Neurobiologist Jill Bolte Taylor explains that the brain
and body are
designed to react to trauma by setting off an emotional
response and that
the neurophysiology of the body is set up to allow us to feel
that emotion
AND RELEASE IT within 90 seconds.
It’s when we hold on to the emotion, and replay the
pattern, that the
emotional response gets caught in our body and we hold on to
the anxiety,
the stress, and even the terror.
So..the best time to tap away the emotion is when you are feeling it -before it gets a chance to get stuck in your body.
If you think about it, releasing the anxiety and stress leaves you more clear-headed to logically deal with traumatic events such as hurricanes.
TIP #1: TAP IN THE MOMENT
If you find yourself experiencing this hurricane, or any other
scary event,
tap while it is happening. As soon as you feel any anxiety,
stress or
terror, start tapping on the EFT tapping points.
If you are not familiar with EFT you can view charts of the tapping pointshere as well as my intro EFT video.
Don’t worry about a setup statement or what to say while
tapping the side of
the hand/karate chop point. That’s designed to get you
focused on the
problem, and if you are in the middle of the storm, you are
already focused
on the problem.
So simply start tapping the points on the face,
collarbone, and under the
arm. You can say whatever is going through your mind, or relate
what is
happening around you, or say something that makes you feel
better such as,
“I’m safe, I’m OK right now, I will survive.”
TIP #2: THE FOREHEAD HOLD
This is great to teach children, or to do with children, and of
course for
yourself.
Placing the palm of your hand across your forehead helps
bring energy and
blood into the forebrain of your body and get you out of the
fight-or-flight
response that drains the blood from your forehead to your
chest (fight) or your legs (flee).
Lightly holding the palm of your hand across your
forehead – sometimes for
10 or 15 minutes or more – will help you think clearly just
when you need it
the most. This will also retrain your body not to go into
that
fight-or-flight blood-rushing-from-your brain response.
You might find yourself doing this instinctively,
especially with your
children. However, doing this for a few seconds doesn’t help
that much – to
get maximum benefit, you want to hold your hand across the
forehead until
you feel the pulsing above the eyebrows on both
sides of the forehead.
And! you can supercharge your EFT tapping by
placing the palm of one hand
across your forehead and tapping the points with your other
hand.
TIP #3: TAP THE GAMUT POINT
Mostly forgotten recently in tapping, and hugely
underutilized, the Gamut
Point on the back of the hand directly influences the meridian
(energy
channel) that is involved in the fight-or-flight
reaction.
Anytime you feel a sudden rush of emotion such as fear or
anxiety (or even
anger or frustration) tapping or massaging the Gamut Point may
help lower
the intensity of your reaction.
To find the Gamut Point, make a fist with one hand, and
you will see a
depression between the knuckles of the fourth and fifth fingers
on the back
of the hand (not between the knuckles but a little beneath the
knuckles on
the hand). This depression is where to tap – or rub – to help
release the
fear so you can feel safe.
BTW- Massaging the Gamut Point really helps
in social situations if you feel as if you may
lose it and don’t
want to tap the face points.
Again, if you are feeling the fear in the moment, don’t
worry so much about
what to say. You don’t really have to say anything. Just focus
on the
feeling, massage or tap the Gamut Point, and notice as you feel
calmer and
more able to handle the situation.
You may add the Gamut Point to your EFT tapping sequence.
Experiment with these three processes – tapping the EFT
points in the moment
while focused on your emotional reaction, holding your forehead
in the palm
of your hand (remember this is great for kids) and taking
advantage of the
Gamut Point on the back of your hand.
I trust that we will stay safe and stay calm through the storm that is about to hit NYC and Long Island in the wee hours. I have my suitcase packed and will sleep in clothes to go..with cats in the carrier!
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