How EFT can help with that feeling of dread

Taking care of our mental health is as important as caring for our physical health. Most of us are very good at taking the medication our doctors prescribe for us when we get ill. However, we tend not to be so good at facing how we are feeling. Our English culture doesn’t help; we have all been taught to keep our problems to ourselves and make sure we don’t cry! I think most of us recognise this is not healthy.

As we get older, our emotional issues tend to grow. One issue builds on another until we can’t even think about them. We can avoid people or places - anything that makes us face the issues in our lives. I am sorry to say it, but time does not heal, it just tends to bury the problem which will later manifest somewhere else in the body, through IBS or joint pain, for example.

What most people don’t realise is that there has been a significant development in scientific understanding of how our emotions affect our bodies. In Western culture, we tend to see our bodies as different from our mind, whereas in fact, it is just one. This is called holistic health, where it is recognised that our emotions and mind are not separate from our physical bodies. This means that one part relates to and impacts another part. What we want to do is to be in harmony within ourselves, but instead we tend to have internal conflicts.

Emotional freedom technique - EFT

One technique that has been developed is called emotional freedom technique, or EFT, which involves tapping on acupressure points whilst thinking of the negative emotions you feel relating to a particular issue. As you tap, the negative feeling, or energy as some people call it, is released. I am a great advocate of EFT because it works so effectively and is also very gentle. It is so amazing to experience the release of deeply-held negative emotions for the first time. You can’t believe that a technique could be so effective; I don’t think my wonder of that feeling has ever gone!

Let me give you an example. When you were five years old, you had a terrible day in school. The teacher shouted at you, calling you stupid because of something you did. You believed the teacher. Six months went on, and you did something at home that made your Dad angry. He shouted "you're stupid", and you believed him too. Time goes on, and inside, you believe that you're stupid.

Maths gets a bit harder; you can’t do it because "I'm stupid", but the "I'm stupid" has now added, "I can't do it, I'm stupid". You struggle with reading and writing while the other kids get it - reinforcing the thoughts of "I'm stupid" and "I can't do it". Do you see what I mean? Do you see the pattern? Life goes on; you fail most of your exams - "I'm stupid". You struggle to pass your driving test because all you keep thinking is "I can't do it". As time passes these stresses get forgotten, and you manage to get a good job. You do well. You hope your employees won’t notice that you're stupid. Perhaps you don’t even feel stupid anymore. Now your employers talk about promoting you, and you have to go to an interview. Oh boy. You meltdown because you know, deep down, "I can’t do it, I’m stupid".

How EFT can help

During a session, a qualified EFT practitioner will build up a memory map of how the memories have built-up in your life, and you will gain an understanding of how your life has been impacted by that early belief of "I’m stupid, I can’t do it". You may even remember new memories you had forgotten about. This is because you will work with your unconscious mind to bring those memories to the surface. This memory map often surprises people, as they have come prepared with their memories, but find that through EFT there are more memories than they thought. These memories will give you a good indication of how many sessions will be needed to resolve them, but also, which are the most significant to you.

Of course, remembering can seem scary, but it is important to realise that EFT has many keys to support you in releasing the memories, and you may begin to feel differently very quickly. Maybe you question if this is possible. This is a normal reaction when you haven’t experienced the benefits of EFT. Most people respond very well to EFT; statistics show that about 95% experience release and the other 5% tend to be made up of people who have shut down their emotions. However, building a relationship with your practitioner, and feeling safe and respected to enable the trust to grow, can make a lot of difference. Fear in itself can be a big barrier, and using EFT to work on the fear alone can enable you to feel more confident in working with your memories.

Matrix re-imprinting

EFT tapping helps to release those awful feelings associated with feeling stupid, but the more advanced EFT tool of matrix re-imprinting goes deeper. It deals with the underlying belief that you are stupid. Both change your life, but matrix re-imprinting will transform it. Matrix re-imprinting goes deeper into memories to find the belief or decision you made at the time of the memory. Our beliefs and decisions, particularly those made before the age of six, are very significant and can shape the world around you.

In matrix re-imprinting, you can also work with colour. You can bring in angels to help, or people who are important to you. It is very imaginative. It works with both the mind and the heart by transforming the negative energy held in memories to something positive which you can choose so it's in line with your heart’s desires.

Changing your beliefs is not easy, because you need to do this within the unconscious mind. Some people think they can change beliefs by just saying positive thoughts, or affirmations as they tend to be called, over and over in their minds. However, in reality, most people cannot counteract the power of their unconscious belief system merely through the use of affirmations. This is because the belief system is programmed into your unconscious mind mainly by the age of six.

Science has proven that the unconscious mind is one million times more powerful than the conscious mind. This means no matter how many times you repeat those affirmations, they won’t work. EFT and matrix re-imprinting work with the unconscious mind to cancel and then rewrite the beliefs you made in your early years.

Why should your current life be ruled by the beliefs and decisions you made as a very young child when you might have been very isolated or living under difficult circumstances? The adult can now support the child to release those negative memories that are impacting your life now. This is why EFT and matrix re-imprinting are such useful tools, as they can deal safely and effectively with the worst of childhoods.