By Valerie Lis, MA
When you are excited, your heart and breathing rates increase, your pupils dilate, and digestion stops. This is the same stress response associated with negative emotions such as fear or anger. So the claim could be made that excitement is a negative emotion.
I realize that some excitement is good. I don’t want a boring life either. It becomes a concern, however, when excitement continues for a length of time, takes on a nervous quality, or is tied to inappropriate behaviors.
Even if you don’t fully agree that excitement is a negative emotion, this concept can be used to support your EFT sessions. Working with excitement as a negative emotion can be helpful when tapping on bullying, cravings, addictions to cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs, gambling, compulsive spending, anticipation, anger issues, obsessions, high/low moods, and unhealthy sexual desires.
Rather than the standard EFT approach of working with specific events, some of these issues can be resolved by tapping on polarities. Here are the instructions: First, imagine being permanently barred from doing this behavior and tap through the emotional distress. Then imagine being able to do the behavior again and tap through the excitement. Then imagine doing only this behavior and nothing else through eternity. Completing all three scenarios usually reduces the overall desire for the behavior. Rather than using Reminder Phrases, simply focus on the “feeling space” and tap in silence.
Here are a few more specific ideas on how to work with these issues.
Bullying: I have found that bullying is associated with powerlessness and power. This dynamic creates despair when feeling powerless and excitement when feeling powerful. Tapping on both extremes can help create a reduction in the desire to bully.
Cravings: The effectiveness of tapping on cravings is well known. Since nervous excitement is associated with cravings, it is another example of working with this emotion. Cravings are usually cleared by tapping while focusing on the need or desire for the item.
Addictions to Cigarettes, Alcohol, and Drugs: Addictions are not a “quick fix.” They usually require a number of sessions and extensive self-work. Understanding the role of excitement can be helpful, though, to resolve the underlying cravings and triggers.
Gambling: Tapping on the excitement associated with winning, as well as the emotional distress associated with losing, supports relief from this desire.
Compulsive Spending: Tapping on the excitement associated with spending money, as well as the emotional distress associated with overspending, supports relief from this desire.
Anticipation: Anticipation often includes a quality of excitement. Tapping on the apprehension of unknowing and the excitement of “I can’t wait!” can help clear extended periods of anticipation or nervous anxiety.
Anger Issues: A nervous form of excitement is often associated with the emotion of anger. In some ways, it is similar to an “addiction” and fuels repeated bouts of anger. This can be softened by focusing and tapping on the underlying excitement.
Obsessions: I have seen many activities including hand washing, hair pulling, and other obsessions quickly resolved. Follow the instructions given above, making sure to tap through the excitement.
High-Low Moods: To clear issues with moodiness, focus on emotional distress associated with the low mood and boredom. Then focus on the excitement associated with the high mood.
Unhealthy Sexual Desires: With unhealthy sexual desires, it may be worthwhile to tap on powerlessness and the excitement of being in power, as well as the excitement of the sexual activity itself. Rather than using Reminder Phrases with this delicate subject, it may be better to tap in silence.
I hope these ideas help you to clear these challenging issues. My goal as a teacher and trainer is to lead you to consistent, deeper results with Clinical EFT and Simplified EFT Tapping. Please keep me informed. I really want to hear from you!
Valerie Lis, MA, aka “The Tapping Teacher,” is an EFT Universe Certified Expert and Trainer. Her book Simplified EFT: How to Get Exceptional Results Every Time You Tap includes dozens of new concepts and hundreds of innovative ideas. Click here for information on attending an upcoming workshop with Valerie in Chicago.
