Articles Lena Chen - Holistic Therapiest

Emotional Healing D.I.Y - By Lena Chen

Have you ever experienced a situation that made you so angry that it ended up ruining your whole day or even your entire week? Have you ever gotten a sense of loss that permeated all other areas of your life? Have you ever felt that your emotions tend to get the better of you, making it hard for you to make good decisions that would benefit yourself and others?

Are emotions bad? No! Emotions are not only natural, they are actually necessary as they inform us about our unfulfilled needs. When you are feeling angry, it might be because you have been unfairly treated by someone else. Hence, acting upon this anger in a constructive manner can help you become more assertive with others and set healthy boundaries.

However, many of us get stuck when emotions become excessive, and instead of letting emotions guide us in taking positive steps to improve ourselves or the situation, they become obstacles to our spiritual growth. We become disconnected with our inner wisdom, make choices that increase our own misery and even that of others, and our energy gets drained by the resultant never-ending cycle of negative thoughts and beliefs about ourselves and the world.

Getting to the root of our problems

Often, people come to therapy wanting to know how they can solve their problems. Yet, the truth is, staying in a state of anger, depression, guilt, etc would not enable anyone to resolve their problems in a positive way. When the mind is confused and the heart is not peaceful, one will not be able to analyse the situation accurately or make the right move. Wanting to solve the problem is like trying to get rid of the weed by cutting it with a shear. As the roots are still growing, the weed will reappear after sometime. The best and most permanent way of solving the problem is by getting to the root of it - which is the negative beliefs and emotions that we have that are related to the problem.

So how do we clear these negative beliefs and emotions? There are many methods of doing this, and one of them is called Emotional Freedom Techniques, or EFT for short, developed in US by Gary Craig, and fast growing in popularity around the world because:

• It’s simple - even a 6 year old child can do it for him/herself!
• It’s effective - beginners can often have an over 50% success rate, while seasoned practitioners can have up to over 90% success rate
• It works on almost everything, from physical ailments e.g. chronic pains and wounds, to emotional problems e.g. depression, anxiety, phobias, addictions, low self-esteem, interpersonal conflicts
• It’s natural – we are our greatest healers, once our blocks are cleared, hence, this technique allows the body to heal itself
• It shows rapid results that is nothing short of miraculous at times - a problem that has lasted for decades and where years of traditional psychotherapy has not helped significantly, can be cleared within a few sessions, and at times, even within a single session or even a few minutes
• It does not depend on the person’s belief in the technique - even skeptics have found great results with EFT
• It produces permanent results when done correctly

What exactly is EFT and how does it work?

The principle behind EFT is that “the cause of all negative emotions is a disruption of the body’s energy system”. Often described as “emotional accupuncture without needles”, EFT is the process of using the fingers to gently stimulate (by tapping, rubbing or touching) the main meridian points of the energy system, which corrects any energy disruptions that is causing the emotional blockage. During this process, the person should be focusing on one specific problem as well as using the phrases involving self-acceptance, others-acceptance, positive affirmations, etc. Contrary to popular belief, this is not merely a “distraction technique” as millions of people who have tried it have obtained immediate and lasting results, whereas with distraction techniques, the problem remains unsolved in the long run.

While EFT was first used for emotional problems, it was discovered that it works for physical problems too. This makes sense as we intuitively know that our emotions can manifest on a physical level and in recent years, science has caught up with this ancient wisdom, with studies that prove the mind-body connection. Today, most people know that chronic anger can lead to heart attacks and chronic depression can lead to cancer.

Steps for doing EFT

• Rate the intensity of your problem on a scale of 1 - 10, 10 being the highest intensity.
• Perform the Karate Chop by hitting the sides of your palms against each other, while focusing on the phrase “Even though describe the problem, I deeply and completely accept myself” three times
• Tap on the meridian points as shown in the diagram while focusing the problem in your mind
• Rate the problem on a scale of 1 - 10 again to evaluate the improvement, if any.
• Repeat the procedure until the problem reaches zero, or your preferred number.

The problem can be a physical sensation, emotion, belief or a description of an event. The more specific the problem, the shorter time it would require to see significant results. An example would be “feeling angry because he called me names”, which includes both the emotion and the specific event causing the emotion. General problems such as “low self-esteem” would take much longer for results to show, because those general problems comprise of many specific aspects, all of which could be treated individually.

As not everyone is comfortable with the phrase “I deeply and completely accept myself”, using variations or add-ons can be helpful. Examples are:

• I try to accept myself anyway
• I am open to forgiving myself and other people who have contributed to this problem
• I choose to feel confident/healthy/etc (any positive qualities that would help you)
• I thank God/ Buddha (or any other higher power) for the resources I already have to manage this problem

A free 80-page beginner’s manual can be found on the main EFT website created by Gary Craig: www.emofree.com. On his website, you will also found thousands of testimonials and articles from both professionals and laypeople which often include wonderful tips that will be helpful in improving your effectiveness in using this technique.

While the technique is simple enough to be used as a DIY technique by almost anyone, its extent of effectiveness will vary according to the person’s skills and experience. Nevertheless, beginners would find it a thrill to use EFT on simple problems that happen in everyday life because of its often instantaneous results - try it! However, it can be challenging to use EFT on ourselves for more deep-rooted problems due to our own blind spots and resistances. If EFT doesn’t seem to be working for you, working with an experienced EFT practitioner can help to bring about much better results because of his or her objectivity, skill, and the synergy effect of the interaction between both of you.

With EFT, it is possible to empower yourself to remove your own obstacles and access the wisdom and potential that is already inside you. But don’t take my word for it – try it for yourself!

The information contained in this article is not meant and should not be used to diagnose medical, psychiatric or mental problems. This article may only be copied, reproduced, or distributed in its entirety.