Dear EFT Community,
In this detailed article, EFT trainer, Jenny Johnson leads us through a session in which she helped her client find the root cause of his symptoms and release the emotional charge. This is a fine example of a case study used for EFT certification and Jenny has inserted comments throughout highlighting the different techniques used.
-EFT Universe
By Jenny Johnston, EFT TRN-3
“Mike” (not his real name) is a Paramedic in his late 40’s. He has worked as a paramedic for 20 years and is currently on stress leave. He intends to quit as a Paramedic and is sourcing other work first.
He came to me with symptoms of headaches, stress, fatigue, nightmares, flashbacks and depression. Mike had read extensively about EFT and had watched EFT in videos and tried EFT on himself with minimal success so he decided it was time to try an EFT Professional and contacted me.
Upon talking to him about his family history, I discovered that he was the youngest of 4 and that his mother committed suicide when he was 17-years-old. He has 3 children, (22, 21 &20), was divorced 5 years ago and remarried 2 years ago.
I asked Mike, what was most prevalent for him right now and he said that he has flashbacks (sometimes triggered by news reports), headaches and neck stiffness and pain and panic attacks where he goes all hot and sweaty. He said that he has nightmares and wakes all sweaty but doesn’t remember them.
I asked when and what had triggered these symptoms and Mike said that just after his divorce, a specific job ‘set him off.’
I asked him to tell me about it while we began tapping (Tell the Story) but to first give it a SUD Level of Intensity rating as he thought about it right now. He said that Fear was coming up as 8/10 and I asked if there were any other emotions. He replied that there was also Sadness (8/10).
I asked if it was okay for him to tell me about it while we tapped or if it was too difficult, that we could just tap on the fear and sadness first while he focussed on the ‘job that set him off’ (Tearless Trauma Technique). He wanted to just begin tapping and talking.
So we began tapping on all of the points while he told me the story, which went a little like this — Just after the divorce, when his youngest son was about 17, Mike was called to a job where a 17 year old had run into a wire while riding his motor bike and severely severed his throat.
As Mike and his partner were laying the boy down on the stretcher, ‘all hell broke loose’, as his throat began spurting blood and he became unconscious with blood everywhere. At the same time, the boy’s mother had arrived and saw them lay him down and all the blood and she was screaming abuse at them.
Mike felt fear that they were going to lose him, (because of what had they done — laying him down); the mother thought that they had killed him and it was real ‘touch and go’ there for a while. I asked Mike, “What stood out the most in that memory.” He replied that it was all the blood when we laid him down.
So I then asked Mike to begin tapping on the KC point and repeat:
“Even though there was blood everywhere when we laid the boy down and we thought we were going to lose him, we did a great job under pressure and followed protocol and he did survive.
Even though I was afraid we were going to lose him, we didn’t and we did a great job.
Even though there was blood everywhere and it was unexpected, we did a great job under pressure and I am a great Paramedic.”
Then we tapped on reminder phrases —
“All this blood, blood spurting from his neck and throat,
seeing all that red blood,
I didn’t expect it,
thought we were going to lose him,
feeling panicked,
all this fear,
we did a great job,
all that pressure,
blood everywhere laying him down,
we followed our training so well,
it was touch and go for a while, we did a great job, he did pull through”.
(Mike had told me that he had visited the boy in hospital 2 weeks later and he was sitting up in bed, smiling and talking to his girlfriend and was fine).
I asked Mike to again focus on the event and tell me what was there. He said that the fear had definitely gone down, SUDS — 5/10. I asked him to focus on the worst part of that memory and he said when we were laying him down (getting specific).
I asked him where he felt that fear in his body and he said that he felt it in his neck, shoulders and head. I asked him to describe the fear and he said that it was a heaviness and a stiffness.
So I asked him to again focus on this part of the memory as we began tapping again.
“Even though I still have some of this fear, laying down memory, I love and accept myself deeply and completely.
Even though I have this stiff, heavy fear in my neck, shoulders and head, I did a great job and I accept myself deeply and completely.
Even though this boy was about the same age as my son and I was scared at the thought of what might have happened as I lay that boy down, it all turned out okay and my son and I are okay.”
Then we tapped rounds on reminder phrases such as —
This stiff, heavy fear,
this laying down fear,
all this fear in my neck and shoulders,
all this responsibility,
he was my son’s age,
no wonder I have all this fear in my neck and shoulders,
this remaining fear of losing my loved ones,
just like when I lost my Mum,
this 17 year old fear,
this fear of losing my son,
he was just having fun riding his bike like my son does,
this unexpected fear,
it’s time to release this 17 year old fear,
it was appropriate at the time to hold this fear in my neck and shoulders,
it’s protected me for years,
it’s safe to let it go now,
I choose to let it go.”
I asked Mike to give a SUDS on his fear and his neck and shoulders. He said that the fear had gone down to about a 2 and so had the pain/stiffness in his shoulders and neck.
I then asked him to re-tell the story of the event from the start to the finish (Movie Technique) and to stop when the SUDS level went up or if something new came up (a new aspect). He did so and said that now he could really hear the mother of the boy screaming abuse at him when he lay the boy down.
I asked him what she was screaming and he said that she was screaming abuse and things like, “What are you doing? You’re killing him!”
He said that the SUDS had gone up to 6/10. I asked him how close she was standing to him and on what side of him and to close his eyes and imagine hearing her screaming while we tapped on the KC point –
“Even though I have this mother screaming abuse at me, I was doing what I’d been trained to do and I did a great job.
Even though I would have been just as scared if it was my son and screamed too, I know this woman wasn’t abusing me, she was just really scared for her son and shocked at all the blood and I did a great job under pressure.
Even though the mother was screaming out her distress and I felt her fear, I love and accept myself deeply and completely”.
Then we tapped rounds on reminder phrases such as —
“This screaming mother standing on my left,
this mother frightened for her son’s life,
there was a lot of blood,
no wonder she was afraid and screaming,
this scared, screaming mother,
this fear of mine as a parent,
fear for a 17 year old,
this screaming fear,
I did a great job even though I was scared too,
everyone was okay in the end,
I saw the boy in hospital 2 weeks later,
he was fine,
I did a great job,
that boy is alive because of me,
that mother is so thankful to me,
I choose to hear her thanking me,
standing on my left side,
thanking me for what I am doing,
she is thanking me ,
I did a great job.
I then asked Mike what the SUDS was for the screaming mother and he said 0. I asked about the fear in his neck and shoulders and it was still a 2/10. I asked him to tune into that 2 and to see what comes up. He then said that there was another strong incident that keeps recurring for him.
I asked him to tell me what emotions come up and to rate it as he thought about it. It was helplessness – 5/10 and sadness – 2/10. I asked him if he was okay to tell me about it (if it wasn’t we would use ‘Tearless Trauma’ technique). He said he was okay to tell me about it and I asked him to tap continuously while he told me (‘Tell the Story’ with continuous tapping).
He said that about 6 years ago, he was called to a garage where a 17 year old boy had hung himself. He found out later that it was a boy in his son’s class. The boy was in his school uniform.
He remembered feeling that the boy must have felt such helplessness to have done this and he remembered feeling that this could have been him. Mike was 17 when his Mum committed suicide, Mike had felt helplessness and lack of support.
I asked Mike to focus on that feeling of helplessness and lack of support and feel it in his body and describe it. He said that it was a dark purple colour and felt sharp, like the end of a spear in his heart.
So we began tapping on the KC point —
“Even though I have this dark purple, sharp feeling in my heart, like the end of a spear, I love and accept myself deeply and completely.
Even though I have this helpless, lack of support feeling in my heart, I’m okay and I love and accept myself deeply and completely.
Even though I can still see this boy hanging in the garage in his school uniform, I’m okay and I love and accept myself deeply and completely.”
We then tapped full rounds on reminder phrases such as —
This helpless feeling in my heart,
this dark purple feeling in my heart,
this stabbing feeling,
like the end of a spear,
this lack of support feeling,
it could have been me,
this feeling when my Mum died,
no wonder I have this dark purple stabbing feeling in my heart,
this boy in his school uniform feeling in my heart,
it’s time to heal this feeling,
I choose to heal this feeling,
I choose to get to the source of this heart feeling and release it.
I then asked Mike how he was feeling in his heart when he saw the boy hanging there in his school uniform in the garage. He said that it was fine but it was the feeling that he had after his Mum died that was now 6/10 and he said it was a helpless feeling in his heart, throat, shoulders and back of his skull and gave him headaches. (The core issue of his symptoms).
I then asked Mike to begin tapping on his KC point using the Tearless Trauma Technique and to focus on that time when his mother committed suicide when he was 17.
We tapped,
“Even though I have this 17 year old helpless feeling when Mum died, I love and accept myself deeply and completely.”
Then we tapped rounds —
this helpless feeling,
I was only 17,
I felt so helpless,
I couldn’t do anything about it,
I felt so alone,
I feel this stabbing feeling in my heart,
no wonder I have this helpless feeling in my heart, throat, shoulders and head,
no wonder I have headaches,
all this helplessness and lack of support,
all this sadness,
all this responsibility I was left with,
I was only 17.
Mike then wanted to tell me all about his mother’s suicide and how he felt afterwards and I asked him to keep tapping as he spoke – (Tell the Story). Issues that came up were, “What am I going to do now? Where am I going to live? (His parents were already separated and he had lived with his Mum).
Mike was doing an apprenticeship and lived at his Mum’s house with his brother who was at University and who he didn’t get on with. He was closer to his sister. However, she lost her 18 month old child in a freak accident 6 weeks after their mother’s death.
It was then that he felt all alone, that he had no-one to talk to and that he was losing people he loved.
I asked Mike what stood out as the most emotionally charged parts of his memory. He said that he remembered walking to the hospital thinking, “What can I do?” (She had overdosed and it took several days for her to die). I asked him to tune into that feeling in his body (which was in his throat and shoulders).
We tapped on the CC point —
“Even though I have this ‘what can I do feeling’ in my throat and shoulders, I love and accept myself deeply and completely (x3).”
Then rounds —
this feeling in my throat and shoulders,
what can I do,
I felt so helpless,
this helpless feeling in my throat and shoulders,
I was only 17,
what was I going to do?
this uncertain feeling,
this helpless feeling,
I didn’t see it coming,
I should have seen it coming,
all this self-blame,
all this responsibility,
all this blame,
I have to blame someone,
this anger that I can’t speak,
this helplessness and responsibility,
I was only 17,
I don’t know what Mum was thinking,
this ‘what can I do’ helpless feeling,
I was only 17,
it was Mum’s choice,
no wonder I have all this helplessness in my throat and shoulders,
It’s time to let it all go,
it’s safe to let it go,
I choose to let it all go,
I choose to feel peace and forgiveness in my throat and shoulders,
I choose to be at peace now.
Mike began lots of yawning (signs of shift and release) throughout these rounds of tapping. I asked him to close his eyes and tune into ‘walking to the hospital’ and how did he feel. He said that he felt good and his neck and shoulders were much less stiff.
He said he had a much different understanding of it now (signs of a cognitive shift), that it wasn’t his fault or anyone else’s, it was his Mum’s choice and he forgave her. His feelings of helplessness were gone from this part of the memory.
I asked Mike to continue tuning in to other memories — not knowing where he was going to live, not being able to talk to his brother, his niece’s death and no longer being able to talk with his sister, the feeling that he was all alone, the sadness, the uncertainty of life.
Mike said that they had all come down in emotional intensity but he still felt sadness — 3/10, feeling alone 3/10 and losing loved ones (uncertainty of life) — 4/10. He felt all 3 mixed together in his heart (stabbing feeling), throat, neck and shoulders (stiffness).
So we tapped on the KC point —
“Even though I still have some sadness, aloneness and feeling uncertain in my heart like a stabbing feeling, I love and accept myself deeply and completely. Even though this stiffness is still in my throat, neck and shoulders, I love and accept myself, my Mum, Dad, brother, sister and myself, deeply and completely. Even though I still have some remaining sadness, aloneness and feelings of uncertainty, I’m okay and it’s safe to let it all go now”.
Then we tapped rounds on —
this uncertain feeling,
this remaining stabbing feeling in my heart,
I’m okay now,
this remaining stiffness in my neck and shoulders,
it’s safe to let it all go now,
I choose to be at peace in my heart,
I choose to have peace and acceptance in my shoulders, neck and throat,
I choose this peace covering my whole body,
I am peaceful.
(Mike had been yawning lots during this tapping, signalling lots of release of emotional charges and cognitive shifts).
I asked Mike to tune into his heart, neck throat and shoulders and he found the stiffness and stabbing pain had virtually gone. I asked him to tune into feelings of being sad, alone, uncertain and to tell me what had happened (Tell the story) after his Mum had died.
He did so with no emotional charge and felt really tired (a sign that we had had some big shifts and clearings).
We both felt that the core issue had been addressed and I let Mike know that he was welcome to return for further sessions if any other issues or aspects surfaced in the future and that he also had the tools to work on them himself if he chose to. He looked very peaceful and relaxed as he left.
It had been a very deep, productive 2 hour session.
