Using EFT to Clear Anxiety

By Seth Lepore

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Anxiety is one of the more difficult emotions to traverse as it manifests in various forms throughout our everyday life. EFT can decrease the negative emotional charge underlying the anxiety.

With EFT it is important to be as specific as possible when determining what it is you’re working on. There are very different kinds of anxiety. Work anxiety, family anxiety, money anxiety and future-related anxiety to name a few. Generally all anxiety stems from a past event that was either difficult or traumatic. However, sometimes you can have a hard time pinpointing the exact circumstance. That’s ok. You can still work on the anxiety as you are currently feeling it.

Coming up with the set-up phrase is a key component of relieving yourself of the effect anxiety can have on your life. (For how EFT works in a nutshell go to How to Do EFT). If you simply state “I feel so anxious” it isn’t specific enough about the kind of anxiety you are experiencing.

Some examples of specific set-up statements:

“Even though I am anxious about interacting with Uncle Mike at the family reunion…”
“Even though I would get anxious every time I took a math test in Ms. Grady’s class…”
“Even though this anxiety feels like two bags of bricks on my chest…”

If you are having a difficult time getting specific just go with the feelings you are having in your body associated with the anxiety. “My head feels like it’s going to explode…My legs are shaking with anticipation…These butterflies in my stomach…” Sometimes dealing directly with the body sensations can help take the level of anxiety down so that you can then see what’s underneath.

When you are feeling anxious it can feel like too much to identify specific circumstances. Another phrase that can help clear the pathway is:

“Even though I feel too much anxiety to get specific about the cause of this feeling…”

Rate it on the 1-10 scale and try several rounds until you get down to a two or three. Then re-investigate the anxiety. Once you have gotten a chance to take the charge down, being able to observe it may give you deeper insight into the underlying core issue.

The key is to feel into the anxiety and meet it where it’s at. Once you can minimize any sensations in your body that are uncomfortable you can then get more specific. Do you have any memories of when you felt this anxiety before? If you were to give this anxiety three descriptive adjectives what would they be?

You don’t need the set-up phrase to be perfect but you do want the impact of its language to feel true and accurate. Something else to note is that anxiety may feel different than worry or nervousness. How I define anxiety may be oppositional to how my best friend views the feeling. It is a subjective experience for a general feeling state we all go through.

Take a moment to note what makes you anxious in the present moment. What feels the biggest, the most true or intense? Work on that first.

When we are able to identify and name our emotional states with specific set-up phrases the process of EFT goes a lot smoother.

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Author's Bio:

My name is Seth Lepore and I am an Intuitive Counselor, EFT Cert-I and Reiki Practitioner at the Master Level (III). I specialize in Depression, Fears & Phobias, Spiritual Crisis, Trauma, Abuse, PTSD, Stress and Anxiety, Difficult Emotions and Creative Blocks.

My intention is to provide a safe, trusting environment for clients to feel and heal at their own pace. My passion is showing clients how to use Energy Psychology to lessen the charge of difficult emotions and habitual thought patterns as well as deepen their unique spiritual path. I’m known for my down to earth approach and sense of humor in the face of obstacles.

I teach classes in developing intuition, setting boundaries, spatial awareness and regaining trust of one’s own process and experiences. I work with clients in person throughout New England as well as worldwide via phone sessions and Skype. Find out more at practicalhealings.com

1 Comment

Diane
Posted March 08, 2010 07:24 AM

Hi Seth..
so glad I found your web site....you're very informative so I signed up for the articles and newsletters. I've only been using EFT for about a year and have had some good results with it..I need to learn more, and I will.
I am having some acupuncture done for various problems and know EFT can assist me more. Right now, I'm experiencing "ear noise". I tried EFT last night and it seemed to help, but I was wondering if you could assist me in the right wording for this.
Thank you for your help ..

sometime, I would like to set up a visit with you (I live in W. Spfld., MA)
not too far from you. :>)

Diane

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Disclaimer: All information on this website is for educational purposes only, and the content is not intended to suggest that it is a substitute for proper medical care or good common sense.

While EFT has produced remarkable clinical results, it must still be considered to be in the experimental stage and thus practitioners and the public must take complete responsibility for their use of it.

In addition, the articles on this site represent the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the founder of EFT, Gary Craig, nor the owner of this web site, Stefan Gonick.