From Anxiety to Calm in Minutes: Lisa’s Story

Lisa had had a very long day. She was unusually stressed as she had to meet new people in new situations. Then, on top of her extra hard day, she helped a friend with his dinner party. She was hired help and late in the evening, as she was alone in the kitchen catching her breath, she started to feel a familiar and unwelcome feeling – anxiety.

Lisa thought going outside and moving a bit might help. Out in the yard, it occurred to her to tap. She began by saying, “Even though I’m anxious and overwhelmed, I deeply and completely accept myself.” She tapped 2 rounds saying things like, “I’m overwhelmed.” “I’m anxious!”

She realized how much she hated these feelings. She added, “I hate these feelings!” Then she realized how silly she felt. She tapped, “Even though I feel silly feeling overwhelmed and anxious, I deeply and completely accept myself and my feelings.” She tapped a round using those words.

Then she thought, “It’s OK to feel these feelings!” So she started a third Set-up Statement: “Even though it’s OK to feel these feelings, I deeply and completely accept myself and all of these feelings.” This new thought gave her some peace and self-acceptance. Since she was outside in someone else’s backyard, she took deep breaths and tapped as she walked. She didn’t speak out loud. In total, she tapped about 4 rounds which took about 5 minutes.

After tapping, Lisa felt calm and confident. She said to herself, “I can do this,” and went back inside. For the rest of the evening, she remained calm and focused on the tasks at hand. Although she never felt anxious again, she would silently tap when she was alone just to keep the calmness and confidence that she felt in the yard.

Ann’s teaching moment:

Thank you to Lisa for sharing her story! We can learn from her tapping experience. One thing I like is that Lisa remembered to tap! So often we forget about this simple tool.

Second, Lisa followed her thoughts. She started with “I’m anxious and overwhelmed” to “I hate these feelings!” to “I feel silly feeling overwhelmed and anxious” and finally, “It’s OK to feel these feelings.” This is a wonderful example of how easy EFT can be if we just tap on what is already in our minds and change our words as our thoughts and feelings change.

And lastly, EFT worked quickly, as if often does, and Lisa was able to go back to her job feeling calm. And kudos to Lisa for silently tapping to maintain her new calmness.

Ann Smith is an EFT International Accredited Certified EFT Master Trainer and Advanced Practitioner. She has a private EFT practice and also teaches EFT in a variety of settings. She also mentors her students to their practitioner certification. Find her on her website: www.insideoutwitheft.com

From the EFTfree Archives, which are now a part of EFT International .
Originally published on Nov 9, 2015.