How to laugh in the face of trauma

He was taken at gunpoint and he actually laughed! Let me explain…

Fran came to see me for kinesiology. He had been struggling with some mysterious symptoms for a while. He said they started with guns sometime after he was arrested.

The reality is that we didn’t really get the results we were looking for.
I told Fran that I thought she might benefit from what I called EFT (Emotional Freedom).
Technique), also known as touch. And it can be a gentle and effective way for her to not only process this traumatic event, but actually heal from it.

I mentioned that sometimes traumatic events stick in the body and often manifest in it
physical problems, health problems and even chronic stress. He certainly agreed that the stress of the incident may have been a contributing factor to what he was going through.

EFT helps to lower cortisol levels in the body and significantly reduce stress. Allows true healing to take place.

EFT to the rescue

We decided to try some EFT strokes to begin working on this traumatic memory that was affecting Fran’s health and well-being.

No doubt there were several sessions we went through to clear this issue. So it wasn’t surprising (and most things aren’t). But we worked it out with different emotional release techniques. The main thing we focused on Tell the story. A technique used in EFT to isolate and reframe every emotional detail of the stressful or traumatic stories we carry through our bodies.

It worked like a charm because by the end of the fourth session, Fran had this big smile on her face and started laughing. Yes, actually laughing at the trauma of being robbed at gunpoint.

Process power

Let me go back a bit…

As we tap into each emotional tension as Fran tells her story of the robbery at gunpoint, something begins to shift for her. I could literally see this change in his body language and facial expressions. He told me that during one of the last taping rounds, his future self appeared and assured him that he would be fine. He told himself to give the robbers what they wanted because he will go through it. It was very powerful for Fran. In fact, it was a paradigm shift for her.

You see, her current belief that “something bad is always going to happen to me” was disintegrating before our eyes. What has gone beyond the theft itself – proving bad things always happen, witnesses and the police believing wholeheartedly that “something really bad is going to happen to me” to the realization that “I don’t have to do this anymore”.

We did another round of touch ups and broke this pattern of Fran holding on for so long.

Emotional freedom anyone?

Before we finished this final round, Fran really started to break down. As we passed that section, I asked him about the laughter. He said the only thing he can think about now is that the situation itself is a normal business transaction. “Thank you for the business… my wallet for changing the paradigm of life, thank you very much”.

At the end of Fran’s final 90-minute session, we went through the entire script from beginning to end, scene by scene. Fran reported no fear and no retribution as she experienced this intense series of events that had caused so much pain and stress earlier in her life. He said he felt it now alone gratitude and thanksgiving for the freedom that was created for him.

The decline of EFT

True emotional freedom at its best. This is a body-regulated care practice that combines cognitive behavioral therapy (acknowledging the uncomfortable moment) with gentle tapping on specific acupressure points on the face and body simultaneously.

This miraculous combination has been shown to significantly reduce anxiety, emotional trauma, and stress that may be running the show at one point or another.

EFT Tapping is a science-based relaxation technique that supports anxiety, depression, PTSD, and more…This amazing method has been validated in more than 20 randomized clinical trials, and more than 100 studies have been reviewed in psychological and medical journals..

How it works

When you react to perceived danger, your body automatically goes into the sympathetic nervous system, or fight or flight mode as we know it. Ultimately, this shuts down your body’s response to anything but moving away from perceived danger. But instead of getting your amygdala, EFT helps you deal with those negative thoughts of worry, fear or anxiety. Accurate observations trigger the part of your brain responsible for releasing stress hormones into your body and bloodstream.

This can be extremely helpful for someone with a chronic illness or symptoms that interfere with daily life.

Ultimately, the process of touch sends a calming electrochemical message to your brain’s amygdala, allowing it to finally relax.

Treatment results

We find that EFT tapping consistently reduces physical symptoms and pain levels. Also insomnia,
symptoms of chronic disease and even digestive problems. This will help regulate your nervous system and bring you safely back into the parasympathetic state, or rest and digest. The truth is that stress is very hard on the immune system. Sometimes, it can even make you more susceptible to infection and other health imbalances. Therefore, tapping the beginning and end points of your body’s meridian system is very effective.

Simply put, EFT helps you feel better inside and out. You will find that stress is not as intense and your function and health will even improve.

We all have hurts and things we need to let go of. Thoughts that can remain in our tissues and cells for a long time. These memories and events from way back are what can affect our lives and happiness now. Because when you’re in the thick of it, you don’t even realize how impactful these situations can be… until you heal them.

Cece is a Certified EFT Clinical Practitioner. You can learn more about the EFT services he offers here https://www.cecejames.com/eft/

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