The Emotional Freedom Techniques or EFT is great for healing emotional issues such as depression, anxiety, trauma, and stress. This article explores and advanced strategy of using EFT with Identity Statements.

The need to remain consistent with our identity is the strongest force in the human psyche.

Your identity defines and constrains. Pay attention to you language both internal and external for statements that begin with "I am ...". Statements that begin with "I am ..." are identity statements, for example:

I am a firefighter
I am a mother
I am a loner
I am an engineer
I am middle-aged
I am over the hill
I am a man
I am a victim of ...

Each of these statements, some empowering, some disempowering, defines and constrains our identity. Pay attention to your conversations and listen for how you define yourself.

If you find an identity statement that is disempowering then you can apply EFT to it by making the identity statement part of the set up:

"Even though I'm an engineer who can't trust his intuition, I choose to trust my intuition "

"Even though I'm a single mother and don't have time for relationships, I choose to love and accept myself"

"Even though I'm a victim of abuse, I can use this as an excuse to fail or motivation to succeed"

You may need to explore all the aspects of the identify statement using some form of brain dump. Then dilligently apply EFT on each of the individual aspects.

Happy tapping,
Rod Sherwin

I know many of you that already use EFT will be on Gary Craig's newsletter and I really wanted to highlight a recent article by EFT Master Patricia Carrington about new ways to handle pain with EFT.

Pat talks about reframing the pain. In this process, instead of fearing and fighting the pain, you choose to embrace the pain as sent for your learning. Using Pat's Choices method, you tap in a setup such as:

"Even though I have this pain (distress), I choose to know that it is here to heal me." or
"Even though I have this pain (distress), I thank the Universe for healing me through this pain." "I thank the Universe for allowing this pain to bring me an important change for the good."

then you do a bit of free association to see what learnings come up. Don't force them just write down whatever comes to the surface.

I have been using this particular method to investigate some stubborn pain I have been experiencing that comes and goes. It has given some insight although the has not yet stayed gone.

New Ways to Handle Pain by EFT Master Patricia Carrington

Have you ever tried to solve a problem and come circling around and around with the same thoughts e.g. :

I want to make more money
I have to get a job
I don't want to got back to what I'm doing
I can't do what I'm doing any more
I have to get a job
I don't want to do more of what I'm doing

Do you see the crazy looping going on in there? Someone said that 95% of the thoughts we think each day at the same ones we thought yesterday.

So where do new thoughts come from?

Often after applying EFT, maybe not with the formal phrasing, but just tapping while vocalising the thought loop that you are stuck in, a new thought will arise. This new thought is usually one of those light bulb moments that truly brightens you mind and life.

The new thought that came out of the above loop was: "I could get a different job"

For people who have had many jobs in their life this is an obvious thought. But for those who have ever only worked in one career this simple new thought, in fact just this one extra word in the thought, opens up whole new vistas of possibilities.

So where did that new thought come from?

One of the key things taught in the EFT DVD's is to find specific events or memories to apply EFT to. These are reference events that have led to the beliefs or issues that you are experiencing. This article gives your some strategies to go from general to specific.

When clients first come to me with a general issue such as sadness or depression, I find it useful to start out general and let the story unfold layer by layer.

For example, if you're feeling sad, then start tapping on "Even thought I feel sad,..." After a few rounds ask yourself questions about why you feel sad. The answer might be "Because I'm single". So do some tapping on "Even though I'm sad because I'm single,..." Then explore the issues around why you're single at this point in time. This may then lead to more feelings and some memories and beliefs.

Be gentle with yourself as you explore an issue.

You can tap without words but it helps accentuate the feeling, and clear it, if you can put some words around it.