Treating Sexual Problems with EFT

By Dr. Silvia Hartmann

 

If we consider the billions upon billions people spend on all aspects and areas of their lives related to sex - and let us not forget this includes the entire beauty and fitness industry. It is interesting, yet quite telling, to note how little has been written on the topic of treating sexual problems with EFT.

What I would like to do in this article is to present a gentle progression into this area of every adult's life that is still so very difficult to talk about in public in a rational manner.

It is also my hope that there will be some amongst those who are reading this who will find courage and hope and will decide to lift the lid on this topic for themselves at last.

It really is essentially important in every aspect of everyone's life, whether they wish to acknowledge this or not - our sexual systems have inordinate impact on how we feel inside, of how much power we think we have, of course on our "creativity", no matter how it is expressed; on how much success we might believe we can have elsewhere; and in the end, on how much happiness there can be in our lives.

Please do not think that I am suggesting we should use EFT so we can go out and have more sex; that is not the purpose of this article.

What I want to do instead is for each of us to consider the energetic systems that are related to sexuality; these are systems of life itself and need to be given a great deal of respect and quite regardless of any adult's age or state of health or other circumstances.

I would also like to present a step by step system by which any individual in self help, or a counsellor/healer with their clients in a partnership healing setting, may approach the subject and move through the various layers in safety and without any kind of further traumatisation being necessary.

A First Step - Gentling The Systems

Before we even begin with any more specific treatments, a good place for anyone suffering from "shameful" problems of this nature is to tap the following soothing and strengthening statements, for example:

Please remember that EFT treatments are never meant to be something you force yourself or others to have to suffer through; we can start as far back when as we need to in order to make it as easy and gentle as possible to get real healing, change and forward movement into the systems of mind and body.

Once we are beyond the "denial" protection barrier and the issues are really here now in consciousness, the next step might be to simply think about "this whole subject" and tap without any opening statements, simply to take the edge off the tumult of feelings and memories so we can start to think more clearly, target more specific interventions and create change that will actually hold and last "in the field".

This is also a good time to use "tearless trauma technique" approaches and global symbols, numbers, or metaphors to help retain a distance from the problems and memories and still be able to make headway into what is a very serious and very sensitive set of systems.

For example, many women suffer from extreme disturbances in their relationships with their own bodies which often lies at the core of their problems; in many other instances it is a high contributing aspect.

To find a metaphor (such as the Lotus) or even a colour (the root chakra "red" can be used, for instance) and to use EFT treatment rounds about the feelings towards these abstractions can be a breakthrough experience of healing that is truly profound in its repercussions on overall health and happiness in both body and mind.

Getting Specific

On the Meridian Therapy internet news group, a very experienced practitioner and EFT healer mailed for help with a lady client who hated sex following a childhood full of abuse. Now, this lady was married but could not bear to be touched.

She loved her husband very much and lived in a constant hell of wanting to please him and have him be happy and satisfied, yet being unable to control her flinch-back and panic reflexes which would arise automatically and in spite of her husband having "been so patient for all these years".

Not much headway was being made with this lady although she seemed responsive to EFT in other ways; the therapist was wondering where she might be missing something, where she was going wrong.

As I looked over the kind of opening statements they had been using it became clear right away that both this lady and the therapist were backing away from "calling a spade a spade" - and this is the next hurdle when we start using EFT for sex problems, fears, inadequacies, past trauma and bad experiences.

Whether we are working in self help by ourselves, or with other people, it matters not - once we get down to specific incidents or current events, oblique and roundabout descriptions of feelings, parts, acts and happenings can not get to the true core of the problems.

For many people, the whole topic of sex is so shocking, "dirty", unpleasant and generally contorted that there may be a lot of merit to just tap rounds of EFT on "those words" themselves and until they can be thought about and talked about in a rational manner and without the energy system going into instant reversal and even more shame and embarrassment ensuing.

Sex is an area which might really have the very highest and least talked about emotions present, whether they may be in the forms of memories of trauma and abuse, or simply every day experiences of fear and failure.

In intimate relationships, there are a huge array of very specific triggers of physical sensations, of body postures which are never assumed at any other time, of thoughts and emotions, of sights and scents - in short, there are unusually many aspects to sexual sensation or performance problems.

For really thorough and long lasting healing interventions with EFT that will hold up fully "in the field" we likewise need to be thorough with ourselves or with our clients and make sure that we get all the relevant aspects and treat them until the person feels a true sense of release.

This also very strongly pertains to being able to directly deal with causative memories later on; to be able to describe truthfully and without feeling ashamed what really happened, and to use EFT to finally break the hold of the past, once and for all.

This might also mean that counsellors, coaches and therapists might need to treat themselves for feelings of shame or embarrassment so that they may be able to provide their clients with the stabilising influence and confident guidance they need.

Starting From The Outside In

Especially sexual abuse survivors have symptoms that are clearly a direct result of what happened to them a long time ago but which are not necessarily directly related to having sex at all.

Many for example find it nearly impossible (or indeed, entirely impossible) to present themselves for intimate physical exams with a doctor or gynecologist.

They may also experience problems about taking even top layers of clothes off in public (such as at the beach or in communal changing rooms) or other types of symptoms, from being unable to sleep with the window open even a little way or having to sit close to fire exits in restaurants - there are a multitude of symptoms.

Starting on these rather than on the memories or feelings from the causative events directly is often a very good "way into" these frightening mindscapes.

I would make the comment that anyone who either knows or suspects that their sexual problems have been caused by abuse or trauma might consider seeking the aid of a qualified meridian energy therapist they feel really comfortable and safe with. Self help is a wonderful thing but indeed, some things are really better faced with a knowledgeable guide by ones side.

Should this apply to you, there is also the option of pre-treating fear or any reason to NOT go ahead and find resolution for these problems in self help first and use the EFT self treatments to get yourself to a place where you can ring up and make an appointment.

Treating Other Sexual Problems With EFT

This is of course a vast topic. This article is only designed to give you some ideas of what we can do with EFT, and that you can expect to see a real improvement in many areas of your sex life if you decide to use EFT in that centrally important context.

Performance & Relaxation

Whether it is male "performance" or female abilities to feel what the body can feel and flow with the sexual experience as we were designed to by God and the Universe, energy reversals and blockages are always something we can remove, treat and thus, get a great deal more out of our sex life.

We have already briefly touched on trauma and memories that can cause such reversals and energy blockages; here, I am particularly thinking about emotional responses which are indicators of other types of blockages such as:

Fear. Performance anxiety, thinking that you are not good enough, that there is something wrong with you, that you are "no good at sex" or that you don't deserve to have orgasms, that God thinks sex is bad or that you shouldn't be having it at all - these and a million more fears are the first and prime candidates to destroy the flow of energies through the systems and make our bodies cease up, cramp up in fear and panic and stop us from flowing with the sexual experience in an open and natural fashion.

All of these fears, if they are allowed to be expressed and treated with EFT, can and will recede and this really makes a big difference to your sexual experience.

Shame. Shame, guilt, disgust, distaste, embarrassment - these are really of one category and they are very difficult and painful emotions indeed that are guaranteed to keep an individual in sexual hell for their entire adult lives.

Interestingly, these forms of emotions which are very visceral with aspects of real physiological responses such as gagging responses, feelings of nausea and sickness, breathlessness etc, respond beautifully to the application of EFT and these are excellent self help candidates. In the privacy of your own home and your own mind and body, you can begin to treat such responses with the aid of your own body, or perhaps photographic or artistic representations of what is causing the problem.

I would make the side note that fetishes and strong (but unwanted) desires for certain situations, people or objects can be treated successfully with EFT, even if they have proven entirely untreatable with any other known method or approach; treating issues of shame and guilt about fetishes is also a very, very healing and reconciling thing to do and regardless whether an abatement in desire for the fetish is required or not.

Anger. Anger and feelings of rage at self or at others clearly preclude loving sexual flow in relationships - even with the self. Many people don't even know that they are angry at themselves or at their current partners; usually this is anger by proxy because it wasn't either the self or the current partner who ever did anything wrong to deserve this.

Anger choked down causes big vortices and blockages in the energy system; worse, it causes sexual expression to become of a different flavour than it would otherwise have been. It also precludes honesty and intimacy in sexual relationships with self and others, so to treat anger and rage issues is always a good idea.

Here, I would like to clearly state that to have anger issues in any context, sexual or otherwise, is not a character flaw or some genetic defect but simply always and only a response to painful things that have happened to us in the past -"It hurts and that makes me angry" in a very simple cause-and-effect.

EFT is particularly good at healing these old wounds and injuries once and for all, and when that happens, anger simply ceases to exist. It doesn't require a great deal of "forgiveness work" or any hardship other than to just simply repair the injuries in the energy system in the usual way, namely by firstly becoming aware of any issues of anger, giving them expression and doing the EFT treatment as usual with your own words, for example:

Every single anger, rage or hate you can release from yourself with EFT will be a burden released and help you think, feel and flow more freely.

Thoughts Of Shame and Morality

A great area of stopping people from even trying to treat themselves so that they may release their energy blockages and reversals is in "thoughts of shame and morality" - things they were taught or things they believe.

For example, there are many people who think that if they liked sex any better than they did or didn't find it disgusting anymore, that would mean that they would turn into lust driven animals and run around in the streets, doing it with everyone and everything all the time.

This is absolutely not so and nothing but an old wife's scare story.

Someone with sexual instincts which have returned to a state of natural flow will of course seek out sexual partners; but they will not be indiscriminate or stupid about it and much less develop into rapists or paedophiles. Quite in the contrary - those sorts of behaviours indicate a problem rather than ever representing any form of solution.

"Thoughts of shame and morality", as installed by fundamentalist religions for example, cause the most tremendous problems.

The drive to sexual expression is one of the most powerful forces we have in our adult lives and the fact is that if this expression (with a partner or by yourself) becomes mis-routed or perverted, of course we will have the corresponding powerful disturbances and "perversions", if you will.

Releasing blockages, untangling contortions and generally speaking, allowing the mind-body systems relating to being a sexual being to return to a state of health and flow cannot do anything else than to help make life easier, less stressful and more as it was always designed to be.

Magical Sexual Energy Flow

Discussing truthful opening statements and working together with EFT in a partnership to help both partners achieve deeper, more profound and more exhilarating experiences is a truly magical thing.

There are many variations on "Partner EFT" - just sitting opposite one another and touching the points on each other, mirror fashion, either in silence or whilst both say an affirmation or statement of love or intent to change something for one or both of the partners is absolutely fascinating and more intense than most practised Tantra specialists achieve after years of dour practise.

Allowing each other to help each other remove the last blockages and reservations, fears or contortions to experiencing true intimacy with each other is one of the most extraordinary things you could possibly do in a relationship, no matter how you achieve this; gentle touching rather than tapping can keep this process loving and entirely flowing and non-mechanical.

Including the EFT points in a massage can be used easily and without having to say too much; kissing them is a more advanced version which I particularly enjoy, especially when it comes with an opening statement of, "I love you and I desire you deeply and completely."

If you do not have a partner, doing EFT for your own hopes and dreams, fears and limitations in an intimate setting with yourself is a breakthrough experience of learning to love yourself in every way if you will allow yourself to have it.

Celibacy & Spiritual Energy Flow

There are many people who for one reason or the other wish to use sexual energy not for sexual expression in partnership but for other purposes, such as raising energy for healing or spiritual development.

I would point out that we still are in a place where these sexual energies themselves must flow freely first before they can be transmuted into something else. If these energies are blocked or disturbed, they cannot function in the spiritual flow either - no matter what, and no matter how, sexual energies need to flow freely, lightly and cleanly, without contortions and blockages.

In Conclusion

I estimate that having ones sexual systems in order might well account for at least 30% of any one adults effectivity and happiness in this life. This doesn't mean they have to have sex at all; and it doesn't mean they have to have a partner.

What we do need however is to address our injuries and disturbances in these systems urgently and as one of the first and most important areas of enquiry when there is something wrong with our lives. It simply is structurally of the essence for a long and healthy life, and at least as important as are diet or exercise to which so very much attention and thought is being given.

EFT gives us a tool at last with which to do this, without fear, shame or guilt; in the privacy of our own homes if need be, and in so doing, allows us to free up unprecedented energies for health, for activity, for success - for life.

 

 

Date Rape and Trusting

 

by Nancy Morris

 

When clients contact me looking for help with a particular relationship or sexual issue, they usually say that they have tried EFT for this problem on their own and have noticed no change.  They say something like this:  "I'm having problems with trusting my partner.  I've tapped using the phrase 'Even though I have problems trusting, I deeply and completely accept myself' and haven't noticed any change.  I don't know what else to do, can you help me?"  The purpose of this article is to show how things that have happened in the past contribute to how we react today.  Usually you have to get underneath the symptoms to get results.

When Joan initially contacted me it was to improve her sex life with her boyfriend of 3 years.  She found it impossible to "let go" and trust.  In this write-up I'll address just one of many specific events we've worked through; Joan had many, many traumatic events starting very early in life.  One of them was an attempted date rape when she was 21 years old.

Before she told me the details of this situation, I asked her how intense it felt to her just knowing that we were going to approach this event.  She said it was about a 7 on a scale of 0-10.  I assured Joan that she was at choice and we could stop at any time, even right now before we started.  (NOTE:  I always find that I'm more courageous if I feel like I have an "out" if I want to take it.  So I always offer that "out" to my clients.)  Joan said she wanted to proceed.  So just to take the edge off, we did some tapping on the physical symptoms she was feeling that let her know it was a 7 intensity until that intensity came down to a 3 level.  She felt calmer now.

 

Then we proceeded using the ‘Tell the Story Technique’.  I asked Joan to just start at the very beginning, before anything bad happened and to stop when her intensity went up even a little.  She began:  there was this guy, we'll call him Jim, who was a friend, a fellow college student who was in med school and everyone liked him a lot.  He was confident and a great dancer and Joan and Jim entered a dance contest together, which they won!  He asked her back to his apartment to celebrate and she went.  Then he came onto her.  At this point I stopped her to ask her intensity and it was a 10.  I asked Joan what emotions she was feeling and she said "shame and embarrassment".  So we tapped on "this shame" and "this embarrassment"  (NOTE:  these two feelings are so interchangeable to most people that it works well to tap on them together.  Usually you would want to tap on only one emotion at a time.)  Her intensity came down to a 6 after this round of tapping.  I asked her what she was thinking and she said, "Why'd I go over there?" and her intensity went up to an 8.

 

So we tapped on:  “Even though I chose to go to his apartment, I deeply and completely accept myself.  Even though we were celebrating and I went to his apartment after midnight, I was young and a little naive, and I love and accept my young self.  Even though I went to his apartment, I love and forgive myself.” Then we tapped around the standard EFT points using phrases like these:

“He was a med student; Jim was well liked; I enjoyed dancing with him; it was so much fun; we'd won the contest; I was happy and excited; I wanted the fun to continue; everyone liked him; it was after midnight; I was young and naïve; I love and forgive myself; he took advantage of the situation; he had no right to do that; I liked how popular he was; I felt great dancing with him; I love and accept my young self.” By the end of this round Joan's intensity was down to a 2 so I had her continue with the details of the event.

Joan said she may have been open to a relationship with Jim if he had acted differently.  But he threw her down and started pulling her top off and her skirt up.  She knew right away that, "I could've been anybody; he didn't have a crush on me."  So she told him to "stop it, stop it".  At this point Joan's intensity went back up to an 8 and she felt queasy in her stomach.  We stopped and tapped on this part of the event until she felt more comfortable and then proceeded further into the event.

She was saying "stop it" as Jim was trying to put his penis in her mouth and get his fingers inside her.  She continued to say, "No, stop it" and then she slugged him and ran out of the apartment.  Joan's intensity was way up again.  So we tapped:  “Even though he was a pig and tried to push my head onto his penis, I deeply and completely accept myself.  Even though he kept trying to push himself on me, I told him to stop it, and I love and accept myself for knowing what I wanted. Even though he really forced himself on me, I put up a great fight and protected myself and I'm proud of the young woman I was.” Then we tapped on the EFT points using these phrases:  “He was really forceful; he was so popular with everyone; I knew I'd lose my dancing partner; that was a big loss for me; I still said "No, stop it"; I'm really proud of myself; he was going to be a doctor; I liked his confidence; I knew he didn't have a crush on me; I told him "No, stop it", I love and forgive myself for going there; I'd hoped he might really like me; I could tell that I could've been anyone; I love and appreciate myself for knowing the difference; he really used me; he just thought of me as a local townie; but I showed him; I protected myself; I slugged him and got out of there; I love and accept my young self and how I took care of me.”

 

At this point I asked Joan to run the entire story through in her head (Movie Technique) and report what her intensity was.  She did this and reported that it was a 0.  Wanting to make sure that this event was completely cleared up because it affected her trust in herself and her own judgment as well as her trust in men (who were they underneath the nice guy that everyone liked?), I then asked her to Tell the Story again from the beginning.  Each time a client does this more and more details emerge and when we tap, all these fragments are cleared from the nervous system.

 

As Joan told the story from beginning to end her intensity went up to a 4 specifically focused on Jim pulling at her clothes, trying to push her face onto his penis, and biting her in the process.  She called him a creep.  We tapped on all these aspects of the story focusing on: what she had to lose by pushing him away (her status in the group as his dance partner, their friendship, lots of good times); the fact that she could tell that he did not really care for her; to him she was just a female body and she trusted her feelings and was brave enough to fight him off, slug him, and get herself out of the creep's apartment.  When we were done with this Joan was at a zero.  (NOTE:  During this part of the session we used the 9 Gamut routine.  When the intensity is low and a traumatic event has been nearly cleared I believe it's important to cement the experience of going through the event and having low/no reaction to the memory by doing the brain balancing of the 9 Gamut procedure.)

 

By the end of the session Joan said she could feel herself reclaiming and acknowledging her courageous self.  She no longer felt like a victim, realized that she did trust her feelings about Jim not caring about her, and that when she was sure what she wanted to do she was able to protect herself and get out of there.

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Often our ability to trust others is connected to our ability to trust ourselves, trust our instincts, and trust our own ability to make mistakes and learn from them.  My philosophy is that as human beings we are mistake-making machines (I mean this in the lightest possible sense) and that every day we make mistakes and can love and accept ourselves with those mistakes. We'd better; we're going to make more if we're living right!

 

 

 

EFT for Sexual Anxiety and Mistrust

Trust is an important part of a healthy sexual relationship based on honesty and willingness to be open. Lack of trust and open communication between partners can create problems with sexual compatibility. Here is is a combination of statements by EFT Practitioner, Nancy Morris' client, "Jill" about her mistrust of her husband--then Nancy's responses to Jill as an EFT practitioner.

By Nancy Morris, EFT INT-1

 

This is a combination of writings by my client, who we'll call "Jill," and comments by me about how we approached resolving her problem using EFT.

 

JILL:

"Before I contacted Nancy Morris, I was a complete emotional wreck. I was having panic attacks on a near daily basis that were unfounded. These panic attacks and crying sessions started putting strain on my marriage and on my own health. I knew I was WAY over my head and that I needed to get some help...FAST.

After almost 6 years of marriage I began having anxiety that my husband was masturbating rather than wanting to make love to me.  I knew consciously this was completely silly, yet my mind could not get over this concern. I started searching for "clues" that he had masturbated and it turned my life upside-down. Anytime he would use the bathroom, I would start panicking. Finally I had to tell him what was going on and it was not only embarrassing, but one of the hardest problems I have had to deal with emotionally.

 

I must admit that I was skeptical that EFT could help me "get over" these intense feelings I had about my husband masturbating. However, I had done EFT in the past for a sexual trauma in my teenage years with noticeable improvement, so I wanted to try EFT with my new problem as well. After all what did I have to lose?

 

ME:

During our First Session, Jill was very nervous and we used EFT to calm her. We then worked on specific events that she remembered from her childhood and a family that was strict and religious.

One event especially held a lot of intensity for Jill: She confided that as a teenager she had been forced to have sex by an older relative.

There were many aspects to address from this event.

She felt betrayed because he'd been her friend, he was a relative which made it "not normal", and it involved being forced to give oral sex. In addition, as is very common, she realized that she loved the attention he gave her and how special he'd made her feel prior to this violation; she wanted to feel loved and he took advantage.

 

JILL:

"Talking to Nancy the first time I was so nervous, but she has a way of calming you and making you smile and laugh. I knew right away she was a good match for me. We connected very well on the phone, which admittedly I have trouble with sometimes."

 

ME:

At our Second Session, we addressed Jill's feeling of not deserving love and pleasure because of what had happened to her as a teen. Because of physical problems, Jill had been uninterested in sex for quite a while and felt guilty about that.

She had given her husband the OK to satisfy himself but now she realized she was obsessed with whether he was doing it, when, where, how often, etc. She also admitted that she was afraid she was not enough for her husband and felt guilty for not completely satisfying him.

 

In our Third Session, we worked on clearing her intense reaction when she thought her husband might be masturbating in the shower. I gave Jill EFT tapping homework after each appointment and this time I added a suggestion that she spend 15 minutes by herself behind closed doors doing something sensual.

A bath, putting on lotion, etc.

 

JILL:

"After the first few sessions with Nancy, I realized that these feelings actually had nothing to do with my husband and were in fact my insecurities about myself.

 

We uncovered that after all of those years of marriage, I had neglected to give myself time for ME. I was handing out a lot to my husband, but never took the time to see what I needed. Whether it be a relaxing bath, a trip to the mall or some alone time with my own body."

 

ME:  

At Session Four Jill said it had been "surprisingly more difficult" than she'd thought to take that 15 minutes for herself but she wanted to slow down and become more aware of herself.

 

Aspects of this we worked on were: feeling selfish, difficulty just closing the door and separating herself from her husband, her impatience with herself, feeling sneaky and dishonest keeping anything from her husband.

Jill realized she had a belief that "your spouse should meet all your needs" which put a lot of pressure on Jill as well as on her husband.

 

Her EFT homework was to tap on:

“Even though I'm hard on myself, I'd like to be kind and compassionate.”

 

During Sessions Five and Six we covered the following--

Specific events from her past that made her feel she had to be perfect.  Body image issues. ;How to develop some independence from her husband and make friends and create interests of her own. Accepting her emotions/her feeling self.

Accepting the mistakes she's made; accepting that, like all of us, she'll make more mistakes in the future and that's OK! Forgiving herself for having a low libido when she wasn't feeling well. Forgiving herself for an eating disorder that may have caused health problems.  

 

I continued to assign EFT tapping homework as well as practical exercises such as doing a visual inventory of her body and noticing what comes up; doing a tactile inventory of her body and noticing how she felt touching different parts of herself.

Jill did her homework and was great about reporting back her responses and resistance which was an excellent guide for us to know what to work on next.

 

JILL:

"After 6 sessions, I am no longer having panic attacks when my husband wants to use the bathroom. I am now paying more attention to my own needs and making sure I take time out for myself away from my husband. I have even asked my husband to just leave the house for an hour so I can have some time to myself to relax and think.

This is especially important since we both work out of the house and we see each other all the time.

 

There were many, many other aspects to these problems that I never would have even thought about if it weren't for Nancy guiding me along the way. EFT is a great tool on your own, but I think sometimes you need an expert to guide you through what to tap on. I would highly recommend Nancy Morris if you are having any trouble.  She was very intuitive and often times I'd have to stop her mid-tap and say, 'How did you know that's what I was thinking?'  She's absolutely amazing and can't say enough about the sessions I spent with her. In the future I won't hesitate to call her if anything new comes up.

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Treating Sexual Assault with Energy Psychology

By Dr. Katrina Anderson

Often clients come to me after they have tried traditional psychotherapy or feel as if nothing else has worked. My clients typically have a tremendous amount of intellectual insight into their symptoms but can’t seem to “feel better.” This was the case when “Sarah,” found me.  She was a 28-year-old female who reported surviving a variety of sexual assaults throughout her life, including childhood sexual abuse as well as subsequent rapes in her adult life. Throughout her lifespan, she experienced a variety of symptoms related to her abuse. For example, in her adolescence, “Sarah” suffered from anorexia and self- harming behaviors.  By the time she found me, she reported having daily panic attacks, inability to focus, difficult time making decisions, and general dysregulation of mood. She felt she had tried everything, and was starting to feel like nothing would ever change. Feelings of hopelessness are very common with complex PTSD.

 “Sarah” experienced so much anxiety that it was often difficult for her to decide or know what she wanted to do. So we first utilized muscle testing (a method for getting feedback from our bodies by “testing” muscle strength)  to determine which sequence of acupoints would be right for her. We found a specific combination for anxiety. “Sarah,” and I spent a few weeks tapping this sequence of points to release her anxiety.  (There is a direct connection between our emotions and acupressure points on our bodies.  Dr. Roger Callahan, an innovative psychologist, developed a system of treatment called Thought Field Therapy, aka TFT, a powerful method for rapidly relieving emotional distress by tapping specific sequences of acupoints.  As there are 12 possible acupoints, TFT uses muscle testing to determine which points, in which sequence, will work best for each individual).

After a few weeks, “Sarah” reported feeling an overall decrease in anxiety symptoms as well as panic attacks. Along with this, she also felt she gained a tool that she could utilize on her own to cope with her anxiety. She also found that muscle testing helped her build a relationship with her mind-body system that her trauma had previously caused her to dissociate from. She could now more consciously determine what she wanted to work on next. “Sarah” decided she wanted to use TFT to target her trauma more specifically. Again we utilized muscle testing to determine which TFT sequence to use, and we began to target specific scenes and feelings with the tapping.

After about six months, “Sarah” reported that she had released the emotional “charge” around ten different memories. Her overall anxiety had decreased a tremendous amount, and she has not had a panic attack in over three months. She felt her confidence increased, and she was able to focus at work in a way she had never experienced before. “Sarah” also reported that her sleep has improved, and intrusive thoughts have drastically decreased.

Overall, “Sarah” has reported feeling much better. She stated her symptoms decreased, and she was able to create a new relationship with her mind-body system. “Sarah,” said she felt very empowered to gain tools that worked for her and were easy to practice at home. Although she is continuing to work through issues, she is now able to work through the “old stuff” while functioning better and living a happy, healthy life in the present.

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