by Christine Hunt
The season of peace and love is many times quite the opposite for some people. It becomes the season of stress and anxiety because the holiday season adds pressure. Time pressure. And lots of it.
As if our days were not full enough with work and family obligations, we add in Christmas parties, time for shopping, wrapping and sending gifts. There are special concerts at our children’s’ schools and holiday ballet and chorale performances and even Christmas tree lighting ceremonies.
So, our already busy weeks are filled to capacity with more and more commitments and we begin to feel overwhelmed and our stress levels rise.
We search for help on the internet and find dozens of tips to reduce our stress. But some of them require additional shopping to acquire special oils, supplements or foods. Then more time is needed to learn how to use them.
Wouldn’t it be nice to find a way to reduce your stress without all the extra work? Well, there is something, literally at your fingertips, that can help you.
It is called EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) or Tapping.
EFT is a powerful self-help method that rapidly reduces stress and the emotional impact of memories that upset us and cause di-stress.
So what is it?
EFT is a method that combines elements of Cognitive Therapy and Exposure Therapy with Acupressure. In other words, you think about an experience that caused you emotional discomfort while using your fingertips to tap on a sequence of 12 acupuncture points. The result is a neutralizing of the intensity of the emotions around the experience and many times a shifting to thinking about it in a different way.
This simple process has been clinically proven to reduce stress more effectively than meditation. In addition, peer reviewed medical and psychological journals have published over 20 clinical trials demonstrating EFT’s effectiveness for phobias, anxiety, depression, PTSD, physical pain, weight gain and many other problems.
How does it relieve stress?
While thinking about the stressful situation and the associated emotions, you tap through the sequence of acupuncture points. This helps to calm the amygdala in the brain which is responsible for the fight or flight response when we feel threatened. When we are under stress, we are in fight or flight mode and cortisol is released into our system. When the amygdala senses safety, we relax and cortisol release stops.
Cortisol has been linked to inflammation in the body which contributes to a host of chronic illnesses like heart disease, arthritis, diabetes autoimmune diseases, cancer and more. Reducing your stress levels can help reduce your chances of falling victim to one or more of these diseases.
The beautiful thing about EFT is that the effects are immediate and long lasting. There is no special equipment or supplies you need to buy and you don’t have to stop what you are doing to tap unlike meditation and some other therapies. As long as you have a free hand, you can be tapping and relieving stress.
EFT can help to relieve the stress of the moment, but if it is a persistent condition, working with a skilled practitioner will help you uncover the triggers behind it and reduce its affect on your life and health.
To learn how EFT can help you experience the holiday season as it was meant to be – full of peace and joy – contact me, Christine Hunt, to find out how.
To your health!
Do you use EFT to reduce stress and help you through the holidays?
Please share your questions and comments below.
Christine Hunt is a Wellness Coach and Certified EFT Practitioner and has found that working with the whole person by combining mind/body work, dietary adjustments and movement provides her clients with the tools they need to lose weight (and keep it off), get relief from chronic illness and positively transform their lives. Contact her for a free, 15 minute consultation to learn why what she does works when other methods have failed.
Christine works with her clients in person, by Skype or phone. So, if you live away from the Annapolis, Maryland area, she can still work with you.
