Using EFT after a terrorist attack

By David Lake, MD

My daughter Tanya was at the epicenter of the Bali bombing on October 12. With her permission I am posting details of her treatment for the trauma of that night. She is a professional photographer and has given an interview to her paper, the full text of which is given at the end of this article.

My hope is that many others affected by this kind of disaster will come to use EFT—personally or professionally—as a straightforward and effective antidote to the implicit horror of these events.

The technique is relatively simple. The key to the good result, in my opinion, is focus and persistence.

Focus means using Gary Craig’s technique of “Telling The Story”. Persistence means making sure that many EFT sequences are delivered during the treatment session—at times the tapping was constant.

PRELUDE

First there is the 4 a.m. call. “Only slight injuries”. But she is in shock, and far away. I start tapping from that point on through the next day of unfolding details of organizing a flight home, reading the details on the Internet news and contacting family. The confirmed death toll rises from 3 to 183 in 36 hours. The anxiety and worry at a deep level is far more intense than anything I have experienced before, even though we know she is alive. We wait at the airport with hundreds of highly worried people the next morning.

REALITY

Tanya appears and looks very well for someone who has slept little in days. She is upbeat about being alive but she has seen terrible things. We share our tears. Then on the way home we hear the awful story of the blast. But for two trivial circumstances she would have been killed.

At this point I wish that we could stop and use EFT for everybody immediately but it isn’t the right time. At home I find that she is soon going to be interviewed twice, and friends are coming over. I don’t want her to repeat her story without EFT first. My colleague Steve Wells is in the house and offers to do EFT for her if I don’t feel up to it—but I do. It is reassuring to have him around.

She and her boyfriend James agree to a treatment session together. He has been so concerned about her. He too had a telephone call. I ask him to tap along with everything Tanya says and feels and get the benefits that way, and I will check in with him at the end of the session. [Because he is very inclined to help Tanya I don’t explain EFT fully to him—we just start, and he is a very quick learner.] Tanya already knows EFT basics.

TREATMENT

She is OK about going into the story of the event—there is no fear of that, or any block to doing it.

GC COMMENT: Unlike Tanya, many people get very intense at the mere thought of telling the story. In such cases I use EFT to "take the edge off" the intensity with Set up phrases like...

* "Even though I don't want to tell this story...."
* "Even though this story still scares me..."
* "Even though I feel uncomfortable right now...."

I keep tapping until they are down to 0-2 on a 0-10 intensity scale. This serves to avoid unnecessary emotional pain and often collapses most of the issue before we even start.

DAVID CONTINUES: The first thing that happens when we start with the tale is that she connects with the feeling of an extraordinary evil “touching my heart like a spider”. We divert to treating this feeling in her chest, and then the stomach (as it “shifts”) until it lessens. We go through the moments of the incident using EFT for any intensity during the recollection. While all of the memories have very intense thoughts, the feeling reactions become more neutral as we go on.

GC COMMENT: Tapping on the physical symptoms is often a great way to neutralize the issue without emotional pain. The physical symptoms tend to shift around the body as EFT is applied. I call this "chasing the pain" and find that, after the physical symptoms have been relieved, the corresponding emotional intensities have subsided as well.

DAVID CONTINUES: I ask Tanya to tap on her cheek point whenever she pauses to give me feedback, or diverts into an association. Then to use her collarbone point, or her little finger point (and others that I like such as the yin/yang combination points on the inner or outer wrist) so that she is tapping continually. We don’t analyse what she says—we tap on it instead for the whole session, either doing set-up sequences, or this “going with the flow” tapping.

When she is distressed, and engaged by that, I use the extended EFT sequence (on two occasions); otherwise I use the shortcut seven point sequence exclusively. Sometimes I use one set-up statement for several rounds of tapping. I concentrate as usual on the negative (reported) aspects of what has happened, but here I am sensitive to the fact that the worst is represented fully in the body at one level anyway—EFT in trauma work is a multilevel treatment and often works best in the body without clever words. Hence excessive tapping.

I don’t take any ratings for intensity but gauge the effect of EFT by the degree of relaxation, hesitations, voice tone and sighing. We are all completely attuned. I am tapping as actively as anyone during the whole session to help and protect myself.

In the process it becomes clear that she kept it together on the night and didn’t panic. There was carnage and chaos. Despite being blown over she was able to join with others to give and receive help. There was more danger in her mind during the phase of getting away when she was nearly run over by many speeding motorbikes. Having escaped to the beach from the destruction she had to deal with people looking at her black face and body, and the owner of her hotel refusing to let her settle her bill and wash herself. There were the surreal aspects of life continuing uninterrupted half a mile away from the carnage, especially the next day.

In Tanya’s words: “I was tapping the whole time I walked away from the club. As the motorbikes came at me, I was tapping. I don't know if it was a short or long while (I'm thinking about 30-45 minutes to get to the beach) but all that stuff was in my head. Later at the beach talking with people, I was imagining I was tapping. I kept thinking ‘I'm doing the best I can’...”

I help her finish all of the tapping for the “story” and double check the result by having her go through it again. The event has a more neutral feeling about it now. The story has a second component where she returned to the site the following day and took pictures of the debris and bodies for her newspaper. The full impact of the horror was clear.

Then we see if she has residual body tensions—and we tap on those too. This is enough for one session.

Following the session she does her interviews, tells her story to friends and watches the TV news with appropriate sadness and feeling. Of course EFT will not eliminate the legitimate upset and grief associated with such an event—only the dysfunctional and excessive part. She is coping. James is relaxed.

FOLLOW-UP

She and James sleep deeply that night. The next day they both feel “fine”, and go swimming. They talk together the whole day. Tanya has no “flashbacks” or intrusive thoughts, or nightmares, and is not upset at a deep level. She is celebrating being alive—and I love to see it!

In the evening we have another session (lasting 2 hours) to check on the treatment and see what else might be worth treating. Some of the chest emotion has returned. It turns out that now there are more philosophical concerns about what the whole evil effort of terrorism might mean. We discuss this while doing a lot of “continual” tapping, and we also talk about life and death and war and injury but in a neutral to positive way. James recalls an incident where his life was in danger and we tap on the memory of that.

Tanya says it is the love and affection of family and friends that has helped most.

I think she has had good treatment for all the aspects of the event that we could discover. I will keep an eye on her.

In the media Australia begins mourning the loss of life of its young people. We have lost proportionately more lives than the USA on September 11.

A PERSONAL NOTE

Tanya was in Paddy’s Irish Bar when the first bomb went off inside—40 people were killed instantly. She had moved to a corner away from the explosion to get away from the loud music of Britney Spears. [I find myself warming to that singer in a brand new way.] And a friend refilled her drink then so that, out of politeness, she didn’t leave, but lingered behind the concrete wall that saved her life from the huge car bomb outside a minute later.

These are the random unpredictabilities of survival I find hard to credit and thus, so disturbing.

I was more upset about what happened than I realized initially. EFT calmed me significantly. When I saw the photograph of the charred remnants of Paddy’s Irish Bar I had to do a lot of tapping. Likewise when I watched on TV reports of the great efforts of ordinary people to provide care to the injured in impossible circumstances.

I still can’t think of Tanya nearly dying as a real event.

CONCLUSIONS

EFT does work to help heal severe trauma. Not all this trauma fits the strict criteria for “Post-traumatic Stress” but it still hurts very much.

Tanya used EFT as “first aid” on the night—this is ideal timing for self-help. The earlier you can treat, the better.

I also think that the more EFT you do in a treatment session the better the result.

Simple techniques can treat thoroughly.

Take your time using EFT and be optimistic that every sequence of EFT promotes the real healing.

Media reports are traumatizing too for onlookers—use EFT when watching or reading.

James says it best: “She is an extraordinary girl”.

David Lake, MD

An evil 'I can't understand'


Bernard O'Riordan [Australian Financial Review]
15/10/2002

"I could see people on the ground with no legs; there was this incredible noise and people screaming out for their friends."

Tanya Lake, a photographer at The Australian Financial Review, flew into Sydney yesterday still in shock but relieved to be home after surviving the Bali bomb blasts.

The 26-year-old had been at Paddy's Irish bar in the Kuta Beach nightclub district less than half an hour when the first car bomb exploded on Saturday night. She had gone to Paddy's because the nearby Sari Club, where the first bomb exploded, was packed and she thought the music was terrible.

"Suddenly there was this explosion, it was like a supersonic sound, and I turned to see this giant orange ball and a barman being thrown through the air," she said.

"As I turned this chemical vapour and all this dust was forced down my throat. Then the second blast hit and it blew me across onto a wall - that's when I knew something was really wrong."

Ms Lake believes a wall she was standing against insulated her and her companions from the full impact of the blast, and possibly saved their lives.

"They think the wall is what saved us - not many other people were okay like we were. I've cuts on my legs and pretty big bruises, but it's nothing really."

She said the blast ignited a huge blaze and at first people thought it was caused by an exploding gas cylinder. The blasts caused a major blackout, plunging the area into darkness illuminated only by flames from the blazing nightclubs.

"I grabbed this guy's hand and I didn't let go for two hours," Ms Lake said. "We barely even spoke, we just walked in a daze until we got to the beach."

But it wasn't until around dawn that the full extent of the tragedy became apparent. Ms Lake went back to her hotel room, picked up her camera and ventured back towards the blast site to try and retrieve her purse and belongings.

Security was lax. After showing her media pass, Ms Lake was free to wander the area. She was surprised by the number of Indonesian civilians wandering around the site, picking over the wreckage.

There was nothing left of Paddy's or Sari Club. Burnt-out cars littered the street and bodies were piled up outside the nightclubs.

"When I got back on to the scene next morning, I turned and there was this street filled with body bags for as far as I could see," she said.

"There were just piles of bodies being hauled into the ambulance."

Ms Lake, who was in Bali on the last leg of an overseas holiday, said the terrorist attack would not stop her from returning to Bali.

"The big picture hasn't really sunk in, but I won't spend my life hiding under a rock," she said.

"Sometimes there's this huge evil in the world and I'm not even going to try to understand it."i

EFT provides relief for 30 years of pain from a car accident--no more Vicodin

By Ava Evans

I wanted to share a story with all those who are using EFT. I am a Certified Hypnotherapist and have been using EFT for a little over two years in my practice. I have had great successes with EFT, but this one I felt needed to be shared.

I spoke to an older friend of mine, (we will call her Liz; not her real name) I knew she was having severe pain and lots health problems, Liz is well into her 80’s and she has been suffering with back problems for over 30 years. Her back problem began when she was in a car accident about 30 years ago. She was at a red light and a woman slammed into her going over 30 miles an hour. Liz has severe disc damage and sciatica pain which has gotten progressively worse over the years. She has to walk with a cane and every time she moves it hurts. The pain medication she had to be on, just to get through the day (Vicodin), made her sleep, sometimes 12 hours a day.

I began coming to her home doing hypnotherapy just to help her out. When she was in trance her pain improved and she felt better. I made a tape for her and returned two more times, each time making her a tape she could listen to before bed. Although she felt more comfortable when she slept and so much more relaxed, she still needed the Vicodin.

The third time I came we spoke about EFT; I explained how it worked and asked if she would be willing to give it a try. Liz was interested and willing. I had noticed she had a lot of anger tied up in this situation, but I asked her, “What is the feeling you get when you think about this pain?” She said, “Anger.” She rated the anger at a level of intensity of more than 10 – on a scale of 0 to 10.

So we went back to that car accident and tapped on,

Even though I have this intense anger at that idiotic woman who hit me in my car that day…

(Her Words): Even though I am so angry at that idiotic woman and all this pain I’ve had from this accident…

So we went through that with maybe 3 rounds. The pain came down, to a level of intensity of 3 out of 10. I asked what else is coming up and Liz told me her husband, (who is deceased) and their business manager pushed her to drop the lawsuit and just seek medical damages.

She was really angry with them and resentful about that. We then tapped on the anger and her being resentful at her husband and their business manager. (Liz was in a neck brace for 6 months and she has been paying her own medical bills for many years, not to mention the pain and suffering).

We did two to three rounds of that and she came down to an intensity level of ONE out of 10. She was shocked, she said, “I think this is the first time in years I felt this much relief.” We did another round she stayed at a one.

It was getting late and I had to get to the hypnosis. I gave her some really powerful suggestions she was in trance for about 40 minutes. I taped it and gave it to her. She could not thank me enough; she was committed to continue doing the EFT on her own as well.

I called her a week or two later and asked how she was. She said, “great” and I asked her to tell me about it. She had only taken one Tylenol that week, no other pain medication, she was thrilled, she had told her doctor about it and he said, “Yeah that makes sense tapping on acupuncture points; that could work.”

I am so happy for her and I felt so good that I could give her such a wonderful gift. This is just one of so many happy endings using hypnosis and EFT in combination.

Sincerely,

Ava Evans, C.Ht.

Using EFT immediately following an accident--The big wounds just stopped bleeding and closed up in minutes

By George Jelinek

I want to tell you what happened to me when I had my accident about 3 weeks ago and used EFT to help myself while still prostrate. Some fellow EFT students said I should let you know because they said it was a miracle, but for me the real miracle is EFT and it has changed my life forever. The power of EFT is just awesome.

I was involved in an accident and just lay there bleeding profusely and in intense pain with what I later discovered were several big gashes in my legs. After realising what must have happened and where I was, lying flat on my back on the ground with people all around me, (I am 73 and everyone thought I was a "gonner", as they say in the UK), I just lay there, started to tap and was determined that this time EFT could help me with this too. I asked to be left alone for a while. I did not want an ambulance or to go to the Accident and Emergency Unit at the local hospital unless I absolutely had to, because in the UK they can be very distressing places.

I was feeling furious with the situation but intent not to have to go to the hospital unless I had to. What I tapped on is not very polite, but I will tell it as it was.... I needed to get rid of my fury, tapping on my Karate chop point.

"Even though this stupid baxxard has caused me these bloody injuries, and they hurt like hell, nevertheless I deeply and completely accept myself and forgive him for his clumsiness".

I repeated this six times. Then tapped round the meridians in the quick method, tapping "stupid baxxard", "selfish beast", "pure carelessness", "he didn't intend it and has said sorry", "I forgive him his clumsiness", it hurts so much", "but I can cope with this pain", "now it feels better already".

I kept on tapping the meridians nonstop for about six rounds too. I intended the message to stick deeply in my awareness and concentrated my attention as completely as possible within the disruptive situation. People could not understand what I was doing and why I wanted to remain undisturbed. I was no longer angry, even though the wounds still hurt, but now they bled much less. After this my mood became much more optimistic. Now I knew I was winning with EFT and also knew that it could not be an arterial tear, just a normal wound, because otherwise the blood could not have stopped flowing. So I tapped on the karate chop point for another six rounds saying:

"Even though I am still bleeding, it is much less and not an arterial injury, so my bleeding must now stop and my wounds must now clot and close up immediately and my body must now start the healing process immediately."

I said it slowly, with as much intention as I could muster, because I completely believe in the power of EFT and trust in the method completely, because it has worked for me so fantastically before, so there was no doubt in my mind it would work now also. It did so most wonderfully yet again.

Six rounds of tapping the meridians continuously saying .... "Not an arterial tear", "Close up now", "Stop bleeding", "I don't need the the pain anymore", "Close up", "Stop the bleeding now", "Start healing now", "I am alright". Then a big breath.

Then I explored myself whether I had broken anything. I was able to move the various joints. Just the impact point of the fall on my bottom which had taken the brunt of the accident was still hurting when I moved, but I now asked for help to get up.

A doctor who had watched me doing EFT on myself could not accept the evidence of his own eyes. I asked him to look it up on his computer, but his attitude was one of complete denial.... His loss! It was too far out for him. There was the blood on the floor, there were my blood-soaked trousers, there were the huge wounds all closed up with a big crusty scab which was very tender but obvious healing. I had no cleaning facilities so I just wanted to get home.

My wife had gone to buy some huge surgical plasters, sterile bandages, acriflex cream, sterile water and other things for later, but after drinking some sweet tea against after-shock, I just asked to take the bus home and slowly walked to the stop which was very close by.

There were other affirmations I recall using during the bus trip and afterwards, because I was still tapping away all the time....

"Even though I have had this accident and still feel hurt and a bit groggy, nevertheless I am feeling OK and know I will get home"

"Even though this bus is vibrating I know this is good for my injuries and I love myself for coping so well."

"Even though my body has been injured it will heal rapidly and perfectly because health is my natural state."

"Even though the people in the bus are looking at me strangely and moving away from me, I know EFT works and I am going to be alright."

By this time I was feeling remarkably better ,started laughing and used the thymus thump to gain more energy, because I was feeling rather tired. People thought I was nuts but I just did not care. I was so happy that all had gone so fantastically after the initial disaster.

Without EFT I would have had to go to the hospital. After 3 weeks I am still 100% OK and there is no pain, I can walk perfectly, the scabs have gone and the scars are almost invisible. All the affirmations have been fulfilled.

Yours most gratefully,

George Jelinek

How Energy Medicine Saves Woman with IBS

Hi Everyone,

Beth Smillie from the UK helps a client eliminate neck pain and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

Geez! I just paused to read that sentence again. Would you mind re-reading it as well?

It sounds so casual, so routine. It reads as though these things are commonplace. I guess I'm so used to saying things like this that I've grown used to it. Please understand, though, that the client's neck pain was of six years duration (from an accident) and was given up on by the medical establishment. Also, IBS is one of those medical maladies that is often stubborn and not easily cured.

Yet with a few waves of the fingertips, Beth was able to give this client complete and lasting relief on both issues. This is jump-up-and-down stuff. It merits pounding on one's chest and hollering through a megaphone. Restraint might be in order if it only happened once in awhile. However, we do this with some consistency. Read through our web site. It is LOADED with reports like this. It goes on...and on... and on...and touches just about every emotional and physical ailment known.

I know we are supposed to be conservative in our statements. That's the way the establishment would like to see it. OK. But once in awhile it's time to recognize the startling stuff that we do and be emphatic and vocal about it.

I just called Ingrid who, as you may recall, was the lady on our EFT Course audiotapes who tapped for IBS. This was over 5 years ago. Before EFT, her IBS was at a nearly constant 6 or 7. It took some persistence in her case, but the whole problem subsided. She informed me on the phone that SHE HAS NOT HAD A SINGLE INCIDENT OF IBS SINCE WE CONCLUDED OUR SERIES OF TAPPING SESSIONS. IT HAS BEEN GONE FOR OVER 5 YEARS!!

Pass the megaphone.

So, with that bit of much deserved fanfare, here is Beth's report.

Hugs, Gary

---

by Beth Smillie

Dear Gary,

I'd like to tell you about a patient I attended last year. She called me for help with IBS but during history taking she advised me that she had been involved in a road traffic accident 6 years past and as a result had a whiplash. Subsequent physiotherapy delivered a stroke and whilst she had made a good recovery, she was still unable to move her neck.

Medics had advised her that she would have to live with the pain and that nothing further could be done for her. I asked her if she would like to try tapping. (The subject of IBS had not yet been discussed). She said she would try anything but was highly sceptical. One round of tapping, (no hypnosis) using the affirmation "even though I have this constant pain in my neck" brought instant relief from the pain, however it was evident that there was still a degree of stiffness (apprehension perhaps) so we tapped for the stiffness and that too disappeared.

Her IBS was no longer an issue and she has been free of those symptoms too - no need for any further comments on that score. I have had endless referrals from this lady and she remains to this day, without pain or stiffness. Her GP is completely amazed but her children are overjoyed!

Best wishes - Beth Smillie (oh, how British - shouldn't I say "hugs"?!)

Beth Smillie

I am looking for volunteers to participate in an energy healing technique study

I am looking for volunteers to participate in an energy healing technique study for approximately 4 weeks. I have stumbled upon a "miracle" that I would like to introduce in a study group, to see the effects of energy healing..

My story: I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in 2001, at 50 years old, after dropping from 242lbs. to 185lbs in approximately 30 days. Everything the Dr's tried at the hospital would not work.

My team of physicians tried all of the usual medications, but everything they tried created a new medical mess. I developed shingles, then thrush, and yet the weight was dropping and I couldn’t hold any food down. Finally, they just stuck a bottle of liquefied fat in my IV, and I started to level off….I was finally placed on Prednisone and the Crohn’s was brought under control.

The usual Crohn’s cocktails didn’t work for me, and my Gastroenterologist finally decided that Sulfasalazine was the drug of choice. I stabilized, and found out what all of you have known for years, Crohn’s really “SUCKS.”

My wife and I (mostly my wife) since I was so weak from losing body mass, researched and found the SCD diet. We tried that, and I went into immediate remission. That diet is a miracle, to say the least. However, as all Crohn’s connoisseurs know, diets are extremely hard to keep, especially if you want to dine out.

Recently I have started to have some symptoms again, you know the frequent bathroom visits, the vomiting, diarrhea, you know the stuff Crohn’s dreams are made of.

THEN, a few weeks ago, I discovered an energy healing modality that completely turned my life around. After a particularly nasty vomiting, diarrhea, and extreme cramping session, I tried this technique and my pain and symptoms stopped immediately….Did you get that??? I mean IMMEDIATELY. No diarrhea, no upset stomach, and no cramping. I mean NOTHING…..

Because I believe this technique can help you, I want to share what I’ve found….If you’re interested please respond by sending an email to me @ guylsmith (at) cox (dot) net. I encoded it so the spiders won’t bombard me with spam.

If you’re skeptical, GREAT! It doesn’t cost you anything to find out what I have to share, and it may save your LIFE, literally!

God Bless!