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TUNING IN
It is very important to know that there are two parts to the treatment. First, you must tap the treatment points. Secondly, and just as important, you must think about your emotional discomfort. If you are working on anxiety, you must think about your anxiety. If it’s sadness or trauma, think about the sadness or the traumatic event.
However, we must be reasonable. To ask some people to focus more on their hurt may cause so much discomfort that they are unable to do the treatment at all. If this describes you, don’t worry about focusing on the hurt. You are already quite focused.
Listed below are three algorithms for anxiety / fear / cravings, trauma, and sadness. These are the three that would be the most helpful in dealing with a chronic illness. Choose the one you would like to try and then follow the instructions.
The first three points in these treatments are not a part of Callahan’s algorithms. I have found it useful to begin a treatment with these points as they may correct an existing reversal [more about reversals in the next chapter].
ANXIETY / FEAR/ CRAVINGS
This algorithm is used to treat anxiety or nervousness, fears or phobias, and addictive cravings. Anxiety can certainly be a part of a serious illness. This treatment can be used several times throughout the day, or as often as you wish, to help control anxiety.
Fear is very much a part of dealing with a serious illness. One might suffer from fear of developing symptoms, fear of losing independence, or fear of dying, among many other things. Give it some thought and write down any fears or phobias that you would like to overcome. Work on them one at a time.
As an added bonus, this algorithm will reduce addictive cravings. It has been successfully used to control cravings for a food, such as chocolate or other diet busters. It has also been used to control cravings for tobacco and even street drugs.
If you or someone you know is trying to quit smoking, this may be helpful. A word of caution about addictions; this treatment will remove cravings but it will not make you choose to quit the addiction. You still must choose to quit.
For example, I once stopped a friend who was leaving the building to smoke. I explained the treatment and she patiently listened, although it was obvious that she was becoming more and more anxious as her craving was becoming stronger by the minute. She agreed to try it. Her initial self-rating for her craving was a nine. The treatment took about one minute and her self-rating dropped to a two. She laughed and said, “Well, I don’t have to smoke now.” I went into my office for the next appointment and emerged one hour later. When I asked my friend how she was doing, she replied, “Oh, I went ahead and smoked anyway.” She had no craving and had a choice, but apparently had no desire to quit smoking.
If you choose to use this algorithm for cravings, you should know that the craving will return. It may return in an hour, or it may be several hours. When it returns just treat it again.
So, think about how you feel and decide what you would like to work on first. This treatment is very specific, so be as specific as possible. Here’s what to do.
Always start by rating your discomfort. Think about your discomfort from anxiety, fear or craving [this algorithm works for all three, but treat them one at a time]. Rate your discomfort from 0 to 10, with 0 being no discomfort and 10 being the most discomfort of this kind you have ever experienced. This is a rating of how you feel NOW at this moment, as you think about your discomfort. Write this number down.
As previously mentioned, I have found it helpful to attempt to clear reversals before starting the treatment. To do this, think about your discomfort while you massage the sore spot. If the sore spot is tender [sore] keep massaging until the soreness goes away [usually one or two minutes]. If there is no soreness, massage the spot for about 15 seconds. After massaging the sore spot, tap the side of hand and under the nose, five taps each.
You are now ready to begin. Continue to think about you anxiety, fear or craving and tap each of the following points at least five times.
FLOOR TO CEILING EYE ROLLThis is a quick treatment for mild anxiety. Once your self-rating for anxiety is down to a two or three, this quick technique will often bring the anxiety down to a rating of one or zero. This technique is also good to use several times throughout the day for quick shots of stress relief. Here is the procedure:
In this exercise, you tap quickly and roll your eyes slowly. Try to avoid head movement when rolling your eyes upward. If your discomfort level did not drop, don’t worry. We will discuss troubleshooting in the next chapter. For now, let’s cover the other algorithms.
TRAUMATrauma is the most obvious and the most threatening culprit we must deal with. It is closely associated with anxiety and sadness. I have often treated clients who subjectively reported little improvement until the trauma and the anxiety / sadness were treated. You may need to treat all three.
MULTIPLE TRAUMAS
Dealing with trauma associated with a serious disease will require some thought. It can be somewhat complicated because both the patient and family members are dealing with multiple traumas. For example, the patient may be dealing with the trauma of learning that he or she has a life-threatening disease. Additional traumas may include loss of ability to walk, talk, interact with others, change in appearance, inability to work and provide for family, and so on.
In the same way, family members are likely suffering from multiple traumas, such as watching a loved one suffer, loss of freedom in order to provide care for the patient, possible loss of career, financial pressures, and so on.
It is very helpful to make a list of things that are traumatic to you personally. Trauma is subjective. A severely traumatic event for one person may be a minor trauma for another. A list of the issues that give you discomfort will be very helpful.
When dealing with multiple traumas, the more you can separate you feelings associated with each trauma, the better. Again, this treatment is very specific. IT WILL TREAT THE ISSUES / FEELINGS THAT YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT WHILE YOU TAP. For this reason, it is important to stay with one issue throughout the tapping sequence. There is often a tendency to “switch” to another issue as one gains relief from the issue being treated. Try to avoid switching.
When dealing with multiple traumas, it is sometimes hard to separate feelings associated with the different traumatic events. The less one is able to separate one’s feelings, the less dramatic the initial treatment will feel.
To illustrate, suppose a man is hanging by his arms from a tree in a swamp, with ten alligators snapping at him. We come in, grab one alligator by the tail and yank him away. We then ask the poor fellow if he feels any better. He looks down at the nine snapping alligators and says “Not much.”
The same is true when working with multiple traumas. Removing one will not take away all the hurt. Of course, the answer in this situation is, don’t stop. Keep working on your list. The more alligators you remove the better it feels.
ASPECTSThe concept of aspects is similar to that of multiple traumas. A single trauma may have different aspects that cause discomfort. For example, suppose a man survives a hotel fire. As a result of this trauma he has nightmares of being trapped in a burning hotel. He also has discomfort when on elevators and has panic attacks when he thinks about or sees a fire truck. These are all different aspects of a single trauma.
From a practical standpoint, most people start treatment by tuning in to the most pressing aspect. As they gain relief they suddenly become aware of the next most pressing aspect. At this point there is a tendency to switch the mental focus to the new aspect. As with multiple traumas, try to avoid switching. The good news is that the various aspects will surface, so they can be treated. Just be aware of what is happening and try to not let it affect your self-ratings. Be sure that your initial and final ratings are both relating to the same issue.
Here is the algorithm for trauma:
SADDNESS / PHYSICAL PAIN
This algorithm is used to reduce sadness and it’s also used to reduce physical pain. A word of caution regarding reducing pain; pain serves a purpose. It is the body’s way of letting us know that something is wrong. For this reason, pain should not be ignored. Removing pain can be a negative thing. For example, removing knee pain without knowing the cause of the pain could allow one to continue using the knee and cause further damage. In this case, pain is serving to protect the knee.
Be sure you know the reason for your pain and that it is safe to reduce or eliminate the pain. If you are not sure, discuss it with your physician.
This algorithm is often helpful in gaining relief from headaches, including migraines. Of course, it can often be helpful in reducing pain associated with the patient’s disease. I have found that this algorithm will give relief from pain for three to five hours. When the pain begins to return, the algorithm must be repeated. With headaches, the relief usually lasts much longer.
Sadness is very common, and understandable, in patients who are suffering from a serious illness. The sadness is usually related to loss; loss of health, independence, gainful employment, future hopes and plans, etc. Family members suffer from loss as well, primarily, loss of the loved one’s health. As the patient loses abilities and functioning, family members feel the gradual loss of the loved one each step of the way.
Again, it will be helpful to identify the losses or causes of the sadness if possible. Make a list of these losses and treat them one at a time. It may also be necessary to treat these “causes” with the trauma algorithm. If separating feelings of sadness is not possible, that’s all right. Just focus on the general feeling of sadness.
If the sadness is severe the possibility of clinical depression should be considered. Only a physician or mental health professional can determine the presence of clinical depression. Use of this algorithm alone should not substitute for treatment of depression by trained professionals. However, it can certainly serve as a good adjunct to professional treatment.
Here’s the algorithm for sadness / pain: Rate the discomfort from 0 to 10. Think about the discomfort and massage the sore spot, tap under the nose and tap the side of hand. Begin the algorithm by tapping the following points:
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