“We immediately become more effective when we decide to change ourselves rather than asking things to change for us.”
Stephen Covey
even if you’re still a beginner – you know what I’m talking about. Perhaps a headache disappeared, a nagging, limiting belief cleared up, or even a chronic ailment may have exited from your life in a matter of a few well-aimed rounds.
Nonetheless, there are times when it seems that EFT doesn’t work. There are 7 main avenues to explore when you feel stuck.
6 PATHS TO SUCCESSFUL EFT:
- Drink water before doing EFT. It’s essential to be well-hydrated during the performance of any energy-related healing method.
- Is it possible you succumbed to the “Apex Syndrome”? I like to test the results my clients get. When a client returns for a new session, I will often ask her about an issue we had previously collapsed. Sometimes she’ll say, “Oh, that issue (anger at her father, guilt about a childhood incident, etc.) never really bothered me!” I then gently remind her that she had rated that issue a “9” the previous week! In other words, EFT sometimes works so subtly, the new cognitive shift you’re experiencing feels like you’ve had it all your life.
- Finding core issues, which is crucial to the process, is entirely possible on your own – much of the time. Sometimes, though, that extra digging can be accomplished much more efficiently together with someone else.
- Persistence is a big one! Here’s a personal anecdote: I suffered from tennis elbow for over two years. I would feel some level of pain almost constantly. It would even wake me up at night if I turned the wrong way. As soon as I was introduced to EFT in the winter of ’07, I started working on my elbow.
I did EFT diligently – and nothing happened. I decided to do it every night for 2-3 minutes, a minimal investment. Needless to say, “every night” turned into most nights – and after about 8 weeks I realized that I had totally forgotten about doing EFT. Guess what? The pain was entirely gone!
The moral of the story: Don’t give up! Be persistent!
P.S. The pain never returned.
- Be Specific! If you’re addressing an issue, whether physical or emotional, be specific.
“My co-worker embarrassed me in front of my daughter” is more effective than “I was embarrassed.” / “This dull headache pain in my left temple” might do the trick if you’re still stuck after rounds of “this headache”.
- “Thou Shalt Not Switch Aspects!” Are you human? If you answered “yes”, then
beware! As human beings, our minds tend to race from one thought to the next without our awareness or permission. When you do EFT, train yourself to isolate the specific aspect you are focusing on. Example: I worked with Kathy on an anger issue she had with her sister. She rated her anger an “8” before we began.
After a few rounds I felt we had successfully diffused it, but when I questioned Kathy about her feelings, she said, “I still feel terrible. It didn’t seem to work.” I asked her to rate her anger again, anyway, from 0 to 10. Here’s what she said:
“Anger? I’m not angry at all! I just feel this incredible sadness weighing me down!”
This was a very familiar reaction – and simple to deal with: We then proceeded to EFT the sadness away. If this happens to you, recognize that you switched aspects, and systematically EFT all the new aspects away!
#1 – You are still being too global & general.
“My boss embarrassed me” might be too general. / “My boss embarrassed me in front of my son” would probably hit the spot and start the self-healing process so much quicker.
#2 – You aren’t recognizing shifting aspects.
Now this one is tricky especially when working alone. Make sure your statements are very specific (see #1) and then write down what pops into your head if you have to in order to keep track of your mind as it skips from emotion to emotion and scene to scene.
This is clearly an advantage to working with a professional for your own issues. I stop at the end of each round and sense a shifting aspect however when I first began, I felt more comfortable just asking, “Was anything else popping into your mind as we did that round?” If the SUDs haven’t dropped enough and you know you’ve been specific then 9 times out of 10 this is the culprit.
https://vimeo.com/457942110/7b34a0ca57 When EFT Doesn’t Work 6:13
