By Carol Look, EFT Master
Last week I taught two EFT classes to therapists, many
of whom were overwrought and distressed from their own
feelings about the September 11th trauma. Their distress
of course was amplified by their clients' feelings about
September 11th and the future. This case shows how using
exact language is needed to "hit the spot."
During the second class a seasoned EFT practitioner,
"Mark," reported an uncomfortable level of anxiety since
September 11th. He had been persistent with his tapping,
but hadn't been able to reduce the anxiety enough yet for
his comfort. I asked him to describe what he was going
through, and we began tapping for the simple anxiety that
he rated at about a "6."
"Even though I feel quite anxious since September
11th, I deeply...."
"Even though I still feel anxious, I choose to feel
calm and peaceful..."
These two rounds reduced his anxiety dramatically (he
reported feeling considerably calmer even though he did
not scale the difference). The class participants noticed
that the muscle tone and expression on his face had
softened.
We continued to pursue the source of Mark's anxiety
beyond the obvious feelings he had of "waiting for the
other shoe to drop." We kept tapping...
"Even though I don't feel safe anymore, I deeply
and completely accept myself." This round was off the
mark. We moved to...
"Even though I'm afraid for my family, I deeply and
completely accept myself and my feelings..."
Finally, we hit the bullseye when I had him say...
"Even though I feel powerless because I can't
protect my family anymore...I accept myself and my
feelings."
This was a critical piece of Mark's anxiety. Being a
father and now a grandfather, Mark had always felt a sense
of responsibility to protect his immediate family. The
"rules" had essentially changed with the magnitude of the
September attacks. Mark described this anxiety as part of
his "need to be in control." He felt enormously relieved
when these words resonated deeply with his feelings. He
said he had been unable to clearly identify the exact
words to alleviate his anxiety.
Again, this was a 5-10 minute demonstration. At the end
Mark reported feeling much better, and looked more relaxed
and peaceful, *even though* he had no more control over
his family's safety than he had when we began. He looked
greatly relieved and told me he had planned to walk down
to Ground Zero after the class to help with "emotional
closure" for the incident. In a follow-up email one week
later, Mark said he continues to feel free of the
pre-workshop anxiety.
