EFT Tips

Emotional Freedom Techniques for Anxiety

Anxiety is primarily about the future -- something that you are worried *might* happen. Soothing anxiety is one of the biggest causes of  overeating. I love Gary's comments on anxiety eating and my post about my client's similarities between overeating and panic attacks. And if you've ever had a panic attack, you know that it's not an experience you want to repeat.

Anxiety tends to build and take on a life of it's own. People who have anxious temperaments tend to obsess and catastrophize about what *could* happen. But we all suffer from anxious feelings from time to time. So getting a handle on your anxiety is a very good thing to do.

To use Emotional Freedom Techniques to lessen your anxiety, try to stay in the present moment and follow these 3 steps:

Changing Your Story With EFT

We all have our stories. We have a story about why we can't lose weight (because everybody in my family is overweight . . . because I have a slow metabolism . . . because I love to eat, yadda yadda yadda). Gary Craig calls them "comedies." These comedies are created from the writing on our walls - what we have come to believe and have been told by others.

EFT For Overeating And Panic Attacks

Panicky feelings can create both panic attacks and overeating. My client views EFT as a “fool-proof method” to short-circuit her panic attacks.  It only takes 1 or 2 rounds to stop the panic attack and get back to sleep.  She has had only 1 attack in the past 4 months, and has not needed any medication.  She has also significantly reduced her overeating.

If you've ever had a panic attack, it's not something you want to repeat. While they can be managed, it's a very uncomfortable, frightening experience. Anxiety often drives overeating as well. You may be surprised by the similarities in these 2 issues. Here's my latest article on Gary's site. Read it here.

EFT for Stress Eating

Got stress? Most people do . . . and it's easy to reach for food or some other substance to deal with it.

Feeling the need for chocolate?

Take a look at the sources of stress in your life, and see if your list has increased or intensified in some way. For instance, I've been doing some home remodeling lately -- I underestimated how stressful it would be. When I took a survey of all of the changes we were making at one time -- no wonder I was feeling the pressure! Fortunately, I didn't reach for food, but I did lose sleep over it.

Fear of Flying and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)

After 911, MANY people were afraid to fly (I wasn't too thrilled myself). Back then, I was transitioning from therapist to coach, and I had only recently learned about Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT).

One of my clients was a corporate executive who "had" to fly for his job. It hurt him professionally if he didn't. But since 911, he was canceling all of his business flights.

Go here to read the report of this client's progress and the 4-year follow up. It's a good example of the many aspects that can arise and how they get traced back to childhood experience.

While it was frightening for me to offer Emotional Freedom Techniques to a corporate executive, being so new to it myself, I didn't know any other technique that would get results faster.

He "had" to fly . . . now he does.