-5639
No matter what your geographical area, you can still
seek help
It saves driving for hours in traffic to see your
therapist.
You don’t have to take off work or pay a babysitter.
Practice EFT in the comfort and safety of your own
surroundings
For those who suffer from agoraphobia the ability to use
EFT over the phone is an immense plus.
It is also of great advantage to if you are a shut-in or
have limited mobility.
You can call your therapist right when the “problem” is
happening, such as a panic attack, an addictive craving,
the surfacing. of an unpleasant memory and so on. This
is an ideal situation because the issue and its aspects
are right there to be dealt with on the spot.
