Jobs and CareersThe Apex Effect - A Fascinating Mental and Psychological Conundrum
By E. J. Frank
There is an interesting thing that happens sometimes while working with EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques, an energy based therapy which taps on meridian points to ease discomfort emotionally, psychologically, physically, and spiritually). In the couple of years I have been working with folks using EFT, I've run across it a few times myself. In this article, I'll be presenting some examples of this issue, talking about some possible reasons it occurs, and noting some ways that we, as practitioners, can work with the client who may be experiencing it.
Some examples:
-- In one case, I was tapping with a medical nurse of over 30 years on her knee pain. She was skeptical at first though when her pain eased, the first words out of her mouth were, "somehow you distracted me".
-- Another example was when I was tapping on a college student's test anxiety. The student called me one evening in a complete panic over an upcoming exam. We tapped a few rounds and the intensity rating (when we tap, we typically take an initial SUDS or intensity reading on how much the issue bothers the client. The scale is from 0 to 10 with 0 being little bother and 10 being intense) went from a 9 to a 4. The student was content with that and we hung up the phone. I got a call a couple days later with the student saying how she got a 90 on her test, almost 30 points higher than on the first test. When I asked about the anxiety level, the student said very casually that she wasn't too concerned about this test at all.
I said lightly, "Oh, the tapping helped, huh?"
And she said, "I didn't really need to tap much because I wasn't that stressed out."
In a recent example, I was tapping with a woman who was struggling with the concept of loss. After a couple of rounds, her intensity level had come way down from a 9 to about a 3. Almost as suddenly, she appeared to have shut down to the idea of tapping and instead, in a heated panic, began rapidly and intensely discussing her adamant belief in her religion. It was as if she felt like she was betraying her God by using energy work and felt guilty because she was feeling relief from it. (Which the option that perhaps her God brought the energy technique to her as a tool to help with her issue was not in play at this point.)
So what's possibly going on here?
In none of these examples was EFT tapping given credit for the relief. Instead, the client veered off in some other direction or tangent. Gary Craig, founder of EFT, touches on this topic in the EFT manual and on his website. He calls it the Apex Effect. Dr. Roger Callahan, developer of Thought Field Therapy, the precursor of EFT, called it the Apex Problem. It has also been considered a type of psychological reversal. Fred P Gallo, author of "Energy Psychology", related the apex problem to cognitive dissonance, a term coined by social psychologist Leon Festinger.
In basic terms, cognitive dissonance is the emotional effect of experiencing a behavior that opposes an internal attitude or belief. And usually, this is a negative emotion or uncomfortable feeling.
A simple example of this may be when we take a multiple choice test and change our answer then find out our original answer was the correct one. We commonly react to getting the answer wrong, justify changing it, feel something about it (usually upset or anger), and the like. The issue isn't so much that we changed the answer but rather how we felt or reacted to the outcome (in this case, getting the answer wrong after we initially had it right). In this example, the test is the logical part of the situation and our reaction to the error is the subconscious part. This constriction of logic and subconscious (not logical) creates feelings of anxiety, sadness, guilt, second guessing ourselves, feeling threatened (identity), denial, feeling we need to explain our actions/reactions, and more.
People don't like to feel uncomfortable. Part of this is built in - psychologically and biologically. Psychologically, we create foundations and beliefs that help us maneuver through our lives day to day. When something challenges a foundation or belief, commonly the foundation feels it must somehow defend itself, even if the new-found idea is just as effective or even better. The challenge causes discomfort and we want to do whatever we can to ease that discomfort.
Biologically, the mind functions quickly so that it can react fast to the stimulus. When it reacts, it is typically subconsciously. With EFT, sometimes something that has been a part of our identity or a feeling we have had for years or a pain we just got used to, may dissipate quickly. It is suggested that our minds take periodic scans of what is going on in our bodies at all levels (emotional, physical, etc).
So if the mind sees that at one moment there is a pain and in the next it's gone, one of two things happen. One, the mind decides the pain was never there in the first place or two, it says it is still there. In the former case, people don't recall the intensity the issue brought since the mind didn't remember or acknowledge it. In the latter case, the pain may return, showing that the client has a resistance to letting go of the issue. (If this is the case, one method used to help get past it, if the client does want to move beyond the pain, is to tap on aspects, or other parts, of the core issue. There may be other pieces to the puzzle which may be contributing to the client's grip on to the issue. Making a list, such as in the Personal Peace Procedure that Gary Craig presents, might be of assistance in finding these additional aspects. Another noted cause of an issue not clearing involves toxins such as perfumes, foods, etc, which interfere with the body's energy system.)
So how do we, as the person experiencing the dissonance, typically relieve the discomfort associated with a behavior opposing our beliefs? There have been several methods noted. One is to change an aspect or part of the idea. For instance, if we see rich people as being snobs and yet we want to be rich but we don't want to be a snob, we might look for other examples of rich people who aren't snobs.
Another way is what is called confirmation bias, or finding reasons to support an existing belief. This is seen a lot when we are beating ourselves up where we can always seem to find something to reinforce to ourselves that we are bad.
Reducing the importance of the whole issue is another technique. This is also called trivializing. Our example of the test anxiety case represented this concept.
Another method is to replace the emotional reaction with logical reasoning. Often it is our emotional response which paralyzes us. By looking at the situation with a bit more logic, we may be able to see options and choices we otherwise couldn't see because we are standing in an emotional tunnel.
Releasing our attachment to the issue and the factors involved is another way people cope with the discomfort. In this method, the client pulls attachment away from both the experience and the belief.
Interestingly, the concept of cognitive dissonance appears to be more prevalent in societies that value individuality than ones that value the group dynamic.
The apex problem has also been considered to relate to the medical concept of confabulation. In the most basic terms, this is when the mind creates an answer (often a lie) and believes it. It is common in amnesiac and stroke clients for instance, though anyone can confabulate. If something happens where the person doesn't understand or know the answer, he or she might make something up and instantly believe it as truth, just to have an answer.
Another explanation of the apex problem is that for the people who are experiencing it, they are somehow saying that they don't deserve to feel better for some reason. It brings the point that many issues are held in our subconscious which simply don't work on a logical scale. We may be thinking without our consciousness that we want to be rid of this issue or problem, yet subconsciously...we want to be safe, we may be living in our inner child, our memories, our identities, our familiar, and the like.
What we as practitioners can do.
Many practitioners are concerned that clients who experience the Apex Effect may not see that EFT helped them and might stop using it or not speak well of it. There are several things the practitioner can do to assist the client who is experiencing the effect while also maintaining the integrity of the EFT technique. One important point to make here is that for the EFT practitioner, regardless of what happens with the client, the practitioner's belief in EFT is critical. If a client is experiencing doubt or disbelief, the faith in the EFT process by the practitioner can be an imperative piece to the overall puzzle. The practitioner doesn't need to vindicate it per say, just believe it and with all energy vibrations, it will sustain itself.
Several sources suggest that an effective method to decrease the intensity of the cognitive dissonance or apex effect may be to explain the process to the client; that the apex effect may happen and basically what it is. It doesn't have to be an elaborate explanation though just enough to put the concept into their consciousness that it could happen. The explanaiont could be as simple as: "Some people have experienced a rapid lessening of intensity and felt that EFT tapping distracted them or that the issue was never that big of a deal in the first place. Because EFT can work so quickly and works with our natural body energies, the intensity could drop just that fast."
Research in the field of psychology has suggested that the more one thinks about the issue that they are denying exists, the more intense they are about it whereas if they are in the place of feeling about it, they are less stressed and less intense about it. The point for the EFT practitioner here is to somehow link the results of having no intensity or care about the initial issue to some emotional state of the client rather than force them into thinking about how EFT helped them. If the client did a Personal Peace Procedure list, perhaps another aspect related to the issue may draw the person back to an emotional view of the general issue. The good thing about this process, too, is it distracts the mind from trying to figure out what to do (bring back the issue or assume it never happened). It also takes the client back to the EFT process and they will likely already show an intensity decrease about the overall problem and other aspects.
What is important to remember is that the client is not intentionally deceiving the process or themselves. We all want to feel good but it also may come at the cost of contradicting what we have known or considered part of our identity for a long time. While processes like EFT can provide amazing and fairly rapid results, the mind isn't always in line or doesn't always catch up as quickly.
As an EFT practitioner, we need to be aware that this type of behavior can happen and that it is not commonly intentional. Just being aware can help us to work with and through it for the first thing we need to do is maintain an air of calm. The client may react in any number of ways - for instance as noted in the examples, denial, completely ignoring it, panic, etc. If things begin to get heated, use some de-escalating techniques such as staying relaxed, not approaching them (entering their boundaries. It is suggested to remain at least four feet away, especially in the case of panic), and speak in a relaxed, calm, and non-condescending tone.
The use of active listening skills is a great ally in this situation. Let the client talk. Listen to them and make no judgments. Use open ended questions to draw answers from them. If they are panicking and feeling cramped in the office, offer to move outside or to a larger room. Respond to their feelings not their words. Rephrase statements as you understand them. And of course, as most EFT practitioners do, trust and use your intuition to work with and through the effect with your client. Happy tapping all!
E.J. Frank is an EFT practitioner, author, and trainer in Emotional Freedom Techniques and other energy based and self help topics. Find a variety of additional articles, links, and resources at
http://EFTwithEJFrank.com/Technique.html
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What Keeps You Up at Night? - Middle-of-the-Night Techniques to Create Success
By Christine Laureano
I'm posing this questions, as I sit here at 1:00am, to bring some thoughts into form.
What does keep you up at night? For most, stress is the big factor. Stress about work, finances, relationships, family, what do I do with my life now. Any of this hitting home? We fight to stay in bed and sleep! We have to get up in the morning and perform our usual rituals. If we don't get enough sleep, we'll feel useless during the day.
What if I could help you to ease what it is that is keeping you up at night, with a few simple suggestions?
First, instead of fighting to go back to sleep - get up! No need to toss and turn, your chattering mind will not have it.
Second, get out paper and something to write with - no, do not go and turn the tv on! Believe it or not, the middle of the night is the best time to connect with yourself. You can get a lot of clarity to what ever is going on if you just sit with yourself and unload! Write down all that is on your mind, every detail.
Third, look at what you have written. How many things are you, in some way, fearful of? Look at all the "what ifs" you have just written down.
Fourth, take these fears one at a time. What do they mean for you in your life? As that goes through your mind - write - uncensored and unfiltered. What are you discovering? How much is made up? How much is imposed on to you by someone else - in some way shape or form?
Fifth, here's the big one! Ready? Take what you have written in number four...step back and now become an observer to this question and ask yourself..."What is the worst that could happen?" Now what comes up?
When we give ourselves a chance to break these thoughts down into a simpler form, remove the filters and then ask,"What's the worst that could happen" - as an observer, not a participant, we can see things/circumstances/situations for what they really are. We can create such drama in our lives that we put up wall after wall. Take the wall down, bit by bit and you can start to see what is beyond it, in a new and clearer light.
Honor this time with yourself - even if it does seem like a god-awful time - you will not regret it. And, you will wake up with a fresher mind. Believe it or not, you won't even feel that tired.
Next step....sleep! Sweet dreams.
Your Life is An Occasion ~ Rise To It~
Christine Laureano
Life Clarity Expert and Mid-life Adventure Coach
http://www.ChristineLaureanoCoaching.com
http://www.GetClearOnYourFear.com
Open Your Mind to Your Possibilities!
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Using EFT and Recovering From Surgery
By Kevin Gianni
In this article Rick Wilkes shares on EFT when you need surgery. Rick Wilkes is an EFT specialist.
KEVIN: What about, you know, and I think that some of your body worked deals with this because you were a massage therapist. What about someone who has surgery for something, say, for a knee injury or an elbow injury or a shoulder injury, and the doctor says to them, "Look, you're not going to ever regain full range of motion?" Like, what can EFT do for someone who has experienced something like that, because I think this is one of the most fascinating things about it?
RICK: Oh it is. First of all, acknowledge that....
KEVIN: Oh, before you even say this, I want to say please to everyone out there. Please listen to this with an open mind because I know that some people might discount some of this stuff right off the bat, but please listen to this because there's countless of examples for what it's worth.
RICK: Oh, I don't have problem with skepticism.
KEVIN: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
RICK: In fact, I came to EFT not only as a massage therapist which to some may feel pretty squishy.
KEVIN: A-ha. Yeah.
RICK: I'm an electrical engineer and technologist by training.
KEVIN: A-ha.
RICK: I have decades of experience working with computers and designing processes and systems that need to work consistently and robustly and for me, EFT, if it did not provide the kind of consistent results that an engineer would find appealing, well, hmm, I wouldn't be interested.
KEVIN: Ha! That's a great point.
RICK: So, when I look at the energy of something, if I am in a doctor's office and maybe half-dressed, feeling scared and a doctor says to me a long list of possible side effects of a medication or that these are the things that may go wrong or that may never would be restored as part of this surgery, we are in an altered state of consciousness.
KEVIN: A-ha.
RICK: Anytime that we're in the presence of somebody that has authority, don't we all feel a little bit different than our calm and confident self?
KEVIN: Yeah, absolutely.
RICK: Yeah. So let's just first take the reality that doctors are now required to give you a whole slew of bad news that doesn't apply to 99.9% of the people but they're required by law to give you all this information in the interest of "informed consent."
KEVIN: OK.
RICK: OK. Now, they also are looking at your body in a particular light. They do not necessarily appreciate the kind of intelligence that's at work in the natural healing process because they come in at a point where your natural healing processes had been disturbed.
KEVIN: Sure.
RICK: They don't even know what you might be capable of regenerating in terms of range of motion, flexibility, regeneration of the health and vitality of the joints of your body. So I'll give you an example. It's a personal example. I had back surgery, L5-S1 discectomy in 1999.
KEVIN: A-ha.
RICK: Now, I have spent a year in pretty intense pain before that surgery. I did not recover nearly as quickly as the doctor had said might be typical. But today, having used EFT and all the limiting beliefs about what that back injury might mean to me, the limitations that it might put on my flexibility, everything that I've heard about it. Today, my spine feels to me the healthiest it has ever felt. My spine at 13 was not nearly as healthy and vital as it is today. I am doing Zumba which is, if you are familiar with it, is a pretty high-intensity aerobics based upon Latin dance moves.
KEVIN: A-ha.
RICK: Well, there's a lot of shaking of the low back and sacrum as part of Zumba.
KEVIN: Right.
RICK: And before I went to that class, there were some limiting beliefs about what was possible in my body that I addressed with EFT.
KEVIN: OK.
RICK: Today, I went to the class much more calm and confident and I'm seeing my body respond in a way that is certainly out, way outside the curve of what you normally see from people that had an L5-S1 surgery, even 7 or 8 years ago.
KEVIN: Got you. And why don't you take us through to some of the things that you addressed with having, because I think, I think having a blueprint is so important because, you know, there's probably a lot of people out there who have had certain injuries or certain, they have been told that they are limited. And why don't you take us through a process that can say "Hey, you know, this is what you might want to attempt to do, you know, just try it and see what happens."
RICK: Now, I suggest that first, people be comfortable with the idea of baby steps.
KEVIN: OK.
RICK: We're not necessarily going to jump right out of a plane, OK? There is an evolutionary process. If you want to be a skydiver, they are going to take you to ground school.
KEVIN: Yeah.
RICK: And, what I say is, OK. What is this first limitation that you think you that have, based upon this surgery? And one of them that immediately came to mind is "I have to be careful."
KEVIN: OK.
RICK: A-ha.
KEVIN: Great. Yeah. OK.
RICK: So, I felt like, "Ahh, I've got to be careful. I don't want to reinjure myself."
KEVIN: And be careful in terms of just anything, correct?
RICK: Anything.
KEVIN: Yeah.
RICK: Right. Anything. I have to be careful. There is this sense of "Hmm, I really can't explore the edges of experience. I have to be in a more narrow comfort zone." So, I did some tapping even though I feel like I have to be careful.
KEVIN: A-ha.
RICK: I'm open to the possibility that my back is stronger and more flexible than ever.
KEVIN: OK.
RICK: Alright. And as I did the tapping around, feeling the need to be careful, what I felt was my comfort zone expanding. Now that didn't mean that I immediately left to doing breakdancing.
KEVIN: Right.
RICK: Right?
KEVIN: Right.
RICK: What I did is I started to explore. I started doing some dance around my studio. I put on some music, I started exploring the movement. Now the next thing that came up, Kevin, was when I was sore the next day. Now, who doesn't try something new and feel a little sore the next day, right?
KEVIN: Yeah.
RICK: But if you've been through a year of chronic pain or you're just starting to move back into a more vital activity, well, you're going to be sore, and yet it triggered a sense of uh-oh. There was just a sense that there was no logical reason for it. My doctors aren't telling me "Don't do this." Never go against the doctor who is saying "don't do this" during the early stages of recovery.
KEVIN: Sure. Yeah.
RICK: You know. We're not suggesting that you be stupid.
KEVIN: Yeah.
RICK: But your body has an intelligence and as you soothe the energy around it, like uh-oh. Once I soothe that energy, guess what, when I put my hand on my back, my back said "Oh, I feel good." I said "Really?" It said "Yeah." It is a little bit sore but we weren't working on some scar tissue here, Rick. We're just loosening that up. It's starting to feel pretty good." And I said "Well, OK. What might help soothe you a little bit?" And my back said, "Well you know, a little warm compress might feel really good right now." And I went and took a nice hot bath and I put some warmth on my back and my back said "Oh, that's really good." Now here is the key. EFT helped clear the noise, this fear. And then, you're listening to your own body's intelligence.
KEVIN: A-ha.
RICK: You're not trying to force your body to take huge leaps because "I have something to prove." That's not the way the body's intelligence works. What it is, is if the noise is up, the fear is up, soothe that using EFT and then very intelligently listen to your body and say, "Well, what would be good for you right now?" Oh, five minutes of dance and movements.
KEVIN: A-ha.
RICK: Maybe a couple of jumping jacks might be good. "Hey look at me, I'm more strong and vital than I thought." How about doing a gastroc stretch.
KEVIN: Uh-hmm.
RICK: I haven't been able to do that for a long time. That feels pretty good. How many should I do? Three? Well. Why not 12? I'm going to push it to beat the - that's where another aspect of this can be helped with EFT. That sense that you're having to fix yourself; the sense that, "Well, I was broken before and now I have something to prove."
KEVIN: Huh.
RICK: That is just as much of a block to you, really enjoying your body, Kevin, if you're feeling limited. It's the whip aspect that so many people who want to be at peak performance, believe that you have to really push beyond, push beyond. If somebody is a pusher like that and they find themselves repeatedly being injured in little or big ways, that's an area to deal with with EFT as well. What's the belief that says you have something to prove rather than a life to enjoy.
Kevin Gianni the host of "Renegade Health Show" - a fun and informative daily health show that is changing the perception of health across the world. His is an internationally known health advocate, author, and film consultant. He has helped thousands and thousands of people in over 21 countries though online health teleseminars about abundance, optimum health and longevity. He is also the creator and co-author of The Busy Person's Fitness Solution.
By E. J. Frank
There is an interesting thing that happens sometimes while working with EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques, an energy based therapy which taps on meridian points to ease discomfort emotionally, psychologically, physically, and spiritually). In the couple of years I have been working with folks using EFT, I've run across it a few times myself. In this article, I'll be presenting some examples of this issue, talking about some possible reasons it occurs, and noting some ways that we, as practitioners, can work with the client who may be experiencing it.
Some examples:
-- In one case, I was tapping with a medical nurse of over 30 years on her knee pain. She was skeptical at first though when her pain eased, the first words out of her mouth were, "somehow you distracted me".
-- Another example was when I was tapping on a college student's test anxiety. The student called me one evening in a complete panic over an upcoming exam. We tapped a few rounds and the intensity rating (when we tap, we typically take an initial SUDS or intensity reading on how much the issue bothers the client. The scale is from 0 to 10 with 0 being little bother and 10 being intense) went from a 9 to a 4. The student was content with that and we hung up the phone. I got a call a couple days later with the student saying how she got a 90 on her test, almost 30 points higher than on the first test. When I asked about the anxiety level, the student said very casually that she wasn't too concerned about this test at all.
I said lightly, "Oh, the tapping helped, huh?"
And she said, "I didn't really need to tap much because I wasn't that stressed out."
In a recent example, I was tapping with a woman who was struggling with the concept of loss. After a couple of rounds, her intensity level had come way down from a 9 to about a 3. Almost as suddenly, she appeared to have shut down to the idea of tapping and instead, in a heated panic, began rapidly and intensely discussing her adamant belief in her religion. It was as if she felt like she was betraying her God by using energy work and felt guilty because she was feeling relief from it. (Which the option that perhaps her God brought the energy technique to her as a tool to help with her issue was not in play at this point.)
So what's possibly going on here?
In none of these examples was EFT tapping given credit for the relief. Instead, the client veered off in some other direction or tangent. Gary Craig, founder of EFT, touches on this topic in the EFT manual and on his website. He calls it the Apex Effect. Dr. Roger Callahan, developer of Thought Field Therapy, the precursor of EFT, called it the Apex Problem. It has also been considered a type of psychological reversal. Fred P Gallo, author of "Energy Psychology", related the apex problem to cognitive dissonance, a term coined by social psychologist Leon Festinger.
In basic terms, cognitive dissonance is the emotional effect of experiencing a behavior that opposes an internal attitude or belief. And usually, this is a negative emotion or uncomfortable feeling.
A simple example of this may be when we take a multiple choice test and change our answer then find out our original answer was the correct one. We commonly react to getting the answer wrong, justify changing it, feel something about it (usually upset or anger), and the like. The issue isn't so much that we changed the answer but rather how we felt or reacted to the outcome (in this case, getting the answer wrong after we initially had it right). In this example, the test is the logical part of the situation and our reaction to the error is the subconscious part. This constriction of logic and subconscious (not logical) creates feelings of anxiety, sadness, guilt, second guessing ourselves, feeling threatened (identity), denial, feeling we need to explain our actions/reactions, and more.
People don't like to feel uncomfortable. Part of this is built in - psychologically and biologically. Psychologically, we create foundations and beliefs that help us maneuver through our lives day to day. When something challenges a foundation or belief, commonly the foundation feels it must somehow defend itself, even if the new-found idea is just as effective or even better. The challenge causes discomfort and we want to do whatever we can to ease that discomfort.
Biologically, the mind functions quickly so that it can react fast to the stimulus. When it reacts, it is typically subconsciously. With EFT, sometimes something that has been a part of our identity or a feeling we have had for years or a pain we just got used to, may dissipate quickly. It is suggested that our minds take periodic scans of what is going on in our bodies at all levels (emotional, physical, etc).
So if the mind sees that at one moment there is a pain and in the next it's gone, one of two things happen. One, the mind decides the pain was never there in the first place or two, it says it is still there. In the former case, people don't recall the intensity the issue brought since the mind didn't remember or acknowledge it. In the latter case, the pain may return, showing that the client has a resistance to letting go of the issue. (If this is the case, one method used to help get past it, if the client does want to move beyond the pain, is to tap on aspects, or other parts, of the core issue. There may be other pieces to the puzzle which may be contributing to the client's grip on to the issue. Making a list, such as in the Personal Peace Procedure that Gary Craig presents, might be of assistance in finding these additional aspects. Another noted cause of an issue not clearing involves toxins such as perfumes, foods, etc, which interfere with the body's energy system.)
So how do we, as the person experiencing the dissonance, typically relieve the discomfort associated with a behavior opposing our beliefs? There have been several methods noted. One is to change an aspect or part of the idea. For instance, if we see rich people as being snobs and yet we want to be rich but we don't want to be a snob, we might look for other examples of rich people who aren't snobs.
Another way is what is called confirmation bias, or finding reasons to support an existing belief. This is seen a lot when we are beating ourselves up where we can always seem to find something to reinforce to ourselves that we are bad.
Reducing the importance of the whole issue is another technique. This is also called trivializing. Our example of the test anxiety case represented this concept.
Another method is to replace the emotional reaction with logical reasoning. Often it is our emotional response which paralyzes us. By looking at the situation with a bit more logic, we may be able to see options and choices we otherwise couldn't see because we are standing in an emotional tunnel.
Releasing our attachment to the issue and the factors involved is another way people cope with the discomfort. In this method, the client pulls attachment away from both the experience and the belief.
Interestingly, the concept of cognitive dissonance appears to be more prevalent in societies that value individuality than ones that value the group dynamic.
The apex problem has also been considered to relate to the medical concept of confabulation. In the most basic terms, this is when the mind creates an answer (often a lie) and believes it. It is common in amnesiac and stroke clients for instance, though anyone can confabulate. If something happens where the person doesn't understand or know the answer, he or she might make something up and instantly believe it as truth, just to have an answer.
Another explanation of the apex problem is that for the people who are experiencing it, they are somehow saying that they don't deserve to feel better for some reason. It brings the point that many issues are held in our subconscious which simply don't work on a logical scale. We may be thinking without our consciousness that we want to be rid of this issue or problem, yet subconsciously...we want to be safe, we may be living in our inner child, our memories, our identities, our familiar, and the like.
What we as practitioners can do.
Many practitioners are concerned that clients who experience the Apex Effect may not see that EFT helped them and might stop using it or not speak well of it. There are several things the practitioner can do to assist the client who is experiencing the effect while also maintaining the integrity of the EFT technique. One important point to make here is that for the EFT practitioner, regardless of what happens with the client, the practitioner's belief in EFT is critical. If a client is experiencing doubt or disbelief, the faith in the EFT process by the practitioner can be an imperative piece to the overall puzzle. The practitioner doesn't need to vindicate it per say, just believe it and with all energy vibrations, it will sustain itself.
Several sources suggest that an effective method to decrease the intensity of the cognitive dissonance or apex effect may be to explain the process to the client; that the apex effect may happen and basically what it is. It doesn't have to be an elaborate explanation though just enough to put the concept into their consciousness that it could happen. The explanaiont could be as simple as: "Some people have experienced a rapid lessening of intensity and felt that EFT tapping distracted them or that the issue was never that big of a deal in the first place. Because EFT can work so quickly and works with our natural body energies, the intensity could drop just that fast."
Research in the field of psychology has suggested that the more one thinks about the issue that they are denying exists, the more intense they are about it whereas if they are in the place of feeling about it, they are less stressed and less intense about it. The point for the EFT practitioner here is to somehow link the results of having no intensity or care about the initial issue to some emotional state of the client rather than force them into thinking about how EFT helped them. If the client did a Personal Peace Procedure list, perhaps another aspect related to the issue may draw the person back to an emotional view of the general issue. The good thing about this process, too, is it distracts the mind from trying to figure out what to do (bring back the issue or assume it never happened). It also takes the client back to the EFT process and they will likely already show an intensity decrease about the overall problem and other aspects.
What is important to remember is that the client is not intentionally deceiving the process or themselves. We all want to feel good but it also may come at the cost of contradicting what we have known or considered part of our identity for a long time. While processes like EFT can provide amazing and fairly rapid results, the mind isn't always in line or doesn't always catch up as quickly.
As an EFT practitioner, we need to be aware that this type of behavior can happen and that it is not commonly intentional. Just being aware can help us to work with and through it for the first thing we need to do is maintain an air of calm. The client may react in any number of ways - for instance as noted in the examples, denial, completely ignoring it, panic, etc. If things begin to get heated, use some de-escalating techniques such as staying relaxed, not approaching them (entering their boundaries. It is suggested to remain at least four feet away, especially in the case of panic), and speak in a relaxed, calm, and non-condescending tone.
The use of active listening skills is a great ally in this situation. Let the client talk. Listen to them and make no judgments. Use open ended questions to draw answers from them. If they are panicking and feeling cramped in the office, offer to move outside or to a larger room. Respond to their feelings not their words. Rephrase statements as you understand them. And of course, as most EFT practitioners do, trust and use your intuition to work with and through the effect with your client. Happy tapping all!
E.J. Frank is an EFT practitioner, author, and trainer in Emotional Freedom Techniques and other energy based and self help topics. Find a variety of additional articles, links, and resources at
http://EFTwithEJFrank.com/Technique.html
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What Keeps You Up at Night? - Middle-of-the-Night Techniques to Create Success
By Christine Laureano
I'm posing this questions, as I sit here at 1:00am, to bring some thoughts into form.
What does keep you up at night? For most, stress is the big factor. Stress about work, finances, relationships, family, what do I do with my life now. Any of this hitting home? We fight to stay in bed and sleep! We have to get up in the morning and perform our usual rituals. If we don't get enough sleep, we'll feel useless during the day.
What if I could help you to ease what it is that is keeping you up at night, with a few simple suggestions?
First, instead of fighting to go back to sleep - get up! No need to toss and turn, your chattering mind will not have it.
Second, get out paper and something to write with - no, do not go and turn the tv on! Believe it or not, the middle of the night is the best time to connect with yourself. You can get a lot of clarity to what ever is going on if you just sit with yourself and unload! Write down all that is on your mind, every detail.
Third, look at what you have written. How many things are you, in some way, fearful of? Look at all the "what ifs" you have just written down.
Fourth, take these fears one at a time. What do they mean for you in your life? As that goes through your mind - write - uncensored and unfiltered. What are you discovering? How much is made up? How much is imposed on to you by someone else - in some way shape or form?
Fifth, here's the big one! Ready? Take what you have written in number four...step back and now become an observer to this question and ask yourself..."What is the worst that could happen?" Now what comes up?
When we give ourselves a chance to break these thoughts down into a simpler form, remove the filters and then ask,"What's the worst that could happen" - as an observer, not a participant, we can see things/circumstances/situations for what they really are. We can create such drama in our lives that we put up wall after wall. Take the wall down, bit by bit and you can start to see what is beyond it, in a new and clearer light.
Honor this time with yourself - even if it does seem like a god-awful time - you will not regret it. And, you will wake up with a fresher mind. Believe it or not, you won't even feel that tired.
Next step....sleep! Sweet dreams.
Your Life is An Occasion ~ Rise To It~
Christine Laureano
Life Clarity Expert and Mid-life Adventure Coach
http://www.ChristineLaureanoCoaching.com
http://www.GetClearOnYourFear.com
Open Your Mind to Your Possibilities!
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Using EFT and Recovering From Surgery
By Kevin Gianni
In this article Rick Wilkes shares on EFT when you need surgery. Rick Wilkes is an EFT specialist.
KEVIN: What about, you know, and I think that some of your body worked deals with this because you were a massage therapist. What about someone who has surgery for something, say, for a knee injury or an elbow injury or a shoulder injury, and the doctor says to them, "Look, you're not going to ever regain full range of motion?" Like, what can EFT do for someone who has experienced something like that, because I think this is one of the most fascinating things about it?
RICK: Oh it is. First of all, acknowledge that....
KEVIN: Oh, before you even say this, I want to say please to everyone out there. Please listen to this with an open mind because I know that some people might discount some of this stuff right off the bat, but please listen to this because there's countless of examples for what it's worth.
RICK: Oh, I don't have problem with skepticism.
KEVIN: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
RICK: In fact, I came to EFT not only as a massage therapist which to some may feel pretty squishy.
KEVIN: A-ha. Yeah.
RICK: I'm an electrical engineer and technologist by training.
KEVIN: A-ha.
RICK: I have decades of experience working with computers and designing processes and systems that need to work consistently and robustly and for me, EFT, if it did not provide the kind of consistent results that an engineer would find appealing, well, hmm, I wouldn't be interested.
KEVIN: Ha! That's a great point.
RICK: So, when I look at the energy of something, if I am in a doctor's office and maybe half-dressed, feeling scared and a doctor says to me a long list of possible side effects of a medication or that these are the things that may go wrong or that may never would be restored as part of this surgery, we are in an altered state of consciousness.
KEVIN: A-ha.
RICK: Anytime that we're in the presence of somebody that has authority, don't we all feel a little bit different than our calm and confident self?
KEVIN: Yeah, absolutely.
RICK: Yeah. So let's just first take the reality that doctors are now required to give you a whole slew of bad news that doesn't apply to 99.9% of the people but they're required by law to give you all this information in the interest of "informed consent."
KEVIN: OK.
RICK: OK. Now, they also are looking at your body in a particular light. They do not necessarily appreciate the kind of intelligence that's at work in the natural healing process because they come in at a point where your natural healing processes had been disturbed.
KEVIN: Sure.
RICK: They don't even know what you might be capable of regenerating in terms of range of motion, flexibility, regeneration of the health and vitality of the joints of your body. So I'll give you an example. It's a personal example. I had back surgery, L5-S1 discectomy in 1999.
KEVIN: A-ha.
RICK: Now, I have spent a year in pretty intense pain before that surgery. I did not recover nearly as quickly as the doctor had said might be typical. But today, having used EFT and all the limiting beliefs about what that back injury might mean to me, the limitations that it might put on my flexibility, everything that I've heard about it. Today, my spine feels to me the healthiest it has ever felt. My spine at 13 was not nearly as healthy and vital as it is today. I am doing Zumba which is, if you are familiar with it, is a pretty high-intensity aerobics based upon Latin dance moves.
KEVIN: A-ha.
RICK: Well, there's a lot of shaking of the low back and sacrum as part of Zumba.
KEVIN: Right.
RICK: And before I went to that class, there were some limiting beliefs about what was possible in my body that I addressed with EFT.
KEVIN: OK.
RICK: Today, I went to the class much more calm and confident and I'm seeing my body respond in a way that is certainly out, way outside the curve of what you normally see from people that had an L5-S1 surgery, even 7 or 8 years ago.
KEVIN: Got you. And why don't you take us through to some of the things that you addressed with having, because I think, I think having a blueprint is so important because, you know, there's probably a lot of people out there who have had certain injuries or certain, they have been told that they are limited. And why don't you take us through a process that can say "Hey, you know, this is what you might want to attempt to do, you know, just try it and see what happens."
RICK: Now, I suggest that first, people be comfortable with the idea of baby steps.
KEVIN: OK.
RICK: We're not necessarily going to jump right out of a plane, OK? There is an evolutionary process. If you want to be a skydiver, they are going to take you to ground school.
KEVIN: Yeah.
RICK: And, what I say is, OK. What is this first limitation that you think you that have, based upon this surgery? And one of them that immediately came to mind is "I have to be careful."
KEVIN: OK.
RICK: A-ha.
KEVIN: Great. Yeah. OK.
RICK: So, I felt like, "Ahh, I've got to be careful. I don't want to reinjure myself."
KEVIN: And be careful in terms of just anything, correct?
RICK: Anything.
KEVIN: Yeah.
RICK: Right. Anything. I have to be careful. There is this sense of "Hmm, I really can't explore the edges of experience. I have to be in a more narrow comfort zone." So, I did some tapping even though I feel like I have to be careful.
KEVIN: A-ha.
RICK: I'm open to the possibility that my back is stronger and more flexible than ever.
KEVIN: OK.
RICK: Alright. And as I did the tapping around, feeling the need to be careful, what I felt was my comfort zone expanding. Now that didn't mean that I immediately left to doing breakdancing.
KEVIN: Right.
RICK: Right?
KEVIN: Right.
RICK: What I did is I started to explore. I started doing some dance around my studio. I put on some music, I started exploring the movement. Now the next thing that came up, Kevin, was when I was sore the next day. Now, who doesn't try something new and feel a little sore the next day, right?
KEVIN: Yeah.
RICK: But if you've been through a year of chronic pain or you're just starting to move back into a more vital activity, well, you're going to be sore, and yet it triggered a sense of uh-oh. There was just a sense that there was no logical reason for it. My doctors aren't telling me "Don't do this." Never go against the doctor who is saying "don't do this" during the early stages of recovery.
KEVIN: Sure. Yeah.
RICK: You know. We're not suggesting that you be stupid.
KEVIN: Yeah.
RICK: But your body has an intelligence and as you soothe the energy around it, like uh-oh. Once I soothe that energy, guess what, when I put my hand on my back, my back said "Oh, I feel good." I said "Really?" It said "Yeah." It is a little bit sore but we weren't working on some scar tissue here, Rick. We're just loosening that up. It's starting to feel pretty good." And I said "Well, OK. What might help soothe you a little bit?" And my back said, "Well you know, a little warm compress might feel really good right now." And I went and took a nice hot bath and I put some warmth on my back and my back said "Oh, that's really good." Now here is the key. EFT helped clear the noise, this fear. And then, you're listening to your own body's intelligence.
KEVIN: A-ha.
RICK: You're not trying to force your body to take huge leaps because "I have something to prove." That's not the way the body's intelligence works. What it is, is if the noise is up, the fear is up, soothe that using EFT and then very intelligently listen to your body and say, "Well, what would be good for you right now?" Oh, five minutes of dance and movements.
KEVIN: A-ha.
RICK: Maybe a couple of jumping jacks might be good. "Hey look at me, I'm more strong and vital than I thought." How about doing a gastroc stretch.
KEVIN: Uh-hmm.
RICK: I haven't been able to do that for a long time. That feels pretty good. How many should I do? Three? Well. Why not 12? I'm going to push it to beat the - that's where another aspect of this can be helped with EFT. That sense that you're having to fix yourself; the sense that, "Well, I was broken before and now I have something to prove."
KEVIN: Huh.
RICK: That is just as much of a block to you, really enjoying your body, Kevin, if you're feeling limited. It's the whip aspect that so many people who want to be at peak performance, believe that you have to really push beyond, push beyond. If somebody is a pusher like that and they find themselves repeatedly being injured in little or big ways, that's an area to deal with with EFT as well. What's the belief that says you have something to prove rather than a life to enjoy.
Kevin Gianni the host of "Renegade Health Show" - a fun and informative daily health show that is changing the perception of health across the world. His is an internationally known health advocate, author, and film consultant. He has helped thousands and thousands of people in over 21 countries though online health teleseminars about abundance, optimum health and longevity. He is also the creator and co-author of The Busy Person's Fitness Solution.
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