What causes depression? When you press your emotions and feelings down, deny them, stuff them, repress them, and consequently do not express them, there is a build up of unexpressed energy. All that energy has to go somewhere and if it can’t express itself and exit in the natural way, it starts to press down on your life force and vitality. One of the most common reasons people do not express their feelings is that they are afraid, it is not safe to feel certain feelings and/or express those feelings. Staying safe is a primal need that cannot be overemphasised.

Blocking and stunting our natural expression depresses our life energy. Eventually this will manifest in the physical realm. We become more and more sluggish, daily tasks are more of an effort and slog, our movements slow down as does our thinking. We start to feel overwhelmed and anxious because there is no room for any more of anything. We become more and more afraid of everything. This is the time when hopefully we will reach out for help. Many people break down before they will ask or seek the help they need. Very often a breakdown can be a breakthrough, it’s an opportunity to see what does not work and respond differently.

The thyroid gland is affected by depression. The thyroid is found in the throat so it is no accident that when the expression of our voice or feelings is depressed in any way that this gland’s function is affected. Many people with depression have below par thyroid function which can often go unnoticed by allopathic medicine because it may not fit the blood test parameters of a hypothyroid diagnosis (underactive thyroid). Some symptoms of an underactive thyroid gland include fatigue, dry skin, cold hands and feet, sluggishness and weight gain. The extract below is taken from Silvia Hartmann’s book Adventures in EFT.

Gamut Spot
Connection; GS = Gamut Spot = Triple Warmer (Thyroid Meridian)
When blocked there is an inability to express emotions and love.
When tapped removes low self-esteem and opens us up to emotional interaction with others. 

http://energyandintention.com

One of the most simple steps you can take for boosting your immune system, vitality and health is to tap on your thymus gland every day with your fingertips. The following excerpt is from the book Notes on the Spiritual Basis of Therapy by Dr John Diamond:

“The thymus is the school and factory for lymphocytes - the white blood cells responsible for the body’s immunological reactions. Immature lymphocytes come to the thymus from the bone marrow. Under the influence of thymus hormones, the cells mature, and then settle in the lymph nodes and the spleen, where they give rise to T cells (T for thymus derived). T cells are vital to our health. They seek out, recognise, and destroy foreign cells. Without T cells the body would have no resistance to disease.

Activating the thymus makes the body less susceptible to disease in the first place, and also better able to combat illness.

In addition the thymus gland monitors and regulates energy flow throughout the body. Whenever an imbalance occurs, it rebalances the energy.

Thus the thymus is the first organ to be affected by stress, whether it is physical stress - infection, disease - or mental stress. It is the link between mind and body.

The thymus is influenced by an individual’s physical environment, social environment, food, posture, and emotional attitudes. Thus, thinking about something unpleasant will weaken the thymus, while thinking about someone you love will strengthen it. The negative emotional - weakening - states are hate, envy, suspicion, and fear. The positive emotional states are love, faith, trust, courage and gratitude. We call these latter states thymus qualities”.

This video demonstrates The thymus tap

My website: http://energyandintention.com

1. Be specific – learn more about the importance of being specific here.

2. Treat different aspects – an aspect to a problem or issue is a feature or part of that issue, not necessarily the entire issue. For example, an aspect can be a shift in emotion from fear to anger to sadness or it can be something hurtful someone said to you (one part) the look on their face (second part) and maybe the tone of voice they used too (third part). Experience will reveal different aspects and you will start looking for them automatically to be really thorough in your tapping.

3. Say the ‘unsayable’ - even if just to yourself - your body knows you feel this way and is manifesting the symptoms – what you deny, disown or repress will show up in your body.

4. Tune in to how you are feeling – you can correct the short circuit in your energy system when you are actually feeling and experiencing it.

5. If you’re feeling really upset, continuously tap until you feel calmer, you don’t need to say anything as you are already tuned in.

6. Keep tapping on points that feel sore or tender until they feel better, stay on that one point before you move onto the next one.

7. Breathe deeply while tapping. Try the constricted breathing technique to help you do this, often our breathing is the first thing to be effected by stress.

8. Experiment with the karate chop point and the sore spot and see which is more effective at correcting psychological reversal (any objection, conscious or unconscious, that you may have to healing) for you.

9. Say the set up statement very emphatically or shout it if your intensity is not moving after a round or two.

10. The ‘right’ words are always your words, insert exactly how you feel into the set up statement and repeat the words/feelings that have the biggest charge for you as a reminder phrase.

11. You can use either hand or both hands to tap if you wish and you can switch sides during tapping, approximately 7 taps on each point is sufficient.

12. Tap on how you feel about having the issue/problem, very often this can be a block to making progress with the issue itself.

13. Identify the beliefs or conclusions you came to about yourself as a result of an event, tap on these beliefs too. You will most probably find a pattern between events and the beliefs you hold.

14. State what you really desire, if you hear any objections in your head, like for example “yes, but” these are your true affirmations. You can tap on these to dissolve them, Gary Craig calls these ‘tailenders’.

15. Drink water - water conducts electricity so good hydration is important.

Find out more http://energyandintention.com and http://noreenbarron.blogspot.com

By Rebecca Marina, taken from http://emofree.com

As a veteran of traumatic panic attacks I am always looking for new information and creative ways to use EFT on this debilitating condition.  I have learned to use EFT to keep mine under control.  I have done some research and thought you might find this useful for yourself or your clients.

Symptoms of panic attacks are:

• a feeling of intense fear
• sense of doom,
• feeling of unreality
• Physical symptoms such as:
• a racing or pounding heartbeat
• difficulty breathing
• choking
• sweating
• shaking 
• flushing
• chest pains
• dizziness
• light-headiness
• nausea
• fear of losing control
• tingling or numbness in the hands.
• fear of dying of a heart attack or stroke
• fear of something horrible about to happen
• fear that this time it is for REAL

Now the problem with panic attacks is the more you have them, the more you FEAR you will have them, therefore … the more you will have them.

The greatest fear to recognize is the FEAR of the panic attack.  It is this fear that can keep you prisoner in your home, just waiting for that next attack to come.  This fear can keep you from making plans to enjoy your life.

If you really think about it - no one has ever died from a panic attack.  I have talked to lots of folks who wound up in the emergency room (including myself) only to discover that the symptoms subside, and there you are with your bare face hanging out and the medical world looking at you like some kind of weak hypochondriac.

Of course, the medical approach is with drugs and this may seem like a good alternative to you.  If it works and resonates with you, then by all means try it.  Some people respond very well to drug therapy and some do not.

Also, if there is something really wrong with your heart, it will usually show up on an EKG.  You can even get your arteries measured for “clogging” now with non-invasive methods.  Make yourself feel better and get yourself medically checked out.

When I went to the emergency room with a panic attack thinking seriously I was having a heart attack - they did every test in the book on me and announced that my heart was strong as a racehorse.  One answer is to try EFT with some variations to address several of the underlying issues.

FEAR OF THE FEAR:

Even though I have this fear of the fear…

Even though I think this time I will die…

Even though I don’t understand this fear of the fear…

Even though I sit and wait for this fear…

Even though I think I will scream…

Even though I need to run away, escape…

POSITIVE CHOICE:

Even though I have this fear of the fear, I know fear can’t kill me.

Even though I think I will die, I know a panic attack can’t kill me.

PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS:

Even though my heart is pounding…

Even though my heart is racing, it probably needs a good workout.

Even though I have these crazy physical symptoms that don’t make any sense…

Of course there are REAL heart problems but most people who have panic attacks would have been dead long ago if their heart really had problems.

Important note:

It is the Sympathetic Nervous System that causes the body to go into the fight or flight mode in the first place.  It is the Parasympathetic Nervous System that returns the body to normal.  By doing EFT for that and inviting the Parasympathetic Nervous System to return us to normal, we can get quicker results.

Even though my sympathetic nervous system thinks I am in danger, I love and understand its need to protect me.

I ask and allow my parasympathetic nervous system to take over and return me to normal.  I ask all systems of the body to assist my parasympathetic nervous system in returning me to normal.

One of the things that can be a trigger to these attacks is words that we hear the media saying Like…Women have different symptoms, maybe it presents as a pain in the jaw or a backache etc.  So try some EFT for…

THE SCARY THINGS I HEAR:

Even though ‘they say’ it could be this pain in my jaw …

Even though ‘they say’ it could be this backache …

Even though the things they say scare me silly …

Perhaps one of my favorite methods of transforming a panic attack is to change your state.

Steven Sultanoff, Ph.D, a clinical psychologist in Irvine California, uses humor visualization, asking his patients to see themselves in a situation laughing uncontrollably.  Since a panic attack releases large amounts of cortisol, a stress hormone, laughter is believed to reduce the cortisol levels. 

So my suggestion is to Laugh and tap.  You may have to fake it a bit but you will probably feel so silly laughing and tapping in the middle of a panic attack that you really will laugh.  Dr Sultanoff reports wonderful results just Imaging you are laughing.

One more method is to try and put yourself into a panic attack just so you can tap on it.  Go ahead, try it … you can’t do it can you?

A powerful technique is to go looking for the panic and fear - dare it to come out when you are ready.  Aren’t you tired of it sneaking up on you when you are NOT expecting it?  I tried this all day and couldn’t get even a speck of panic or fear.

See also this youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF4XQq43nkM

If you would like to book an EFT session, email me at info@energyandintention.com

http://energyandintention.com

What do you believe about yourself to be true? Do you realise these beliefs are the filter or screen through which you are living your life?

I really like Gary Craig’s personal peace procedure where you write down ALL the bothersome events that you can remember.

My favourite addition to the ppp list is to also write down the BELIEFS or conclusions you came to as a result of the events that you remember. Using EFT to clear the event only partially resolves the charge in my experience. It is so useful to dissolve the false belief that you arrived at because of what happened, that’s when miracles and real emotional freedom begin to unfold. These beliefs are often subconscious but we can shine the light on them by listening to ourselves.

It is amazing how children can internalise happenings/events into beliefs such as:
I am wrong
I am unlovable
I am horrible/disgusting
I don’t count
I am not heard
and so on …

Try and match up all of your events with a belief that you hold about yourself, maybe you will start to see a pattern and then you can tap on it! Our lives and relationships mirror back to us the beliefs, true and false, that we hold about ourselves. If we believe we are bad and attract abuse it is not because we deserve it (though this may be another false belief) it is because the mirror wants us to HEAL our sense of self and remember that we are loved, lovable and accepted. The universe wants us here.

My website http://energyandintention.com

I am not what has happened to me, I am what I choose to become - Carl Jung

What you believe to be true will be true for you. EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) is a fantastic way to dissolve those false beliefs you hold about yourself. Have a look at this video by Byron Katie illustrating the belief “There is something wrong with me“. You’ll find there will be numerous events holding this belief up, use EFT to dissolve the emotional charge around those events and the belief will dissolve and disappear. Use the personal peace procedure to help you.

By Dr. Carol look taken from http://emofree.com

“Susan” came to me complaining of being “stuck in a rut” as she had gained back 30 pounds in a 3 year period. The last 6 months had been the most stressful because of a chronic struggle with depression, the stress leading up to her wedding, her expensive honeymoon in a foreign country, and her adjustment to married life.

She described late afternoons as her “dangerous” time of day for eating because she said she craved sweets at about 3:00pm at work, no matter what she had for lunch. We began tapping on this simple issue to see if any emotional layers surrounding the cravings surfaced.

“Even though I crave sweets in the afternoon, I deeply and completely accept myself anyway.”

“Even though I always want M&M’s every afternoon, I deeply and completely…”

Susan stated, “I think they are my reward for the stress at work. They allow me to take a break.” We continued to tap:

“Even though I eat when I feel overwhelmed by stress, I deeply love and accept myself.”

“Even though eating sweets feels like a reward, I deeply…”

I asked Susan what other times of the day triggered her compulsive overeating.

“After work I go home, plop myself in front of the television and stuff myself.”

“What do you think is going on emotionally?”

“I’m not sure…”

We started tapping again:

“Even though I overeat in front of the television, I deeply and completely accept myself.” Susan said, “I don’t really feel like accepting of myself because I think it’s kind of disgusting…but I think I made an important connection.”

When in college, Susan would only be able to concentrate and study well when she overate in her dorm room. She would eat and eat while typing papers or studying for exams. She said, “It helped me to concentrate.”

I asked her to connect the college eating with her eating in front of the television after work.

“It’s the only way I can concentrate after work.”

“Why do you need to concentrate after work?”

“It’s the only way I can distract myself and leave work behind.”

She identified that the television watching wasn’t key–as she had previously thought. However, she felt compelled to stuff herself with junk food in order to keep her mind off of work. “I need the food to help me focus on the television which helps me ignore the stress of work.” Susan said she felt desperate to unhook from overwhelmed feelings from work stress, and eating was her way to do that.

I asked Susan what else she “needed” after work.

“I need to relax after work, and unwind, but I can’t seem to feel relaxed unless I overeat.” We tapped as follows:

“Even though I need to eat to relax and feel calm, I deeply…”

“Even though stuffing myself calms me down, I deeply…”

“Even though overeating feels soothing after a long hard day…”

“Even though I can’t feel relaxed unless I’m eating/overeating…”

Somewhere around her chin spot Susan began laughing. “That’s so silly…there are obviously other ways that I can feel relaxed.”

“Like what?”

“Well, I could go to the gym or I could write in my journal.”

“Did you think of these before?”

“Well they seem so obvious but they didn’t occur to me until now. They would of course be more relaxing than overeating while watching bad TV shows.”

Susan literally couldn’t access these reasonable alternatives to her overeating behavior until the tapping loosened up the associations and relieved some of the anxiety.

“What other connections are you making?”

“The stress at work of having to prove myself in sales is making me feel awful. And it makes me feel deprived.”

(Deprivation is my favorite theme for weight loss clients) We continued to tap:

“Even though I feel deprived because of the pressure at work…”

“Even though I overeat when I feel deprived…”

“Even though I’m tired of having to prove myself in front of my boss…”

Susan said, “Now I feel guilty.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s so silly and selfish to feel deprived. I have so much in my life, like my health, my parents and my husband. I shouldn’t feel deprived.”

“Even though I still feel deprived when I shouldn’t…”

The following week Susan looked different in her “affect” and sounded different in her tone. Her compulsive overeating after work had definitely calmed down, and she had been attending the gym more regularly. She admitted she was still making poor food choices for dinner, but felt she was moving in the right direction. She felt less clouded, less depressed, and more hopeful.

While she was convinced that putting the clocks forward had something to do with her new feelings of well-being, she couldn’t deny that the tapping had helped turn around her attitude and perspective. Most importantly, she felt hopeful she could make a commitment to a new weight loss/health program instead of spiraling downward. The upwards momentum felt wonderful to her and changed her outlook about everything.

Nonetheless she still felt deprived, although the focus of these feelings this week was connected to her husband’s attention. He works a night shift while she holds a nine-to-five job.

We tapped for “Even though we don’t have enough quality time together…” and “Even though I miss my husband’s attention…” and she continued to feel more hopeful. It was physically and emotionally obvious that former limiting beliefs and feelings of discouragement about her capabilities to lose weight had been dramatically diluted.

In this case, my client’s excess weight has not begun to fall off yet, but we both could identify significant progress. Susan will continue to aim her tapping at feelings of deprivation and stress as key emotional drivers to her compulsive overeating. She admitted she still felt afraid to make the final commitment, but was delighted she was so much closer to taking this step. She felt like a “new person.” This, I told her, was the perfect starting point to losing weight. Feeling the way she had before—discouraged, depressed, lethargic, self-hating—had only inhibited her ability to even imagine that she could successfully lose weight.

In my experience, too many clinicians and clients become discouraged at this point only because the scale is not registering dramatic losses. This is the time to keep tapping on the underlying themes as well as the behavior until the subtle shifts gain momentum and direct the client to new behavior and visible results.

My website http://energyandintention.com

By Dr. Carol Looktaken from http://emofree.com

“Beth” volunteered for a group demonstration involving a visualization technique to create an image of herself at her goal weight. Before directing the group to try to visualize themselves at their goal, I asked them, “What happened the last time you were at your goal weight?” When another class member said she associated her goal weight with getting pregnant, Beth was shocked that “someone else had the same memory/ association.”

Beth had been unable to get pregnant and medical tests were unable to locate a cause. When she gained a little weight and reached what she considered her “optimum” weight, she was finally able to get pregnant with her first child. Beth gained 60 pounds with her first pregnancy and was unable to get pregnant for the second time until she reached the same “optimum” weight. Following her second pregnancy (17 years ago) Beth said she was never able to lose the weight again, despite numerous diets and attempts and, needless to say, she never became pregnant again, although she had certainly tried.

Airing this association seemed to be emotionally freeing in itself. So instead of tapping for these aspects, my intuition led me to leave this discussion about pregnancy. Accordingly, I moved the class on to tapping for the visualization exercise, knowing we could always return to this issue later if there were still blocks to the visualization.

I asked the participants to close their eyes and imagine themselves at their goal weight, and to then rate the clarity of this picture. Beth and the rest of the group tapped as follows: “Even though I’m having difficulty seeing myself at my goal weight, I deeply and completely…” After the first round of tapping, Beth told the class she could now see herself twirling in a party dress, happy with a clearer picture in her mind of her “success.” She tapped two more rounds for “Even though I’m still having some difficulty seeing myself successfully reaching my goal weight…” and then the image evolved whereby she could see herself at her ideal weight in her everyday clothes, comfortable and peaceful with herself. There were no other immediate blocks to seeing the positive end result. The feelings associated with being pregnant did not resurface.

During the tapping for the visualization, Beth revealed to the class that she had gotten in touch with a memory of the first time someone shamed her for eating too much. She was five years old and remembered being scolded at a party when asking for more food. The surfacing of this memory was definitely a surprise to her. I asked the entire class to tap for “Even though I’m ashamed of myself…and my body…and for being overweight…I deeply and completely accept myself anyway.” I then asked them to use the forgiveness set up (“I forgive myself for being overweight…for being ashamed of myself…”) while tapping the treatment point on the index finger.

In a follow-up phone call with Beth 5 weeks later, she reported the following: “I have lost 10 pounds, I have been able to stick to my low carbohydrate diet, and I have lots of energy.” During this time, tapped for the following aspects:

“Even though I crave carbohydrates…,”

“Even though this weight loss stuff is going too slow…,” and

“Even though I seem to be at a plateau…”

She tapped for “Even though I can’t eat like others…” (an essential key for her) and “Even though I need to exercise more than twice a week…”

I made the following suggestions to Beth to fine tune her language and hopefully push her off her plateau.:

“Even though my body doesn’t want to let go/ wants to hold on to the weight…” and “Even though my body refuses to leave this plateau…”

She was also using the phrase, “I need to exercise” which I thought needed some revision. So, I asked her to be more specific about her exercise routine and to target the feelings she had about exercising. Here is the recommended wording.

“Even though I dread exercising…” or

“Even though I resist exercising more than twice a week…”

I asked Beth how she was feeling emotionally about having lost 10 pounds so far. She said she wasn’t terribly excited because she’s “done it before” and just felt very frustrated with herself for getting back into this position of needing to lose the weight again. We tapped over the phone for “Even though I’m frustrated and mad at myself that I’ve got to go through this again…I deeply and completely love and accept myself anyway.”

My final suggestion to push through the resistance was to start every day with the classic treatment for deep psychological reversal, “I deeply and completely accept myself even if I never get over this problem/ never lose the weight.”

She promised to write me when she lost the next 10 pounds!

For an appointment visit my website http://energyandintention.com

By Dr. Carol Look from http://emofree.com

My client, “John,” was very dissatisfied with his body and wanted to address his “weight issue.” Despite “getting away with” an extra 15 pounds because of his height and build, he was still unhappy and uncomfortable. Eating sweets in the office as a mood lifter or physiological pick-me-up was his main weakness. He is settling into a new job and finds himself reaching for sweets when he feels anxious, in a bad mood, or is grappling with confidence issues. Since we had been successfully using EFT for his fear of success and fear of envy, he was very open to using EFT for weight loss.

I offered John a plate of peanut M & M’s and a small piece of wrapped chocolate. He attributed his low craving/urge to our having an appointment during the morning when he wouldn’t ordinarily experience cravings. Nonetheless, he managed to focus in and rate his craving at about a 3 or 4 on the 0-10 scale. When his first impression of the chocolate changed from “inferior, not rich enough to produce a craving” to “oh, now I see that’s pretty high quality chocolate,” his urge went up. We tapped as follows….

“Even though I crave eating sweets, especially when I’m anxious…I deeply and completely accept myself anyway.”

He instantly felt more relaxed and was far less interested in the chocolate. We tapped again….

“Even though I reach for sweets because I think they’ll make me feel better…”

We then talked about John’s family’s attitude toward food when he was young. He said, “I never told you about this? My father hated and still does hate fat people.” John said he was continually criticized for eating too much, for being sluggish, and for enjoying reading novels and writing rather than playing sports as a kid. (Please note that John is now an extremely successful writer with both a staff job and several freelance projects for which he is well paid) We tapped as follows….

“Even though my father hated how and what I ate…”

“Even though my father criticized me for being overweight as a child…”

“Even though my father wanted me to exercise instead of read…”

“Even though I wasn’t accepted for who I am…”

“Even though he never accepted me for who I was/am…”

John wept during and after this last set up. He said his self-esteem was incredibly low during adolescence because of his father’s constant criticism and obsession with his weight and what he ate. He was surprised by the intensity of the emotion and then admitted that not being accepted by his father was the most painful part of his life he could remember.

John then remembered feeling inadequate and poorly about himself in school. We tapped….

“Even though I felt ashamed of my body and the extra weight…”

Two tapping rounds aimed at his shame reduced the intensity of the emotional pain to a faint feeling of discomfort. He was able to take a deep breath and relax. John then went on to describe other emotions connected to his daily eating habits. We tapped as follows….

“Even though I feel guilty EVERY time I eat…” and

“Even though I feel guilty spending money on food…I deeply and completely accept myself anyway.”

There’s nothing like intense guilt to trigger more anxious eating.

For John, having a high enough salary to enjoy sophisticated New York restaurants whenever he chooses has caused him a great deal of guilt. He feels disloyal to his parents for being successful and for spending money on dining out. He struggles with guilt each and every time he and his friends eat out at a restaurant.

When I saw John 2 weeks later, I noticed his face looked thinner. He confirmed that he had been surprised when he looked in the mirror and noticed it too. The last time he checked, he had lost at least 5 pounds. He had been tapping on himself for mild cravings and general anxiety, and found that it had been surprisingly easy to control his portions and avoid sweets–except for an occasional dessert. He felt in control, relaxed and more peaceful.

I am continually impressed by EFT’s effectiveness in the areas of compulsive overeating and weight loss. I hope this case offers more encouragement to the list members who are overeating to manage and tranquilize anxiety. EFT works for weight loss if you use it consistently AND if you address the deeper underlying emotions that are being anesthetized by food.

For an appointment email info@energyandintention.com
http://energyandintention.com

Taken from emofree.com

GC COMMENT: This is an excellent way to approach a not-so-realistic belief. What Carol did was to attack the belief head on with several rounds of EFT. This has a way of loosening up the belief and allowing the client’s cognition to become more realistic. I’ve seen this happen many times.

CAROL CONTINUES: Jan told the group that her grandmother was an extremely hard, critical and unpleasant woman to be around. “She was not a good part of my life.” Jan had gone to see her in the hospital before she died and had a vivid memory of her looking skinny, ugly and completely shriveled up. She shuddered in front of the class when describing this memory.

So we tapped again, “Even though that image disgusts me, I deeply….” And “Even though I’m afraid to be anything like my grandmother…” as she had been told she already had a family resemblance to her. After the tapping, she said the quality of the picture had changed, allowing her to see herself differently. We also tapped for “I forgive my grandmother for being so mean and critical…” which led Jan to offer, “I guess she was only doing what she knew best.”

In a follow-up phone conversation, Jan said that while I was addressing the class during her demonstration and suggesting some possible alternatives, (i.e., that she didn’t have to lose all the weight at once if she didn’t like the results) her “all or nothing thinking” began to fade. This was the first time she realized she had options and that she was the one in control.

Stay tuned for the next installment.

UPDATE: Dear Gary, Just a quick update on the recent post I sent you…that class participant (who was afraid to lose weight for fear of looking wrinkly and ugly) has lost five lbs in the one month since the workshop…She has continued to tap for her cravings for all things sweet and sugary, especially heavily sweetened southern iced tea.

Carol Look

Visit my website for more information on EFT http://energyandintention.com