A successful but involved depression case–“I don’t want to tell you how well I’m doing.”

By Carol Look, EFT Master

Below is a depression success case, although it was certainly not instantaneous.

E. is a 24 year old woman, finishing college late and working in her parents’ family business. She has many friends, a long-term boyfriend, and has always managed to be very high functioning in her life. She was referred to me by her friend because of concern about E.’s frequent crying jags, general unhappiness, low self-esteem, and helplessness about her family situation.

E.’s depression had its roots in numerous unresolved emotional issue. She suffered from a deep sense of shame about her life and accomplishments, anger and frustration, and chronic helplessness. She did not want to go on medication because she didn’t want to feel “weak” and “dependent” and she didn’t want to be like her mother.

Her mother was an active alcoholic for most of E.’s childhood. She became sober when E. was in her early teens, and sunk periodically into deep suicidal depression with threats to kill herself, and days on end without getting out of bed. E. said she knew her mother’s alcoholism was not her fault, however she still felt worthless and deeply helpless.

Her mother had recently dipped into another deep depressive episode and E. felt petrified and hopeless herself. The tapping included phrases as follows:

  • “Even though I feel depressed about my life… “
  • “Even though I’m tired of feeling so helpless… “
  • “Even though I hate feeling hopeless…”
  • “Even though I’m afraid of being out of control… “
  • “Even though I cry out of control…”
  • “Even though I’m afraid I’m turning out like my mother…”
  • “Even though I miss my mother…and never really had her anyway…”

I basically treated E. as if she had the most profound love pain imaginable…she “lost” her mother to alcoholism.

E. felt immediate relief in my office, but was skeptical about it lasting, and was still frustrated that I couldn’t “cure” her mother. E. left with homework assignments to tap three times a day. Two weeks later, she returned saying, “I don’t want to tell you how well I’m doing because I’m afraid to jinx myself…I think that tapping stuff really works…”

E. had religiously tapped three or more times a day on whatever her strongest feelings were…frustration, helplessness, hurt etc.. She said that her boyfriend and roommate noticed a difference in her moodiness, and she definitely noticed herself becoming less bent out of shape about EVERYTHING. She was relieved, impressed, and hopeful. She also had some cognitive shifts about the control she had over her mother’s situation. She had cognitive shifts around her worthlessness and esteem as well.

The subject of medication never came up again, and E. continued to tap on two small phobias and other feelings. She described her mood as much more even, her outlook much more hopeful, and her confidence much deeper.

In three other cases where I used tapping for Depression, the clients all said “I feel clearer in my body and in my eyesight.” A fog seemed to lift for all of them like with Lori in the Palace of Possibilities tapes. Two of them said they were confused because they were not used to feeling “this way”—even tempered, almost happy and content without their characteristic heaviness of mood and physiology. These clients did not persist with the tapping and I have lost contact with two of them. The third one is ready to continue tapping on very deep emotional issues from her childhood and taps in my office although “forgets” to do it in between sessions.

Love,

Carol

May 21, 2008

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