EFT provides a perfect tool for releasing stuckness. The clue is in the name, Emotional Freedom Techniques, and there are many ways it helps when feeling stuck.
We name a problem, 'Even though I feel stuck', and we tap on the reasons (aspects) that support that: memories, past events, what people said, symptoms and emotions that arise.
We can talk about Polyvagal Theory to understand how 'stuck' shows up in the nervous system. For example, trauma can leave us in an alert, hyper-aroused ‘freeze’ state (as in the childhood game of statues, stock still when the music stops); conversely, in a numb, shut down, hypo-aroused state. Either one can leave us unable to function, stuck.
And we can talk about Psychological Reversal. We really want to do something, to make some change, yet there’s a downside to it (a secondary gain), a reason for hanging onto the problem, a benefit, maybe safety, in doing so. And that keeps us stuck.
For this article I’d like to consider the question, 'What kind of ‘stuck’ is my ‘stuck’?'
What does it mean to be stuck?
What does it look like? What does it feel like? How do I know I am stuck?
These are just a few examples:
glued, rooted to the spot
stuck in the mud, stuck in traffic
driven into the ground like a pile
anchored, tethered, tied up in knots
held, held down, held back, reined in
under pressure, weighed down
blocked, surrounded
not in gear
flat battery
no fuel, energy
frozen, solid, set in concrete
motionless, inert
clueless, empty, don’t know
broken
dead
Perhaps you can identify other descriptors that would apply to your own challenges and issues. The phrases can then be incorporated into tapping rounds, for example:
* Even though I feel fenced in…
* Even though I was frozen with fear…
* Even though it’s like someone/something is holding me back…
* Even though I cannot move under the weight of this burden…
Reframing feeling ‘stuck’
Identifying the specific nature of our ‘stuck’ and tapping with this may then allow a solution or reframe to emerge naturally, a related way for releasing it or finding freedom from its effects. For example:
* glue can dissolve
* what’s solid can melt
* ties can be loosened or cut
* flat batteries can be charged
* doors can open
* locks have keys or codes
Michelangelo famously said of his David statue trapped within the marble block, ‘The sculpture is already complete, I just have to chip away the superfluous material’.
A real life example
One time when I felt stuck, it seemed life was pulling me in three different directions at once, a kind of three-way tug-of-war. So I tapped, 'Even though I feel stuck, caught in this tug-of-war…'.
Afterwards, the sense of three ropes stretched in different directions remained – but now they represented guy ropes holding up a tent. With that came the realisation (reframe) that whilst those responsibilities remained, I was exactly where I needed to be to handle them, grounded, centred, well-placed metaphorically to attend to each of them. Not stuck at all!
So I invite you as you explore any areas or issues where perhaps you feel stuck, to ask yourself, ‘What kind of stuck is my stuck?’, remembering as always, to seek professional help with major traumas.
And a final word from Thomas Edison of light bulb fame, 'When you think you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this, you haven’t.'
Even though I still feel stuck, I’m open to the possibility that perhaps he was right. 😊
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Article by Hilary Jones, Accredited Certified EFT Master Trainer
Image by Photo by Lena Fedorov on Unsplash
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