Have you heard about Acupuncture treatment for the emotions

Acupuncture for the Emotions Emotional Freedom Technique EFT, the Self Help Method to Effectively Eliminate All Negative Emotions

Sobeida Salomon, Ph.D.

© Copyright 2008 by Sobeida Salomon, Ph.D.

Paul walked back and forth through the corridor outside the auditorium, while waiting for his turn to make his presentation. His heart was pounding, his breath was short and fast, his hands were cold and sweaty. I approached him knowing he was suffering from public speaking anxiety. As the time of his presentation was approaching, his fear intensified. He heard the applause to other speakers with the threatening feeling that he was next. I suggested him to try a new technique that could instantly relieve a negative emotion. “I don’t have time for a therapist now,” he said. I told him this was completely different since it involved stimulating the body’s meridian end-points. He agreed to try it. I asked him to keep focusing on his fear of speaking and to mentally imagine he was speaking in front of his audience. At the same time, I tapped with my fingers on several points on his face and breast. After a bout 2 minutes I asked him how he felt. “It’s gone, I feel great! How did you do it?” He was completely relaxed and made a wonderful presentation. Without the use of needles, a new self-help healing procedure called Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) can help people to overcome most negative emotions. EFT is innovative, easy to apply, effective, and powerful. Feelings such as fear, stress, anger, pain, frustration and many other non-complex problems can often be eliminated in a few minutes, while more complex emotional problems such as trauma, chronic anxiety, abuse, serious illnesses, and depression can also be eliminated but usually require the skills of an experienced EFT practitioner. EFT works by accessing the body’s energy meridian system, by using a gentle tapping sequence that engages the same energy system as acupuncture, to release the negative energy attached to a particular negative emotion. The energy meridian system is a natural network of energy pathways circulating through the body. You use your own hands to stimulate the major meridian points in a specific sequence by tapping at each point with your fingers. While you tap at each meridian point, you have to focus your mind on the specific problem or emotion that you want to eliminate. The purpose of the tapping series is to reestablish the normal flow of energy in your body. EFT was designed and developed by Gary Craig who based his new approach on Dr. Roger Callahan's Thought Feel Therapy (TFT). The premise of EFT is that the cause of negative emotions is not the memory of a traumatic event, but the negative energy entangled around the memory, a disruption in the body's energy system. This discovery showed that by releasing this energy, the negative emotion is instantly eliminated. Thousands of people around the world have reported a relief from past traumas and negative feelings that previously required months, or even years, of conventional treatment. When we experience fear, stress, or any other unwanted emotion, the flow of energy in our body is interrupted. This blockage causes an imbalance in our energy system thus producing an emotional response. By stimulating the various body end meridian points, the normal energy flow is reestablished and the emotional response that was experienced before is eradicated: the fear, the anxiety, or the stress we were experiencing vanishes and all that is left is the memory of the event. All you need is to learn the location of a selected set of meridian end points, the use of your hands to stimulate these points for a few times, and the ability to concentrate and feel a


particular negative emotion you want to eliminate. More details, illustrations, and methods are included in the book It is in Your Hands: Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Second Edition, Completely Revised (Salomon, 2011). These are the steps to follow: 1. Evaluate the intensity of your emotion by assigning a number from 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest intensity and 10 the utmost. 2. Come up with an affirmation that states your feelings while tapping in the Karate Chop point with the middle and index fingers of the opposite hand. For instance, if you are afraid of public speaking you could say: “Even though I am afraid of given this talk, I deeply and completely accept myself,” while simultaneously tapping on the Karate Chop point of the left or right hand. The Karate Chop point is located in the middle of the fleshy part on the outside of the hand between the top of the wrist bone and the base of the little finger. Repeat the affirmation three times. This initial affirmation is called “the setup phrase.” You want to begin tapping at a rapid pace with the same firmness you use when tapping your fingers on a hard surface following a melody you like, not so hard that it causes discomfort but not too soft that you barely feel it. 3. Repeat a summary of the setup phrase over and over, while tapping in each of the following points, on either side of your body, approximately 8 to 10 times. This summary phrase is called “the reminder phrase.” It is used to keep your mind focused on the negative emotion. For instance, in the case of fear of public speaking you say “this fear” over an over, while tapping on each of the following points in the following order. a) Bridge of nose, at the beginning of the eyebrow, just above and to one side of the nose. b) Side of eye, located on the bone bordering the outside corner of the eye. c) Under eye, on the bone under an eye about 1 inch below the eyeball. d) Under nose, midway between the bottom of the nose and the top of the upper lip. e) Under the mouth, midway between the point of the chin and the bottom of the lower lip f) Under collar bone, the junction where the breastbone, collarbone and the firs rib meet. To locate it, first place your finger on the U-shaped notch at the top of the breastbone (i.e., the place where a man knots his tie). From the bottom of the U move the forefinger down, 1 inch and then go to the left (or right) 1 inch. g) Sore spot on chest, this is where lymphatic congestion occurs. To locate it, first place your finger on the U-shape notch at the top of the breastbone, from the bottom of the U move the forefinger down 3 inches and then go to the left (or right) 3 inches. h) Under arm, on the side of the body, four inches below the arm pit. i) Bottom rib below nipple, one inch below the nipple (for men), or under the breast, where the skin of the breast meet the chest wall (for women).


10. Repeat steps 2 and 3 at least once. Measure the intensity of the emotion again. Using the same scale from 1 to 10 as before, determine if the fear has been eliminated or reduced. If the problem is still present, or if it has been reduced slightly, repeat steps 2 through 5. However, this time the setup and reminder phrases should include the word “remaining.” For example, if after completing one full treatment (steps 1 through 4), you find that the intensity of the fear is still high, the setup phrase should be “Even though I still have some remaining fear, I deeply and completely accept myself,” and the reminding phrase should be “this remaining fear.” While doing a treatment, you will find that other related memories and aspects of the problem may emerge in the form of feelings or ideas. In those cases, do not disregard the emotion; finish with the present treatment and then, do another sequence with the new situation or emotion that surfaced into your conscious mind wile doing the previous treatment. It is a well known fact that emotions are linked together in our unconscious by way of free associations. Thus, by working and eliminating a specific negative emotion, one may find other related emotions that were unconsciously overshadowed by the first one. By working conscientiously and systematically on our negative emotions, we can gradually clear layers of distress that in the past automatically controlled our behavior. More details, illustrations, and methods are included in the book It is in Your Hands: Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Second Edition, Completely Revised (Salomon, 2011). The result is a slow awakening towards emotional freedom, that is a stage in life when us, not our past negative fixations or negative emotions, are the owners of our decisions. Sobeida Salomon, Ph.D. is a sociologist and the author of the new book It is in Your Hands: Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). SpiralPress, Ambler, PA, 2011. Dr. Salomon is a psychotherapist specialized in gender and cultural issues.
