Digging deeper – getting more specific reaps more results with EFT.
In a previous post, we provided you with a tool called “AHA” which you can use to shift unwanted emotions. By focusing on the emotion and tapping several rounds, you can quickly calm the mind and body, attain greater clarity, and feel more relaxed and in control in the moment.
But what do you do if and when that feeling returns? More often than not, those negative feelings you experience have become your habitual way of responding to stressors in your life. These habits of response developed as a way of dealing with unpleasant, stressful past situations. They are now stored in your subconscious mind running on automatic pilot, totally obscured from your conscious mind.
In order to uncover and release what is causing that unwanted emotion to surface again and again, you need to get specific – to dig a bit deeper. And the way to do that is to ask open ended questions.
Start with where you are now, with what you are feeling, even if it is a vague feeling. For example, if you are feeling overwhelmed, ask yourself,
- “What part of my life feels overwhelming?” “Is it at work?” “At home?” “In a certain social situation?”
- “Who do I feel overwhelmed around?” “What does he/she do that makes me feel overwhelmed?”
- “Is this an ongoing issue?” “When was the most recent time I felt overwhelmed?” “What was happening?”
- “When might be the next time I experience this feeling?” “Who will be there?” “What will happen?”
(NOTE: If you can’t recall the most recent time you felt this way or the next time you anticipate feeling this way, guess at it! Come up with a typical scenario of what makes you feel overwhelmed.)
Once you have answered the questions of who, what and when, you will have more specific information to tap on. Rate the intensity level of your emotion on a scale of 0-10 – (0 = no intensity, 10 = the worst it could be), and begin tapping! The words you use as you tap around the points come from the answers to your questions. After a couple of rounds, re-evaluate how intense your emotion is, whether that emotion has changed, and what thoughts or memories came to mind.
What you may find comes up is a forgotten memory of when you felt the same or a similar emotion. Tap on this new information for a couple of rounds, then re-evaluate, and repeat the process. Your goal is to get the intensity of any unwanted emotion to 0-1. Sometimes the intensity may reach a lower point, such as a 3 or 4 and not move any further. The question to ask yourself now is, “What is keeping this overwhelm/sadness/anger/etc. at a 4?” The answer supplies new information to use in the next couple of tapping rounds.
Digging deeper allows you to get to the specific root cause of why, in certain circumstances, you respond with a habitual yet unwanted emotion. More importantly, digging deeper provides you the opening and clarity to neutralize the impact that root cause has continued to have over your emotions, freeing you to become more responsive rather than reactive to situations.
Learn more about how to be specific in dealing with your negative thoughts, sabotaging beliefs and troublesome memories by subscribing to our YouTube videos at Wellness Within (Look for the purple sun logo!)
Pamela and Brad