Dear EFT readers,
Paul Cutright helps an EFT client get relief from heart arrhythmia by using insight and flexibility to uncover and clear an apparent emotional cause.
-EFT Universe
By Paul Cutright
I was recently referred a client who complained of heart arrhythmia. Sally (not her name) had been diagnosed earlier this year and the doctors wanted to put her on medication, which she was reluctant to take. She was told by a mutual friend that EFT might be helpful and that there could even be an emotional component to her arrhythmia.
When Sally came to see me, I asked if her arrhythmia was present at the time. She said, “Yes, it is almost always present to one degree or another.”
I asked her, “If there was an emotional element to your symptoms, what do you think it might be?”
Sally then began talking about feelings of shame and guilt, especially at work, but also as an ongoing feeling in general. I intuited that the place to begin was with her feelings of guilt at work, where she didn’t have much to do, so had to make “busy work” for herself. This ran counter to her integrity and she felt bad about it, especially as there were people in other departments who were overworked. Plus she didn’t feel that what she was doing at work was what she is supposed to be doing with her life. She wanted to be involved in something that made a contribution, and her job was not it.
I used a simple Setup Statement with her, which was something like: “Even though I feel ashamed of myself at work while others are overworked, I choose to forgive myself and know that I am doing the best I can right now.” And other similar Setup Statements.
After a few minutes, still in the Setup, she wanted to know if we could switch what we were focusing on. I asked what she had in mind and she told me that she was having vague memories and feelings of shame about her and her sister possibly being sexually abused by her father when they were around 6 or 7 years old. She acknowledged that she had no evidence at all, just this feeling of deep shame, like it was her fault that it happened, if it did happen, and maybe this is where the feelings of being ashamed came from.
I told her, “Of course, let’s try it and see what happens. You say the lead-in part of the Setup Statement and I will help you complete it.” She liked that idea and the idea that we could so easily switch our focus.
Now, here is where it gets really interesting.
She said, “Even though I think my sister and I may have been sexually abused by my father, I choose to know if it did happen, it wasn’t my fault and I am entitled to all my feelings about it.”
She liked how that felt and, as she continued with that Setup, she began to get extremely upset and crying. Clearly, she was tapping into some very old and deep emotional wounds.
We then began adding the choice to forgive herself into her Setup Statement, which she could not say. The words just would not come out of her mouth. So I suggested she say she was willing to forgive herself. That was a little easier, though it took awhile for her to be able to say it.
And now she was getting very angry, so I pulled out one of our most useful tools, a “screaming pillow” designed especially for clients to hold to their mouth and scream whatever they need to say at the top of their lungs. So she let go and allowed herself to lose control as she vented her very powerful and authentic feelings, sobbing and screaming, screaming and sobbing.
And all the while, throughout this entire episode, I am tapping on her Karate Chop point.
After her emotional release subsided, she had a countenance of peace and her face was visibly relaxed. She was now able to say, “I choose to forgive myself, and I choose to forgive my father.”
We then finished the session with the short-cut sequence and the 9 Gamut. I had her hold her hands over her heart, with her eyes closed, and breathe in the energy she was now feeling flowing through her body.
She said her arrhythmia was now significantly less. Since this was in the middle of the day, I recommended she go home and take it easy, if possible, rather than return to work. She thought that was a good idea, but then I got this e-mail from her the next day:
My arrhythmias faded almost entirely over the weekend, and I’m continuing the tapping. Just amazing! The other thing I forgot to tell you was that there was an e-mail from my dad waiting for me when I got back to the office on Thursday (I didn’t go home after all). He was writing just some of his usual newsy stuff in his usual style that normally sends me into an emotional tailspin (sexist remarks, racist comments, sarcastic and teasing tone, gossiping about and putting down other family members, etc.). But I read it all without any emotional charge or judgment, and just saw it for being his best effort to try to connect with me. I actually laughed to think how differently it would have been received just 3 hours earlier. EFT really is incredible, isn’t it? Thank you again for introducing it to me.
And then this the following day:
I also want to add how important it was for me to switch the topic we were exploring once we started. Maybe it would be helpful for clients to know before they begin that this “switching midstream” would be encouraged if it seems to be important. Also, that it is okay to modify/personalize their statements; they don’t have to be verbatim from what you say. If I had not read some of the EFT info beforehand, I would have been very hesitant to do any of this on my own.
The last I spoke with her a couple of days ago, Sally’s arrhythmias were completely gone.
