EFT for Christians presents a video on how to tap on emotional triggers.
Remember, EFT is not a substitute for sound medical advice or care, so please contact your own personal physician when psychological or physical help is needed.
Showing posts with label triggers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label triggers. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Monday, April 22, 2019
What are Emotional Triggers?
Emotional triggers consists of thoughts, memories, or physical sensations that provoke an automatic underlying response in us. It just happens without any conscious thinking. A trigger does exactly what the word implies - it "triggers" us into a flashback type sensation or an automatic response that feels nearly exactly like the feelings we experience at the time the original trauma, abuse, or negative event occurred. It feels like we are re-experiencing the memory all over again.
The subconscious mind buries many deep painfully emotional memories for us for several decades after it happens, especially abuse memories, and in particular sexual abuse memories.
This is a protective mechanism instilled in us at creation. God knew we couldn't handle the fall-out at age 3 or 8 or 14, or any other age for that matter, when the event occurred, so it all gets buried.
Burying the hurtful memories (and that well could be a mild word - hurtful) sounds like a great idea!
It was in that moment, but TODAY those memories are running a chronic STRESS response behind the our conscious awareness. Our bodies weren't created to deal with ongoing chronic stress.
Eventually the emotional stress breaks down our body. The ongoing tension has to go somewhere if it isn't released.
It's kinda like a spring. It is designed to do a job but eventually it wears out and something breaks!
Tap, tap, tap!
We must settle down our emotional & physical mind. We must re-regulate ourselves. The Holy Spirit is right there with you to help. We must turn off the decades' old alarm bells, and triggers are those old alarm bells STILL ringing!
Triggers are messages from the Holy Spirit alerting us that there is still old faulty emotional information running behind the scene of our conscious mind.
He will bring to mind whatever memories need to be tapped on WHEN HE KNOWS YOU ARE READY AND CAN EMOTIONALLY HANDLE IT.
For those of us who have experienced very early emotional abuse, it may take months or years of sitting with the uncomfortable feelings and tapping.
I often hear women say that they felt better after an hour of tapping, but then the "feelings came back." Yes, they do. This doesn't mean that your tapping and praying was wasted, it just means there is much more to do.
Keep at it. Eventually the amygdala (alarm center) tends to settle down. It sometimes takes a lot of soothing to convince it that you are now safe.
Remember, EFT is NOT a substitute of good medical or psychological care, so take care of yourself by contacting your personal physician please.
Sherrie Rice Smith
Certified EFT Practitioner
Author of EFT for Christians 4 Book Series
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Sunday, May 6, 2018
Dr. Gabor Mate and Tapping
Dr. Gabor Mate writes, "The automatic mind, the reactive product of brain circuits, constantly interprets the present in the light of past conditioning. In its psychological respones it has great difficulty telling the past from the present, especially whenever it is emotionally aroused. A trigger in the present will set off emotions that were programmed perhaps decades ago at a much more vulnerable time in a person's life. What seems like a reaction to some present circumstance is, in fact, a reliving of past emotional experiences.
Whenever a person 'overreacts' - that is, reacts in a way that seems inappropriately exaggerated to the situation at hand....the reaction is not to the irritant in the present but to some buried hurt in the past.
Many of us look back puzzled on some emotional explosion and ask ourselves, 'What the heck was that about?'"
And that is indeed the question we should ask ourselves any time we feel or react in a way we know is not God honoring - Lord God, what was that about? And then tap negatively on the memory He gives you so as to begin or continue the process of healing He has started in so many of us!
EFT is NOT a substitute for sound medical or psychological care, so please contact your personal physician if you need immediate or continuous help.
Sherrie Rice Smith, R.N. (Retired)
Certified EFT Practitioner
Author of EFT for Christians (2015)
Author of EFT for Christians, Tapping in God's Peace & Joy (2016)
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Holiday Triggers and Tapping
Tonight I have an example of a trigger.
Earlier today I found out that a friend of ours, younger than I am, was rushed to the hospital and put on life support. This is difficult for a family. Even more difficult close to the holidays.
A few minutes ago I noticed myself with constricted breathing. Now as of 5 minutes before that I was perfectly healthy, so what is going on?
My guess is this is a trigger - an unconscious memory brought on by something else, probably sensory, around me. I'm sure it is a trigger because tapping releases it. There is nothing wrong with me.
For giggles I looked at the calendar because I'm pretty sure what this is. 2 months ago today was the day I thought my brother Joe was going to the hospital for his defibrillator inplant (in reality it was 2 months ago tomorrow). I spoke to him that Thursday night for the very last time on the phone, telling him I was a day early (by God's grace!) calling him and would he please phone me Friday night after his procedure to let me know how he was. By Friday night he was on a ventilator fighting for his life. His earthly life ended November 1st when he went to heaven.
Earlier today I told Brad that our now hospitalized friend was going the way Joe did - this didn't look good at all for her.
Triggers are like this. Something in our real regular life reminds the subconscious of something else in the past that was painful emotionally, and we experience some kind of physiological reaction about it again in the present. The subconscious mind doesn't understand the concept of the past vs. present. It thinks everything is present time!
Me? Chest constriction just like our friend and brother Joe neither of whom could breathe on their own thus necessitating a respirator.
Secondly, that cellular memory of holidays and anniversaries.
Yes, people, your body DOES remember often even if you think you have resolved the emotions around an event.
Just make sure you have, or simply be aware that something in the immediate environment could TRIGGER you anyway. And it is ok if it does. God is giving you further opportunity to heal even more!
If something does trigger you this holiday season, please do as I just did. Be mindful of what you feel and then tap, allowing God to release the physical and emotional discomfort. He is faithful to often do that for us.
It has taken alot of events in my life to make me wake up to the wonderful gift of EFT God has given us. Don't be as slow as I was to accept His gift and use it frequently.
To God be all the glory!
Remember, EFT is not a substitute for medical or psychological help. Do not tap if you have a true medical emergency, call your physician, or 911, or visit an emergency room quickly.
Thursday, September 29, 2016
How EFT Works as Presented by a Different EFT Practitioner
"The "Over focusing" on the past is usually quite different with EFT. You focus on it long enough to release the trapped emotion (blocked energy) and rewire your neural circuits to no longer respond with emotional intensity to the memory. you usually won't forget the events but with completed EFT the memories carry the same emotional charge as remembering Columbus sailed the oceans blue in 1492.
While not a usual result, i have one client tap on a time when he was about 8-10 years old and was dropped off at military academy. His father had told him they would just check it out but once he met the principle his suitcase was unloaded and his father drove off.
It was over 30 years earlier that this event happened. It took 2 and half sessions to thoroughly go through all the parts "aspects" of the event and a few months later he reported he had not been that happy in years. His depression was gone and he felt like a new person....even while carrying the license plate number of the car his father drove away in. He reported looking at it but it just didn't trigger the old feelings anymore....he had made peace with the past or released the attached emotions or rewired his neurons around that memory or released his blocked energy (which ever explanation works best for you).
In later experiences with other clients it seems to be true that the higher number of traumas a person has and or the lower level of assistance they had as a child in learning how to manage their emotions the less likely you'll get an "instant cure all" result.
Still you do gain a lasting significant level of peace with each event you resolve with EFT. (NOTE: you may not get every part or aspect of an event the first time you go through it....sometimes you get one part resolved but then your body/mind takes you to the next layer below which you didn't know was even there because the first layer was what was getting your attention. So sometimes you may need to "redo/tap again" on an event to get a few missed parts or aspects cleared up. But once you do, you can reasonably expect long term fixes.
In short you really only focus on a specific piece of/event in the past just long enough to make peace with it and then move on to the next issue of concern... EFT is not just a regurgitation of the same old things over and over again.
For myself (EFT aside) I personally believe and encourage my clients to use the past to learn from (so you don't keep making the same mistakes) and make peace with it....beyond that you should be looking forward to where you feel God is leading you in the future....but sometimes we need to make peace with the past so we can cut the hidden reins controlling our present and future.
I firmly believe God designed us to live freed from stress, the past and other emotional baggage so we can more fully live freed for a life that matters for eternity."
This was written by Steve Baerg. Steve can be reached at: TheStressReliefCoach.com.
Remember, EFT is not a substitute for medical attention. Please take personal responsibility for your own emotional and physical health.
Sherrie Rice Smith, R.N. (Retired)
Certified EFT Practitioner
Author of EFT for Christians - on Amazon
EFTforChristians.com
EFTforChristians@gmail.com
While not a usual result, i have one client tap on a time when he was about 8-10 years old and was dropped off at military academy. His father had told him they would just check it out but once he met the principle his suitcase was unloaded and his father drove off.
It was over 30 years earlier that this event happened. It took 2 and half sessions to thoroughly go through all the parts "aspects" of the event and a few months later he reported he had not been that happy in years. His depression was gone and he felt like a new person....even while carrying the license plate number of the car his father drove away in. He reported looking at it but it just didn't trigger the old feelings anymore....he had made peace with the past or released the attached emotions or rewired his neurons around that memory or released his blocked energy (which ever explanation works best for you).
In later experiences with other clients it seems to be true that the higher number of traumas a person has and or the lower level of assistance they had as a child in learning how to manage their emotions the less likely you'll get an "instant cure all" result.
Still you do gain a lasting significant level of peace with each event you resolve with EFT. (NOTE: you may not get every part or aspect of an event the first time you go through it....sometimes you get one part resolved but then your body/mind takes you to the next layer below which you didn't know was even there because the first layer was what was getting your attention. So sometimes you may need to "redo/tap again" on an event to get a few missed parts or aspects cleared up. But once you do, you can reasonably expect long term fixes.
In short you really only focus on a specific piece of/event in the past just long enough to make peace with it and then move on to the next issue of concern... EFT is not just a regurgitation of the same old things over and over again.
For myself (EFT aside) I personally believe and encourage my clients to use the past to learn from (so you don't keep making the same mistakes) and make peace with it....beyond that you should be looking forward to where you feel God is leading you in the future....but sometimes we need to make peace with the past so we can cut the hidden reins controlling our present and future.
I firmly believe God designed us to live freed from stress, the past and other emotional baggage so we can more fully live freed for a life that matters for eternity."
This was written by Steve Baerg. Steve can be reached at: TheStressReliefCoach.com.
Remember, EFT is not a substitute for medical attention. Please take personal responsibility for your own emotional and physical health.
Sherrie Rice Smith, R.N. (Retired)
Certified EFT Practitioner
Author of EFT for Christians - on Amazon
EFTforChristians.com
EFTforChristians@gmail.com
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