Tapping

[Bookoffee]

I started a partial hospitalization program on Friday. My fear has become disabling. I am disoriented and confused most of the time. I am feeling a lot of different emotions at once and I am not sure how to handle them.


I jump from being somewhat normal to crying out for attention from people. I want my father’s family to reach out to me and ask me if I am ok and if they can help me. I want my co-workers to like me and not be frustrated with me all the time. I want to be coddled. I don’t know how to handle my life and emotions.


The first day I was there I was shown how to do tapping, aka EFT. I didn’t understand it at first and thought it was just another annoying useless coping skill. When I got home I told my wife about it. We decided to do research on it and understand it better.


By the video I watched in group, you tap yourself in certain places while saying “this feeling”. I found no relief from it at all. I thought it was ridiculous. The more I read about it, I realized that you are not to say “this feeling” but are to say what feeling you are experiencing.


I tried it last night on the sexual assaults I have been through since that is my main trigger that put me into this program. You start out by saying:



“Even though I have this _____________,

I deeply and completely accept myself."


Then as you move on to the tapping around your hands and face, you say the emotion you are feeling. You continue doing this until your emotion is at a safe level.


I started my tapping last night starting out with “Even though I have been sexually assaulted, I deeply and completely accept myself” As I did the tapping I would call out my fear. When the tapping stopped, I had to reassess my emotions, I realized that my throat was closed up and my neck was tightening.


As I started the next round, I work around the feeling of my throat closing up, and so on. If you are interested in learning more about it, here are some links.


A link about EFT: Dead Link Removed


YouTube video walking you through the process:

 

[RussH]

It sounds like a variation of emdr, or a do it yourself emdr.Instead of having the alternating sound in your ear, and the alternating buzzing in your hand you use the tapping as a method of getting your brain to reorganize and reslolve the trauma.

However this is only a guess, so take it for what it is worth.

 

[Bookoffee]

That is exactly what I thought. This type I can handle.

 

[Seasounds]

Thank you for your post; I will play with this technique again. I have had only mild success with it, before. On the contrary, I was made significantly worse by EMDR).

I am certainly a person who believes in acupuncture, and related meridian points, that this technique uses.

I agree with RussH, that, from the theories that I've read and mild success I've had with EFT, it does help reorganized and integrate the traumas.

 

[joeylittle]

If it's not strange for me to say, I'm really proud of you for going into a PHP. I know it's been rough for you lately, and seriously - good job on getting the more intensive help that you need right now. It takes guts.

I do EFT for my trauma exclusively. But my therapist takes me through the process. I use it on my own sometimes, not for past events, but if I'm having trouble with a present emotion and am getting overwhelmed. It's never as effective for me on my own.

Part of what is important about the technique that I'm not sure they told you, @Bookoffee, is that you need to be:
1) as specific as possible naming the aspect of your trauma you are working on
2) as specific as possible about the event
3) you should be giving it a SUDS rating, and re-assess based on that.

So, example: not about anything PTSD-related. If you're nervous about an upcoming sports game, and you say "even though I have this game coming up and it makes me feel nervous at an 8" - that's too general. "Even though I have a soccer game on Friday and it makes me feel jittery in my chest at an 8" is what it needs to be.

What bugs me about the kind of do-it-yourself approach to EFT is just that the way it's taught to people who are certified in it and the way it's taught as a self-help tool are kind of different. The self help tool is simpler. And for big-T Trauma, you need to be more precise with it. So if you wanted to tap on a sexual assault, say, ideally you'd be breaking it up into targets (just like EMDR) and addressing those. The technique is not as aggressive as EMDR, so it takes longer; but if you can't do EMDR because of the way the methodology affects you, EFT is gentler.

Anyway, off my soapbox now :). Frankly, even just tapping on the meridian points seems to have a soothing effect, I'm not certain if it's the points themselves or the kind of regular rhythm set up by tapping on them. Same with EFT; I'm not sure if it wouldn't work without the tapping just on the basis of repeating out loud many times one specific instance within the larger trauma. It's like exposure therapy in incredibly small increments.

 

[JEKBreatheandBelieve]

I am so glad that you started the partial hospitalization program- congratulations for seeking the support you need.

My therapist has tried to get me to do EFT, but I resist. At first, like you, I thought it was pretty ridiculous. Then, she tried to actually get me to do it and I freaked out. We left that for awhile. One night about a month ago, I called my therapist on the phone in a crisis mode. She had me do the "Even though..." part. It took me several minutes to be able to do as my therapist instructed, but I did it. I could see the potential for it helping. We haven't gotten a chance to get more into it, but after seeing your post I think maybe I might be ready to try again.

Thank you for sharing.

 

[Bookoffee]

I have been trying this but I I think I need to break it down more as @joeylittle suggested. The more I do it, the harder I cry and can't seem to calm down until I go through the video a couple of times. Like my wife always tells me, start small and try not to fix everything at once.

 

[joeylittle]

Feel free to PM me if you want more info, @Bookoffee
And your wife is right on that front. Things take time.

 

[Seasounds]

@Bookoffee & @joeylittle,
Both of you have been so helpful! Sometimes I think that messages from my spirit come through people on this forum, and you are those incognito helpers.

@Bookoffee, from your post and posting the video, I tried EFT a few more times, which led to a successful experience-read below.
@joeylittle, after your sharing helpful details, of how to use EFT more effectively, I had a truly successful experience.

My experience came from exploring, on my own, a form of exposure therapy-previously (extremely) avoided. After seeking personal support, meditating, and using anxiety meds, I still had significant anxiety.

So, once more I gave EFT a go. And guess what, it completed managing my anxiety, that final level that my meds, social support, and mediation, couldn't, alone do.

@Bookoffee and @joeylittle, may I PM both of you, if I have more questions, or want to seek your, more extensive use of it?

BTW, I do understand the different effectiveness that occurs when someone walks you through the technique vs. do it yourself (DIY). I've experienced this in relaxation techniques. Even having some success with the DIY style, sometimes, is helpful. Thanks!

 

[joeylittle]

You're welcome to PM about this anytime, @change

 

[Bookoffee]

Please feel free to PM @change