Case Studies
We constantly learn from each other. Leraning about other people's tapping experiences certainly halped me. Therefore I documented here a few of the cases I encountered.
We are sharing them so that you might learn from them as I do everyday, and find more ways to use EFT for yourself.
For the same reason, I also encourage your to surf the internet to learn about other EFT successes which might be more in line with your own issue, whatever it is.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who accepted to have their stories published here. Without them, this website would not exist.
Please note that names and circumstances might have been changed to protect privacy.
If you don't find here what you're looking for, feel free to contact me and ask your specific question.
Basic Knowledge of EFT will help you fully benefit from theses stories.
Caring for a loved one facing a disease is always a difficult task.We are worried for them but can't afford to show it or take time for ourselves. We want to always be at our top, always available for them. We want to find the energy to appear in control, even when we don't really feel like it.
Read more: Using EFT while Caring for an Alzheimer’s Patient
Hélène began using EFT a few years before she retired. She'd always been focussed on work and being of service to others.But as she opened up to a new vision of life, working on herself with EFT, she felt discunnected from the people who had surrounded her all of her life. Another layer of tapping topics..
Marguerite, aged 59, was suffering from respiratory and skin allergies since she was a teenager. Following her doctor's advice, she was on 2 antihistamines a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. The normal dose for these was one a day, and her chemist (or pharmacist, depending where you live!) was very reluctant to give her the prescribed dose, but there was no other solution. The medication relieved her from the allergy symptoms, but made her very tired.
Read more: Forty years of allergies - EFT to significantly reduce medication
Emma's grand-mother died of breast cancer. Emma's mother died of breast cancer. What was “Emma” (not her real name) to think when she was diagnosed with breast cancer? And once her current cancer healed, will she spend the rest of her life in fear of following her ancestor's path? Can you really uproot such a “logical” fear? Emma shows us that it might actually be easier to uproot that fear than you might think...
Ger is in his thirties. He's a very quiet and shy person. He'd heard about EFT through a friend, got interested and contacted me to help with a "spelling problem". He confessed he had tried EFT on his own, with no much success so far. Still...
Saoirse is in her early twenties. She's a very sweet person, very private, with a tiny voice. She contacted me because her mother had told her she was worried Saoirse was having depression bouts, and she should seek help.
Read more: EFT to unroot depression caused by a pre-school "mini-trauma"
It's now over 18 months that I "meet" John weekly on Skype. His wife requested my help to support him, both of them really, with his Alzheimer's Disease.
Read more: A "secret tool" to help a patient of Alzheimer's disease
Marguerite has important issues related to allergies (sun, chemicals..). She wishes to lower her medication, because of side effects. So I thought our first session would be about allergies, but then she explained to me that she was experiencing osteoarthritis since aged 15! How very unusual. Her pains are mainly in her jaws and back. This is a very good example of a physical reaction to deeplu buried old emotions that never got a chance to be acknowledged. When these emotions are heard and seen, the effects casn be surprising.
Read more: Osteoarthritis and feeling rejected - EFT to wipe out 44 years in 30 minutes
One attack is bad enough, but what can you say when it's 6 at the same time?
Hundreds of people left this life, thousands are left suffering. Some only ever knew this on television. For a lot of people, however, today's suffering echoes a suffering deeply rooted in distant, or recent past. Just consider current migrations, very large populations of refugees, and the memory of the January 2015 attacks in Paris.
I work with people who have been through war, and as the various attacks were announced, several of these people had to face the remaining suffering from their own experience. On November 14th, I gave a session in such a situation, and "Denise" (not her real name) authorised me to share most of it. We are hoping that other people whose old suffering has been triggered can benefit from it. May this article help you on your path towards your peace.
~~~~ DISCLAIMER ~~~~
- To understand this article, it is mandatory to have a basic understanding of EFT. If you are new to EFT, please click here.
- You might be shocked by some of the words and concepts in this article. Its aim is to help you to clear your own suffering, this is not in any case the place to discuss politics, religion or anything other than healing. More than ever, by reading this article, to are talking full responsibility for your well-being. You are choosing to read it, without judgement.
- I'm advising you to tap while reading. It is rather long, as I thought it was necessary to show the different steps that were addressed during that session.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Denise was born in a country that she had to flee because of war. Therefore, she reacts violently when she is forced by circumstances to be the witness of the attacks. This aim of this session is to help her to go through ordeal as peacefully as possible. She is already a client of mine, and we already addressed to a certain level an attack she was involved in in her youth.
When we're beginning the session, Denise is calm but deeply angry". Her words show how violent her feelings are, which obviously can be understood.
“I think we are at war. They should be tracked down without mercy, not even get them through justice." she says. "An eye for an eye. tooth for tooth. What is different from what terrorism used to be, is that they were planning attacks one by one, but now they have this network of people who are ready to sacrifice themselves, and they just throw them in every corner”.
It is important to let Denise express her feelings, however, it is also critical to keep in mind this session's objective. So I'm challenging her:
“This is no political discussion. The idea today is to work on what you are feeling. Let's breathe first”. Since Denise had already worked with me, I could afford to get straight to the point.
After a few deep breathing, we are beginning to tap from the top of the head down and back again and round again. Forget about a set-up statement or karate chop point here, we are right in the heart of the issue. I added below a few comments to explain why the tapping is progressing this way.
To begin with, Denise is quite irritated by the impact on her personal organisation that day. That kind of reaction is a really good recipe to avoid facing our real suffering, as you will see below. The best way with Denise in that situation is to take it lightly. "Light" can get a long way. So here we start.
I am in a hurry
this is really not a good time for attacks
I have too many things to do.
I didn't do what I had planned this morning.
This is really happening at a bad time for me.
And nobody quite knows what to do.
Another really good self-preservation strategy is to find somebody to blame. In the current situation, there is a large choice : the terrorists of course, and also the government, who is "not doing its job".
I know what's to be done
politics are not doing what needs to be done
they didn't go through the war I went through
Ask ME, I know you have to really track terrorists down.
I know what's to be done
Give me the country, and I will sort it out,
give me the country, and I will heal my own suffering
When mentioning her own suffering , the first barrier is falling down. Are we always reacting based on what we feel?
Up to then, Denise was in perfect "control" of her emotions, but in less than 3 minutes, by addressing the real issue, tears come out immediately. The memory of that attack she witnessed in her past comes right back up. We had already worked on it, not all of it obviously, we are now presented with an opportunity to peel down the onion a little further. I am focussing on keeping her in touch with her feelings as long as possible.
all this pain
all this pain
Very fast however, Denise is getting back in control and tears stop. If your suffering is coming back up, don't try to control them, let them come up so you can tap them out of your life. Breathe and stop reading, keep tapping, while focussing on your breathing.
this little girl who was killed
and her mother I saw wandering,
looking for her child.
All this blood on my shoes
A new barrier is coming down, and the tears are coming back up. You probably have your own images coming up in your mind at this time. If it is too hard for you to keep reading, please stop, keep tapping and breathing to get back to a more calm feeling, and seek support form a trusted practitioner to help you.
Denise is now quickly putting her suffering "back in the box", and anger is coming back up, fast.
the hole in dad's hat
the piece of shrapnel in mummy's ankle
pieces of shrapnel everywhere
and this is all locked into my own cells.
What can I do with all this?
They have to be tracked down,
you can let this happen again and again
you have to deal with the root of the problem
and the best way is to go and track them down
It might be a good idea for you to pause here, and work more deeply on your own anger. As for Denise, I knew that the best way at this stage to unroot her anger and get to the next barrier is humour and lightness.
By the way, I am just going to pack and leave now
because I know what needs to be done
because I need to be doing something.
I can't just stay here and watch all that is happening
I can't be living through this suffering and know that I will be experiencing it again and again
I cant; get through this suffering again
and witness those who are living it for the first time
without doing anything,
I can't experience all this and remain indifferent.
I need to be heard
I need the culprits to be punished
I need the culprits to be killed
an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
even if this isn't exactly in line with my religion,
this is MY suffering
this is my brothers' and sisters'
this is my whole family's
this is the suffering of all the people who had to live through this
this is the whole planet's suffering
you can't let this go unpunished.
If you punish the culprits,
there won't be any pain anymore
If you punish the culprits,
it will not happen again.
"Is this true?" I am now taking the opportunity to question this anger, to allow its energy to transform. I am provoking it intentionally, so Denise can get thinking, while still tapping. Observe how the mixed anger and powerlessness keep going back and forth, to eventually lead to another question.
"- Yes, I can see where you are heading to." is her answer.
"- My question is not about where I might want to get at, but to know what you are feeling right now? Our objective is to get you to feel peace. At this very minute, what are you feeling?
Anger is now coming back. This is perfect, now we can work on it.
I need the culprits to be killed.
I need to see them with my own eyes.
She reacts to this suggestion. "No, not necessarily, but I need to know that people's safety is taken care of."
I need that these bad people can't walk around in the subway with impunity
The army is doing this
Police forces are doing this
Counter-terrorism teams are doing that
but they are not doing their job
New reaction: "They do do their job insofar as they are allowed to do it."
and somebody is not letting them do their job
but I am going to go there
and the angrier I am the better!
It is now time to get back to the root of the issue:
the more anger I'm feeling
the more I'm suffering
the better
Is this really true??
Even though I'd like to be able to do something,
I wonder why my role is?
I my role to shout for revenge?
"Certainly not!" is her answer.
Can that bring me relief?
Is my role to tell the government what to do?
Probably ("after all, they are supposed to represent the people!")
Is my role to revive hostility?
Maybe
Will all this bring me relief?
Maybe
Even though I don't really know what to do with all this,
I know this is about my suffering
I know this is about my suffering being triggered
while I thought I had sorted it out.
Even though I thought is was gone,
this suffering is so deep
it will never disappear
Today however, I have a choice.
I know this suffering
I tried to bury it.
Did it work?
She reacts to this question: "I thought it had worked". This might be a good time to ask yourselves that question: what are you trying to bury... or to unearth, at this very minute?
Today, maybe I have another choice.
Maybe I can let it all out to transform it.
the suffering from all these wounds.
Once the anger is removed, the real suffering is beginning to flare again, and tears are coming back up.
They took my country away from me
they took my country away from me
they threw me out of it
there was all this blood and this terror
and I am still carrying it in me
Today, maybe I can honour all those who are suffering,
by clearing a little bit of my suffering
EFT usually is a gentle modality, and deep sobs don't really represent gentleness, but it is sometimes necessary to welcome these sobs to create the opportunity to get to the other side of them. After all this tapping, the final barrier collapses and Denise is eventually releasing her control of her feelings, accepting the tears, the freedom of them, while I'm keeping supporting her through tapping and voice. (All this is happening on Skype, by the way).
A little over one minute later, the crisis has already calmed down, and Denise comments:
“It actually feels good to let it out”.
this is a good time for re-testing, and I ask Denise to say again:
"They took my country away from me".
No tears. Anger and suffering are appearing to have cleared, we are left with powerlessness. We all have our ideals, our religion, our spirituality, our beliefs. Denise gets a lot of strength from her religious faith. What brings you strength? Adapt the next part to your own beliefs.
They took my country away from me, and I will never recover
They took my country away from me, I recreated my life away from my roots
They took my country away from me, and I will never forget it
Even though they took my country away from me, my faith tells me
that everything happens for a good reason
Even though this is a little hard to swallow
I am grateful that I am learning every single day
so many things my faith can teach me.
Denise's noticing one more time, surprised : "It really relieved me to burst out a little bit".
They took my country away from me,
Can you explain to me what good there is in this?
And the problem is, the people who threw me out of my country
not only did they take my country
but they made a mess of it.
I can't let this happen.
I shall keep on suffering
because I don't know any other way
I have no other possibility.
Even though I have all this suffering in me,
today I could choose.
Choose to clear all this suffering
and find peace within me.
This step could only happen after the rest was cleared, however it is a important step. At this stage, Denise is now exhausted. We are finishing the session tapping on the fingers only.
The emotional charge from the past is cleared, at least as far as we could access it, but after the session, Denise WILL be again at the core of a whorl of pain that has taken the country. She is now ready to face this future, and it is time to help her getting ready for it, with the past part of the session.
There are all this triggers around me,
"That's true", she remarks, thinking.
they will re-activate all this suffering
for me and for the whole world, and for all the people who experienced all this
I can hear all this suffering around me,
of course it's echoing in me
Today I wonder what I will choose.
Without EFT, it is quite difficult to conceive that such a choice might exist. Thanks to EFT, and thanks to Gary Craig, EFT founder, for giving it to the world.
I can choose to live through this suffering again and again,
or I can let it out and transform or through my faith.
You'd need a real strong faith to get there!
Maybe I'm not there yet.
You'd have to be God to get there!
Ridicule is no harm, and in this case, the absurdity of the idea is bringing laughter back in. When used at the proper time, laughter is a really good way to let go of unwanted feelings.
I will never be God. but I can do my best.
There are so many different advices around me.
There are so many different suffering around me
I wonder what I shall choose?
Do I want to feed all this suffering by adding my own?
Or do I want to take my suffering
and present it to God so He can help me transform it?
I already transformed a big part of it
Time for a check point: “Is that true?”. She answers “Absolutely"
I thought it was finished, but it is never finished.
I will not forget
and forgiveness is so hard
But I can learn
Even though I need to culprit to be tracked down
I also know there is another possible way to act.
New verification: “Is that true?” - “Well yes, you can bring love and peace into the world”, however...
Even though I don't see how I can
bring peace and love in the world
when I face such a situation
I can learn
I know the counter terrorists squads are doing their job. Thank you.
I know the police forces are doing their job.Thank you.
I know the health teams are doing their job.Thank you.
and today I present my participation to world peace
with love and compassion
for the part of me which is still suffering
and for all those who are still suffering around me.
Today, I'm letting the anti-terrorist squads act in the present to decrease the risks for all of us,with gratitude,
and I am choosing to build peace on the long term,
by transforming all my pains and sufferings
so I can better help others to transform theirs.
I am choosing to protect myself from their pain,
so I am more able to help them to let go of them.
I am grateful I am safe.
Thank you
Compassion literally means "suffering with", You might think then that to support someone you need to suffer with them. Denise has not chosen to add to the suffering. Instead she is choosing to add Light to help clear suffering.
Denise is now relieved but exhausted too. We are finishing with a discussion about our way of looking at others. I'd like to share this too.
“Others", are the people we meet on the street, in the bus, people whose eye we sometimes avoid, particularly in some cities. And true enough, sometimes, this is a safe way to behave, however this is not always the case.
I heard people say that these attacks would not happen if we were all aware and vigilant, if we did look at each other. The idea was to identify the risks and therefore prevent them, This is of course absolutely valid.
I would add another reason, perhaps a longer term one.
Someone told me about an interview of somebody who left a "normal life" to become potentially one of the attackers. They said that they were doing it because "before I was nobody". By changing to this other life, they became "someone".
What would have happened if that person had received the looks that would have told them they were "someone" without having to use violence?
What would happen if the people who committed these acts had received loving and caring looks from their childhood on?
What if the solution was available to each of us? Through our acts and looks?
Crisis situations always trigger amazing solidarity movements. What if the same feelings would nourish us every single day?
I hope this article helped you one way or another, to find more peace in you, or to identify areas of suffering that you can explore on your way to personal peace. May this peace spread from you towards the world.
Thank you.
Anna had been in pain all day. She was on prescription pain killers, and had been for several years. However, the pain killers that morning provided relief for about 1 hour, and she could only have one every 4 hours. That was 3 hours too many every 4 hours for several days a month... She had tried several treatments over the years, and at this stage her doctor was only refraining from hormonal treatment due to her being so young.
Carer's guilt is often oversighted. Mary was no exeception and despirte doing her best to support her husband, she still felt guilty.
Read more: EFT to remove remaining subconscious guilt for an Alzheimer's disease patient's carer
Mary is 73. She's quite healthy, except for discomforts now and then. During a check-up with her family doctor, when asked how are things, she answers "Quite well actually. Except the nervous exhaustion"
Read more: Nervous exhaustion risks while caring for an Alzheimer's Disease Patient
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This article is slightly different from others, since Liz chose to write it herself. Liz found that sharing her experience was a good way to consolidate and affirm her new life.
Suzie has been a close friend of mine for a very long time. She was right in the middle of a difficult divorce and depression, and when I phoned her just by chance (if such a thing as "chance" exists), she was crying uncontrollably.
Anna had heard of EFT in the past, and expressed her curiosity several times, nearly tried a few times, but still kept her distances from this weird method. However when she told me she was to have a minor surgery and I indicated that EFT might help there too, she took me on it and was happy she did.
Tony was driving with his right hand laying on the upper outside of his window when a car crashed into his. His car turned on its side and Tony's hand got caught in the process. Tony was lucky to walk out of the accident, but his right hand got damaged. Tony is a carpenter, and obviously needs his hand to work..
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Agnes contacted me to complain because a link on my website was not working. Who knew that email would carry a solution to her digestion problems!
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Emilie is a very mature 8 years old girl. With a depressive mother, she sometimes has to tame matters into her own hamds. As I called her mum on Skype to know how she is, Emilie answers. She complains about a cold which "happens every week end". And she's love to see the end of it!
Lynda had had oral surgery. She had several stitches in the jaw in the middle of her chin. She had suffered all night, and when I met her the next morning, her face looked bloated, her eyes a bit puffy, and she couldn't speak properly, let alone smile.
Clearing the effects of a child abuse situation several decades after the facts. Really?
Sometimes the most innocent words or act can trigger in us a deep emotion.
Fearghal just turned 50. He's been working most of his life in a factory, doing repetitive movements. As a reaction, he developed a "tennis elbow".
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Mary could go up and down the stairs, but every step was a challenge. That was not helped either by asthma and overweight.. See what happened for her.
Louise defined herself as a worrier, from a worriers family. Pain was "normal"... After tapping, it appeared that pain might not be "normal" and mandatory after all.
Jessica tapped to be OK "While she was in the office" That's exactly what she got, the overwhelm returned as soon as she left the office!
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