EFT and Addictions

Here’s a letter that I received from a subscriber, David — he uses my books and has taken some of my teleclasses. I think it speaks to how a person can struggle with various addictions for years, and perhaps EFT is a bridge to the subconscious in creating change, even while we sleep! What do you think?

Hi Carol,

I love your book, Lose Weight Now – Stay Slim Forever. I have been studying your work on the subject to develop my own plan to become physically fit again.

What you have written is so powerful – ideas that we all can use for our own program. I wanted you to know how much your work has meant to me, and to thank you for bringing so much wisdom to us, to make possible healing so much needed at this time.

I have kept a journal on EFT experiences and wanted to share one with you that was very meaningful to me. I am using your books on weight loss, “Lose Weight Now – Stay Slim Forever” and “Lose Weight With EFT.”

In this journal entry I am describing a dream I had a few nights ago – after three weeks of study and EFT processing.

THE DREAM

I found myself inside of a large old house standing in the lobby, and I noticed that others were being served cocktails.

Strangely, a tall slender man was casually holding a bottle of vodka in one hand and his drink in the other. I heard him ask me, “What would you like to drink?”

“I think I’ll have scotch please”, I heard myself reply.

“Go to the basement and pick out a bottle of whatever you would like”. In the basement, I noticed that a lot of people were doing yoga. I manage to carefully step around them, retrieve a bottle of J&B, and go back upstairs to pour a half a glass of scotch.

As I sipped my drink, I became aware that I was doing so WITHOUT ANY EMOTION; NEITHER WAS I AWAKENED BY THE DREAM.

BACKGROUND OF DREAM

Over the years, I have experienced a cluster of addictions: alcohol (periodic binge drinking, which on several occasions, led to detox and rehab) tobacco, food, (binge with heavy carbos, i.e., fruit cobbler, cake, bread; between compulsive periods of running and physical fitness training; with two or three days of alcohol binges every four to six months).

Tobacco was removed from the cluster, but only after an extended struggle, i.e., I quit smoking many, many times, and would always return to it only during periods of alcohol consumption. Food craving would lead me to food binges when I was free of alcohol.

Early on, weight was really never a problem because it was off-set by running, exercise, strict diet, and demands of a career. Now, weight is the primary problem, because it is the only active member of the original cluster of addiction: alcohol, tobacco, and food.

Now I’m in a situation where diets fail me, where there is much less motivation for exercise; where weight continues to increase in the absence of alcohol, and cravings continues to rage.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DREAM

After lengthy periods of “sobriety” I would often have a dream that I was again drinking alcohol, or it appeared so in the dream. These dreams were troublesome. I was trapped in fear that I was about to do something that I preferred not to do, but, somehow, had no control over the matter.

Soon I would be bound helplessly in this very real and dark anxiety. Finally, I would awaken, shaken from the dream, unable to go back to sleep.

Throughout the day, the dream left me with the “feeling” that I actually did drink alcohol, and all self-talk could not dissolve the physiological effects of diminished self worth and depression.

I referred to these emotions as a “spiritual hangover” because it was in these times that I felt the most alone; with the greatest absence of any spiritual worth.

To the contrary, the dream described above that I had a few nights ago left me without emotion, while the symbolism of its content should have been even more intense, i.e. I was left to select any brand that I desired; it was given to me in a large quantity, all of this without any fear of consequences!

Further, the tall slender man could have been a role model to me; even a friend of much value, yet he was the one handing out all of the booze.

Is it possible that the words of self-acceptance in the EFT Setup Phrase, repeated over a period of 3 weeks with tapping, could somehow selectively deactivate the energy of fear and depression established over years of reinforced human behavior?

If the answer is in the affirmative, EFT is a remarkable procedure to heal the human mind and body, giving us the hope of going beyond the “wound” to a great Source of healing.

The possibilities are very exciting.

Thank You for helping to make that possible,

With Love,

David

Carol’s note: Of course, the answer to your question is yes — EFT can neutralize excessive emotion, sometimes in a very short period of time. And I agree, it is a powerful healing tool.