Increasing your effectiveness with EFT, part 95.
In many countries, there has been an increase in polarization over the past few years. This means that, for many people (myself included), political elections feel like there’s a lot at stake. They can evoke deep emotions, especially when the candidate we support doesn’t win. This is sometimes known as “Election Trauma”. So, how can we use EFT to help a client who is dealing with that?
As usual, to minimize overwhelm and increase EFT’s effectiveness we want to help them come up with something specific to focus on. This could be a specific event, for example, a recent conversation with a co-worker, friend or family member where they tried to explain why the candidate who lost was a better option, to no avail. It could also be a future event of something bad they imagine will happen as a result of the new government’s policies.
Another way to help them come up with something specific to focus on while tapping is to ask them: “What do you see in your mind’s eye when thinking about this recent Election?”. I tend to clarify that it may not be anything visual necessarily (some people are more auditory or kinesthetic in terms of how they process information).
The answer to that question might be a memory or future event, as mentioned above, or it might be a certain metaphor or mental image, for example “I can imagine a sky with dark clouds, with a huge storm brewing”. Or “I can imagine the party that won the elections gathered together thinking how they can make our lives miserable”.
As always, we want to then enquire what feeling or sensation comes up for them now as they think about that, since that is what we’ll be targeting with EFT.
Something else to keep in mind is that if the emotional intensity is very high when thinking or talking about this, then it’s important to use the Gentle Techniques, such as Sneaking Up. Sneaking Up basically means just naming the feeling without going into any details about the distressing emotionally charged aspects. It might sound something like: “Even though I feel upset just thinking about this, this is just where I’m at right now”.
Once the emotional intensity begins to subside, we can then go into a bit more detail by “zooming in” with Basic EFT. That might sound something like: “Even though I feel really sad when thinking about the Elections, and this mental image of a sky covered with dark clouds, with a huge storm brewing, and I feel this sadness in my heart area, this is just where I’m at right now”.
There will likely be many aspects to tap on when dealing with Election Trauma, so it’s important to be patient and not expect instant results. Sometimes for example if the client feels powerless and defeated about the outcome of the elections, this might bring up past memories (not necessarily related to politics) where they might have felt the same way.
This can potentially present them with the opportunity to bring some healing and attention to those memories as well.
And that’s it for today! I’m Bruno Sade, a compassionate, open-minded clinical psychologist, and certified EFT practitioner. My approach is tailored to your individual needs and preferences, always respecting your experiences, beliefs, and background.
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