I will admit, most times I see life through the lens of Emotional Freedom Techniques and how EFT Tapping can be a profound tool. It is one very accessible way to take control and take our health into their our hands.
My experience with helping women has been an invitation to support taking full responsibility for one's body and mind. There are many aspects to this, however. For example, women tend to be very intuitive and at the same time, tend to feel overly responsible, busying themselves to the point of neglecting their body. Additionally, they can often give their power away easily. I think what's really necessary to highlight is that the work that I do is to help women slow down, tuning in and becoming aware, feeling into their body, which is where most of our emotions are held. I support them in this very critical relationship and what I have found is that most women have a very hard time staying present in, and with their body sensations, especially when it comes to chronic or autoimmune disease. We are conditioned to run from pain or discomfort. And so, I teach them safely and gently how to turn inward, build the window of tolerance to stay with ourselves and our sensations. This allows for feeling empowered from within, minimizing reactions to external circumstances so we can pause and make healthy choices from being aware and present.
While there's always room and an absolute place in the medical system, either way, it's up to us to take responsibility, research, ask questions and then make a sound decision for ourselves. EFT Tapping or Emotional Freedom Techniques, helps us by quieting the parts of the brain such as the amygdala, and being able to access the prefrontal cortex so that we can be present to ourselves and have the capacity to make these choices and decisions . When we're in reaction mode or the sympathetic drive of our nervous system, the prefrontal cortex goes offline and the amygdala (the fear center ready to fight or flee), gets stimulated and so we don't have the ability to act appropriately. Emotional Freedom Techniques is, in my opinion, one of the most profound ways to calm the nervous system and the brain and allow for new thoughts to emerge, creating change for a new experience.
It also has the ability to bring the subconscious to the conscious so we can identify what is keeping us attacking ourselves or feeling unworthy or in a dis-eased state. EFT Tapping really addresses the emotional, brings the physical back into balance and a healing state, thereby supporting us returning back to our wholeness and well-being.
For me personally, and many of my clients, it has really supported us in taking our power back where we can, creating the environment that we need to thrive in as we learn to self-regulate our nervous system.
When it comes to doctors, I recognize most importantly that my energy and mindset plays a huge role in how I come to the doctor. If I'm coming in with an expectation that the man or woman in a white coat is going to heal me, then I'm setting myself up for disappointment by holding this expectation.
Doctors are also fallible, they're guessing like everybody else, especially when we're dealing with complicated issues and multiple diagnoses or symptoms that don't fall under the traditional medical model.
There are a lot of resources available other than MDs, such as Functional Doctors and other Practitioners that support our mind and body as a whole system in ways beyond pills and injections. Again, there's room for all of it. We can view the medication we might be prescribed as a blessing or a curse. It's all how we hold it, receive it, and meet the experience that we are in.
I used to want every doctor to be warm and fuzzy, however, not every doctor has a bedside manner and is going to treat me that way. It's more important that I stay present to my inner experience with the doctor to make my own decisions. To gauge whether their words resonate with me, I tune into my body's response—noticing if I expand or contract as they share their perspective.
There have been many times where I've been on a cascade of doctor visits and then realized the push energy I'm carrying to “get to” a result. I often impose a moratorium on my usual habits for a month, to tune in to what my body is asking for. In doing so, I recognize that sometimes it's easy to fall into the habit of wanting to escape pain or discomfort, leading to desperate measures.This can actually hinder our healing process.
Again, EFT Tapping has supported me and my clients changing our circumstances in a multitude of ways. When we are addressing doctors, the emotional piece is so very important to our overall experience.
We cannot give our power away to doctors as if they know everything there is to know and take receive blindly what they say...I've been told that the best doctors are going to listen to what's going on in my life beyond symptomology or checking off boxes that they can prescribe something. This leads back again to learning how to stay regulated in our body so that we know the truth and can navigate our decisions and choices. I can be going to the best doctor in the world, however, if my body is saying no, "this doesn't feel right," or I'm not in agreement with what he says or how he says it, I create the opportunity to hear and listen to that. At the same time it can be a doctor that I don't know and healing can take place just through a doctor's presence, listening and care. So there's all kinds of experiences that we have access to. The most important thing is to learn how to regulate our nervous system so that we can be as open and clear as possible.
Each of us is unique in our sensitivities and bodies, which means that it's important to develop a deep connection with our own body and its signals. By cultivating presence and attentiveness, we can learn to listen to what our body is trying to tell us and make more mindful choices in response. That can also be a scary thing at first. We always have a choice, however. We do the best we can at any given moment.
I often share that when we're feeling scared or in the unknown about what's present with our health and confused or overwhelmed by doctors, apply love to the places inside that hurt with compassion. That goes a very very long way.
