Emotional Freedom Techniques for Mental Health – Part 3

EFT Tapping was developed as a tool to self empower people to feel better about
thoughts, feelings, beliefs and events that have been troublesome and sticky, keeping them stuck. It was designed for you to be able to get relief on your own. However, for persistent problems that seem to resist shifting, you may get deeper relief by working with our EFT Consultant, tapping expert and author Chris Wheeler.

Meet Chris

For more than two decades, I’ve dedicated myself to supporting folks like you to unlock and clear mental, emotional, and physical blocks that diminish your health, vitality and wellbeing. Using energy psychology tools like Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) or Tapping, we’ll gently navigate the events, thoughts, feelings and beliefs that have kept you feeling stuck on your journey to wellness. And create new levels of focus for your body, mind and spirit so that you can be in a place of thriving.

My goal is to help you achieve a new sense of peace while ensuring you have this healing tool, literally, at your fingertips that you’ll be able to use for the rest of your life.

Feelings about our health and wellness

So many of us have health challenges that we can’t seem to find relief from. I know that Dr. Dean is a specialist in helping people who’ve not found help, caring and support in the mainstream medical world.

Let’s explore some of the feelings you might be having about the care you’ve received regarding any health challenges you’ve been experiencing. Of course, this contributes to your worry and anxiety but we can get you some relief with tapping. I’m putting together some setup statements for you here, based on feedback you’ve given Dr. Dean over the years. You can tap on all of these. Pick one and do a complete round, mix and match or create your own based on your unique experiences.

One of the first things we hear from folks with chronic illnesses is that their regular doctors don’t understand, they don’t seem to care and they’re certainly not being helpful. Many people have been to many doctors and specialists and tried many different alternatives. In fact, they often say they’ve tried everything. The fear that nobody knows what’s wrong with them; that doctors don’t believe them; or that what they have is incurable, paralyzes people and keeps them feeling stuck and hopeless. Let’s ease those feelings with some tapping:

When you think about the treatment you’ve received from doctors, please notice, on a scale of 0 to 10 how upsetting that is in this moment with 10 being the most upsetting. Please write this number down. We’re not changing the facts of what’s happened but hopefully, with some tapping you can feel a bit more peaceful and less stressed about it.

Repeat setup statements while tapping the side of hand point:

Even though my regular doctors don’t listen to me, I love and accept myself.
Even though my doctors don’t seem to understand what’s happening with me, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though my doctors don’t care, I love and accept myself.

Reminder phrases while tapping the next series of points:

Eyebrow: My doctors don’t care
Side of Eye: They don’t know what’s wrong with me
Under Eye: They don’t understand me
Under Nose: They don’t take me seriously
Chin: Nobody cares
Collarbone: They don’t listen to me
Under Arm: They don’t seem to care
Top of Head: I’m not getting any help from doctors

Check the number you’d give the intensity of your upset right now and hopefully you feel a little more peaceful. But please keep tapping. This problem has been bothering you for a long time so give yourself the gift of being persistent with your tapping.

Along with the feelings that doctors aren’t helping, many folks are left with the feeling that nothing helps the condition they’re dealing with. On a scale of 0 to 10 please write down how upsetting this idea feels for you right now when you think about nothing helping.

Repeat setup statements while tapping the side of hand point:

Even though I’ve tried everything and nothing helps, I love and accept myself.
Even though I keep trying everything to feel better, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though I’m so tired of trying to feel better, I love and accept myself.

Reminder phrases while tapping the next points in the series:

Eyebrow: I’ve tried everything
Side of Eye: Nothing works
Under Eye: I keep trying to feel better
Under Nose: Nothing seems to help
Chin: No matter how hard I try
Collarbone: Nothing helps
Under Arm: I’m so tired of this cycle
Top of Head: I don’t know what else to do

Please take a few moments and check the intensity you’re feeling about this on a scale of 0 to 10 and keep tapping.

Having tried everything and feeling like the you’re getting no help medically, many people can begin feeling helpless. And even if you’ve found some resources, information and supplements with Dr. Dean, helplessness might feel like it’s become a habit. This is something we can definitely tap on. Please check in with the phrase “I feel helpless” and on a scale of 0 to 10 check how upsetting this feels for you right now. Please write down this number.

Repeat setup statements while tapping the side of hand point:

Even though I feel helpless, I love and accept myself.
Even though when it comes to my health, I feel helpless, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though I feel helpless, I’m ok right now.

Reminder phrases while tapping the next points:

Eyebrow: I’m feeling helpless
Side of Eye: I don’t know what else to do
Under Eye: I feel helpless
Under Nose: It’s stressful feeling helpless
Chin: I’m feeling so helpless
Collarbone: And nobody is helping me
Under Arm: I’m feeling helpless
Top of Head: I’m helpless

This tapping isn’t meant to be a quick fix of your helpless feelings, but maybe by tapping through these phrases a few times, you’ll be able to interrupt the thought patterns that have you feeling helpless. There’s no judgment about feeling helpless; it’s an unfortunate but normal feeling to have when you’ve been dealing with chronic illness. Give yourself some grace and keep tapping.

Many people who’ve found Dr. Dean’s resources expressed that they’d been feeling hopeless about ever getting relief from their illness. Despite getting some new medical information and supplements to support your health in a new way, feelings of hopelessness can get stuck in our energy systems. Let’s do some tapping. Check the phrase, “I feel hopeless” and determine on a scale of 0 to 10 how upsetting this feels to you right now. Write that number down.

Repeat setup statements while tapping the side of hand point:

Even though I’ve been feeling hopeless, I love and accept myself.
Even though I feel hopeless right now, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though I’m feeling hopeless, I’m ok.

Reminder phrases while tapping the following points:

Eyebrow: I feel hopeless
Side of Eye: This hopeless feeling
Under Eye: I’m feeling hopeless
Under Nose: This hopelessness
Chin: Hopeless
Collarbone: I feel hopeless
Under Arm: I’m feeling hopeless
Top of Head: This hopeless feeling

Please keep tapping this simple phrasing as you help neutralize the hopeless feelings that have been stuck in your energy system.

At this point, it’s important to mention that you’re doing simple tapping on these thoughts and feelings, and you may have to be persistent to make considerable shifts in how you’re feeling. Often, complex feelings like helplessness and hopelessness require more care and attention than you can provide for yourself. So, if such feelings persist, please seek support with a qualified EFT tapping professional or mental health professional. These exercises are not meant to be a replacement for more personalized care.

Worry and anxiety go hand in hand

As I mentioned, I see worries as thoughts you keep thinking, and I think that anxiety is how your worries manifest in the body. This is just how I see anxiety and worry when I’m working with clients.

I feel anxious when I worry about __X__

Create a setup statement right away and start tapping the side of hand point:

Even though I feel anxious when I worry about __X__ I love and accept myself.
Even though I feel anxious when I worry about __X__ I love and accept myself.
Even though I feel anxious when I worry about __X__ I love and accept myself.

Reminder phrase while tapping the rest of the tapping points:

Eyebrow: I feel anxious when I worry about __X__
Side of Eye: I feel anxious when I worry about __X__
Under Eye: I feel anxious when I worry about __X__
Under Nose: I feel anxious when I worry about __X__
Chin: I feel anxious when I worry about __X__
Collarbone: I feel anxious when I worry about __X__
Under Arm: I feel anxious when I worry about __X__
Top of Head: I feel anxious when I worry about __X__

You get the idea, and of course you can swap out “X” for anything you’re worrying about. Check the list you made earlier. I’m pretty sure you’ll see the connection between the things you worry about and the anxiety you feel.

More about anxiety

Of course, anxiety is connected to your thoughts and feelings, but what do you feel in your body when you’re worried about something? Many people know they’re anxious because they feel it in their body. Is it in your stomach, gut, throat, or your neck? It could be anywhere but I’m going to give you setup statements for the places in the body people have typically told me they feel their anxiety.

Repeat setup statements while tapping the side of hand point:

Even though I feel anxious in the pit of my stomach, I love and accept myself.
Even though my throat feels tight from anxiety, I love and accept myself.
Even though my gut is expressing my anxiety, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though my anxiety is showing up in my neck, I love and accept myself.

You can tap on any or all of these suggestions, and definitely change up the words to reflect your personal experience.

Reminder phrases while tapping the next points in the series:

Eyebrow: This anxiety in my guts
Side of Eye: I feel anxious in my guts
Under Eye: This anxiety shows up in my neck
Under Nose: Anxiety is a pain in my neck
Chin: This tight throat anxiety feeling
Collarbone: My stomach is full of anxiety
Under Arm: This anxiety in my body
Top of Head: This anxiety in my guts

Anxiety is complex, and this is a simple, basic tapping exercise. So please take care of yourself while you’re doing this tapping and of course, if appropriate, seek out a caring EFT tapping practitioner to take you into deeper levels of healing and clearing your anxiety.

What was happening in your life when you got sick?

Although it’s the final thing I’ll share with you in this chapter about tapping for your mental health, it’s one of the first questions I ask clients who’ve been dealing with chronic illness. What kind of stress was happening in your life in the months before your condition began or became noticeable?

Take a moment and take a couple deep breaths and think about what was happening in your life, or around you, before you got sick. Don’t judge the event, and whether or not you think it was “bad enough” to contribute to your illness. Just notice what comes to mind when you focus your attention on this idea.

While the top stressors in life tend to be death, divorce, job loss, moving or illness, these aren’t the only things that can create stress in your mind and body.

Perhaps there was a shock that you experienced, like a betrayal, an unkind comment, any kind of upset that was hard to let go of. I don’t want you to stress about finding a stressful event, so I’ll offer some examples and tapping phrases. I suggest tapping on all of them, even if they don’t seem to apply. That might loosen things up so you can find your own stressful event.

Repeat setup statements while tapping the side of hand point:

Even though it was stressful during my divorce, I love and accept myself.
Even though my parent’s death was stressful, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though I never really got over losing my job, I love and accept myself.
Even though I’ve not been myself since moving out of my house, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though my father abandoned me when I was a child, and I never really got over that but I love and accept myself.
Even though I was shocked when I found out they were cheating on me, I deeply and completely accept myself.

You can see the scope of the kinds of stressful events in our lives. Another approach is to write down everything that’s been stressful, unresolved, shocking or upsetting. Create setup statements and reminder phrases, check your number on a scale of 0 to 10 and start tapping.

Here’s reminder phrases to mix and match, or stick to just one at a time while tapping the rest of the tapping points:

Reminder phrases while tapping the following points:

Eyebrow: My divorce was very stressful
Side of Eye: My parent’s death was so stressful
Under Eye: Dealing with my partner’s illness was too much
Under Nose: Losing my job broke me
Chin: Finding out they were cheating was shocking
Collarbone: Being abandoned as a child changed my life
Under Arm: Losing my home was so stressful
Top of Head: All this stress in my life

Remember that you can choose one of the setup statements, and say it three times while tapping the side of your hand, then repeat the corresponding reminder phrase while tapping the points, or you can say all of them. Don’t worry too much about finding the perfect words, just tap on these words to get things moving in the right direction. With more practice, it will become easier to find your own words.

It’s also possible that the stressful event that’s affected you is a traumatic event. Of course you can continue tapping on that event, but trauma is even more complex than stress. My suggestion is to find an excellent EFT/tapping practitioner or a mental health professional who can provide you appropriate support.

Note: Tapping sessions can be done over the phone or on Zoom.

So please keep tapping, be persistent, and know that the possibility of feeling better is literally at your fingertips.

Carolyn Dean MD ND
The Doctor of the Future