Tapping away the pain or discomfort

For those who have a great deal of trauma in their lives, it is sometimes very effective to approach treatment through the tapping away of physical discomfort and pain, rather than tackling emotional stuff head-on.   I have used this very successfully in group settings, especially where men were involved. As a general rule, men are usually more comfortable addressing concrete, physical pain rather than ‘feelings’ or ’emotional pain’.

Take a deep breath and scan yourself from head to toe, and take note of how you physically feel in your head, neck, shoulders, upper back, lower back, chest and stomach, buttocks,legs, etc.

Choose one area of bodily discomfort, give it a number from 1-10, and use this format:

Even though I have this _________ (stiff, tense, uncomfortable) feeling or pain in my__________ (upper back, etc,) I accept myself.

Repeat 3 times while tapping the karate chop point.  Then tap through all the other points once or twice.

Note if you feel differently. What is the number now?  If no change after two rounds of tapping, don’t worry. Sometimes it takes a few minutes to work.

Go on to the next problem area and repeat the process.

For more information on the tapping points, check out the link for EFT in a nutshell.