By Claudia Schecter, EFT TRN-3
It has been several years since I released my 40-year addiction to coffee.
I’d tried to stop drinking coffee many times without success until I used Emotional Freedom Techniques.
I have been drinking coffee for most of my life, not realizing how addictive it was. I tried time and time again to break the habit.
I do not believe that one or two cups of coffee a day are bad for you. However, I was unable to function without my morning “kick.”
In the evening, I needed coffee to make sure I could sleep through the night. If I did not drink a cup of coffee before going to sleep, I would wake up with the worst coffee withdrawal headache that prevented me from going back to sleep, unless I got up to make myself coffee at 2:00 a.m.
My situation was starting to get ridiculous.
Here I was, working as a Natural Health Consultant, needing a coffee fix to sleep through the night. I knew of many EFT successes with regard to addictions, but a part of me was afraid to apply it. Every time I had tried stopping coffee before, the pain had been unbearable and nothing helped.
And what if EFT did not work on me? I would be so disappointed on top of it.
However, I had scheduled an EFT Workshop on addictions and anxiety and how could I honestly teach that being addicted myself?
I started tapping:
Even though I am afraid it won’t work for me, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though I would be so disappointed if the tapping does not work, so I’d rather not start, I deeply and completely accept myself.
It made me feel better, but I still needed some time. A few days later, I conveniently forgot to have my nighttime coffee.
As usual, I woke up at 2:00 a.m. with a severe headache, so I started tapping:
Even though I have this huge coffee headache, I deeply and completely accept myself.
The next thing I knew, I was awakened by my alarm clock. The tapping had allowed me to go back to sleep and I woke up in the morning pain free. In the kitchen, the habit of making my morning coffee took over; however, I caught myself in time.
I started tapping:
Even though I crave my coffee fix, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though I need my coffee in the morning, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though I cannot wake up without coffee in the morning, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though I am afraid I will get a headache if I do not have coffee now, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though I am a slave to coffee, I deeply and completely accept myself.
After a few rounds of that I finished with:
I choose to release this coffee addiction, as I deeply and completely accept myself.
I am fully awake and full of energy, as I deeply and completely accept myself.
I am totally relaxed about drinking no coffee, as I deeply and completely accept myself.
I felt great after the tapping. During the next 48 hours, I occasionally tapped on some neck tension, which usually indicated a severe coffee headache coming on.
Then I would tap:
Even though I have this tension in my neck, and I know what that means, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though I am afraid the headache is coming now, I deeply and completely accept myself.
The tension never turned into a headache, and besides that I never experienced any withdrawal symptoms. I am grateful I can now enjoy drinking a cup of coffee occasionally knowing that I have the freedom to choose.
