|
A growing number
of people who have learned the EFT technique find it is incredibly
useful in helping them to sleep. There are a number of ways
EFT can be used to induce pleasant sleep, and I will get to
some of these. But, for those who already know how to use
the technique -- consult Dr.
Mercola’s free online EFT manual if you want to learn
the basics -- the most obvious way to counteract your inability
to fall asleep is to "tap" while stating the following
affirmation:
"Even though
I can't get to sleep (don't let myself get to sleep, etc.)
I deeply and completely accept myself."
That’s a good
start, but there are some even more effective EFT maneuvers
you can use for this purpose. The first and most important
thing is to examine the underlying issues in your life that
may be causing your consistent pattern of wakefulness. This
is crucial if you want to obtain lasting relief from your
sleep difficulty -- there is always a CAUSE for a sleep disturbance,
either physical, emotional or both. You will need to work
on this cause by using EFT if you want to remove the sleep
problem permanently.
To identify the
cause of your insomnia, first analyze the thoughts that circle
in your mind during the time you lie awake. What are these
thoughts concerned with? Do they relate to a specific theme
or themes in your life? Is there a particular concern or worry
that refuses to leave you alone at night? Do you have a problem
that insists on seeking an answer right away ... "or
else"?
The following list
of suggestions is not exhaustive and may be more of a starting
point than a definite direction, but you can use them to spark
your thinking. I will give you a few possibilities for some
"EFT Choices" that might be useful for dealing with
whatever issues come up (for details on the Choices Method,
and a variety of ways to apply it, see my book, "How
To Create Positive Choices In Energy Psychology: The Choices
Manual").
I suggest that
you read the following with an open mind, and if any of the
phrases fit try that one on for size by tapping with the setup
phrase suggested or some variation of it that applies more
closely to your own situation
My first suggestion
is the EFT Choice:
"Even though
I feel a great responsibility for (fill in here with a few
words describing any responsibilities that weigh on your mind
when you are lying awake at night) ... I choose to know
that any thoughts I have about this will be even more useful
after I sleep."
Tapping on this
statement does NOT make you irresponsible or "avoiding
the issues," by the way. What it will do is allow you
to cancel out your concern about the situation so you can
get good sleep, and in this way become more clear-headed about
this issue the next day. Being weighed down with responsibilities
is a common blocker of sleep; you will handle your responsibilities
much better if you are well rested.
Another sleep-depriver
is anxiety. Suppose you are thinking obsessively because you
are anxious about the outcome of something and afraid of what
will happen if you don't come up with a good answer -- RIGHT
NOW. You may be afraid that your job will be in jeopardy if
you don't do this or that, or that your health will be in
jeopardy if you don't find an answer now, etc.
In all these cases,
the best thing to do is to keep a pad and pencil by your bed
so you can turn on the light when these thoughts start to
circle in your head. Jot down one or two sentences to remind
yourself in the morning of what it was you were worried about
last night -- and then start tapping on the anxiety itself,
using EFT.
For example, you
might use the Choices phrase:
"Even though
I'm anxious about (worried that, etc., fill in whatever it
is that worries you), I choose to be calm and confident."
or "I choose to be calm and relaxed, etc."
Another emotion
that often keeps us awake at night is anger -- sleep and anger
are often incompatible. If this is the case, try tapping directly
on YOUR ANGER! If you do this, be totally honest with yourself.
Bring out all your resentment toward any uncomfortable position
you find yourself in, or toward anyone who is irritating or
infuriating to you, etc. Then tap openly and vigorously using
such phrases as:
"Even though
I'm furious (enraged at, etc., fill in name of person or situation),
I choose to be calm and confident."
This can work wonders
because the likelihood is that if your anger was stirred up
that much, you were NOT feeling calm and confident about the
situation at all but were instead threatened by it in some
way. Remove the sense of threat so that you can have peace.
Whatever the issue
is that you identify and work on, keep doing rounds of EFT
until your distress rating (on a zero to 10 point scale of
distress) comes down to a one or a zero (or at least as low
as you can get it to go). After doing this, you may naturally
fall asleep with no difficulty.
However, old habits do sometimes die hard. If so, you may
have to employ other EFT strategies as well to break the problem-solving
habit when you are lying in bed. Here are some suggestions
for doing that:
If you find yourself
wakeful as you lie in bed, you may want to try MENTALLY
tapping on each of the EFT acupoints, instead of physical
tapping. For many people (myself included) this works quite
well because it doesn't stir us up through physical activity,
which can make us more wakeful; mentally tapping through the
EFT sequence can do the job just as well.
A very helpful
setup phrase for this purpose can be:
"Even though
I can't get to sleep, I choose to be pleasantly drowsy ... ."
Notice that I don't
suggest that you directly suggest sleep, simply because that
idea might be resisted by habit! Instead, you will be slipping
sleep in by the back door, so to speak -- if you become pleasantly
drowsy, the likelihood is very high that you will automatically
drift off to sleep.
As you tap mentally
(if you can do so, or if not do EFT by gently touching each
acupoint instead of tapping), if the process is working for
you, you will at some point find yourself confused about just
where you are in the EFT sequence, or begin to forget your
reminder phrase. This vague, drifting state of consciousness
is exactly what you want so don't resist it! It means you
are entering the so-called hypnogogic (pre-sleep) state. If
you just go with it, you will be asleep in the twinkling of
an eye, although you probably won't know it until you awake
in the morning.
Another possible
phrase for inducing sleep with EFT is:
"Even though
my thoughts seem so important, I choose to know that they'll
all be there tomorrow when I wake up."
This can release
you to allow sleep to come naturally.
Finally, if none
of these tactics have worked for you, you might then profit
greatly by delving into your memory banks to discover just
when in your life it was that your sleep difficulties began.
When you locate that spot in time, try to remember what happened
to you at that time in your life -- the likelihood is that
there was something traumatic that triggered this wakeful
habit, and tapping on that trauma can be the key to resolving
your entire sleep problem. I have seen this happen a number
of times with clients. The effect of clearing the original
cause can be a complete cessation of a sleep disturbance.
I wish you good
luck in using EFT as a benefactor of your sleep and your life!
Patricia
Carrington
| 