Below is a depression success case, although it was
certainly not instantaneous.
E. is a 24 year old woman, finishing college late
and working in her parents' family business. She has
many friends, a long-term boyfriend, and has always
managed to be very high functioning in her life. She
was referred to me by her friend because of concern
about E.'s frequent crying jags, general unhappiness,
low self-esteem, and helplessness about her family
situation.
E.'s depression had its roots in numerous
unresolved emotional issue. She suffered from a deep
sense of shame about her life and accomplishments,
anger and frustration, and chronic helplessness. She
did not want to go on medication because she didn't
want to feel "weak" and "dependent" and she didn't
want to be like her mother.
Her mother was an active alcoholic for most of E.'s
childhood. She became sober when E. was in her early
teens, and sunk periodically into deep suicidal
depression with threats to kill herself, and days on
end without getting out of bed. E. said she knew her
mother's alcoholism was not her fault, however she
still felt worthless and deeply helpless.
Her mother had recently dipped into another deep
depressive episode and E. felt petrified and hopeless
herself. The tapping included phrases as follows:
- "Even though I feel depressed
about my life... "
- "Even though I'm tired of
feeling so helpless... "
- "Even though I hate feeling
hopeless..."
- "Even though I'm afraid of
being out of control... "
- "Even though I cry out of
control..."
- "Even though I'm afraid I'm
turning out like my mother..."
- "Even though I miss my
mother...and never really had her anyway..."
I basically treated E. as if she had the most
profound love pain imaginable...she "lost" her mother
to alcoholism.
E. felt immediate relief in my office, but was
skeptical about it lasting, and was still frustrated
that I couldn't "cure" her mother. E. left with
homework assignments to tap three times a day. Two
weeks later, she returned saying, "I don't want to
tell you how well I'm doing because I'm afraid to jinx
myself...I think that tapping stuff really works..."
E. had religiously tapped three or more times a day
on whatever her strongest feelings were...frustration,
helplessness, hurt etc.. She said that her boyfriend
and roommate noticed a difference in her moodiness,
and she definitely noticed herself becoming less bent
out of shape about EVERYTHING. She was relieved,
impressed, and hopeful. She also had some cognitive
shifts about the control she had over her mother's
situation. She had cognitive shifts around her
worthlessness and esteem as well.
The subject of medication never came up again, and
E. continued to tap on two small phobias and other
feelings. She described her mood as much more even,
her outlook much more hopeful, and her confidence much
deeper.
In three other cases where I used tapping for
Depression, the clients all said "I feel clearer
in my body and in my eyesight." A fog seemed to
lift for all of them like with Lori in the Palace of
Possibilities tapes. Two of them said they were
confused because they were not used to feeling "this
way"---even tempered, almost happy and content without
their characteristic heaviness of mood and physiology.
These clients did not persist with the tapping and I
have lost contact with two of them. The third one is
ready to continue tapping on very deep emotional
issues from her childhood and taps in my office
although "forgets" to do it in between sessions.
Love,
Carol
