EFT Case Story: Shouldering the Past

I would like to tell you about how I recently helped my husband with severe shoulder pain.

My husband had been sitting next to me on the sofa when he turned to look at me and felt something 'ping' in his left shoulder.  He felt that it would probably be better in the morning but two days later he was completely locked up.

We decided to use some EFT as he was now in considerable pain in his head, neck and shoulder.

He focussed in on the pain and after we had reduced the intensity a little, he said that he felt that the emotion behind the pain was sadness. He was unable to figure out what he felt sad about until I asked him to think back to before the pain had started.  He remembered that we had been to his Mother's house during the day to help sort out some of his late Father's collection of old tools, which were being donated to a local museum.  He felt that his sadness was for his Mother, as she had to watch the items being loaded into the car and taken away. We tapped on this issue but he was surprised to find that there wasn't much of an emotional charge to it, he remembered that he had made a point of quietly checking with her that she felt ok about it and she did.  However, the sadness was very strong so I asked him how HE felt about giving the tools away and he became very upset.  We tapped quietly for a few minutes until he felt calmer and he said that it was just a reminder of how much he missed his Dad.

I asked him to play the story of giving the tools away in his mind, and to stop when he reached an emotional charge.  He found three emotional 'peaks' that we successfully dealt with.  I then asked him what he thought his Father would say about the tools being given away and he wasn't sure, so I suggested that he ask him.  He brought an image of his Father into his mind and and I instinctively asked him if he had brought anyone with him.  I have no idea why I asked that question, it's not something I have ever asked before - however, my husband said that he had but he didn't know who.  He then asked his Father how he felt about the tools and couldn't suppress a smile when his Dad told him that he was pleased that the tools had gone as his Wife wouldn't have to dust them anymore!  He also said that he was delighted with our choice of museum.

My husband then gave his Dad a hug and suddenly announced that he knew who he had brought with him - it was his Grandad.  My husband was very close to him as a child and many of the tools had been passed down from him.  We dealt with the sadness that he felt for his Grandfather's passing and then he hugged him too.

Obviously being my husband, I had the advantage of feeling connected to him and his family, but nonetheless, I felt that this was a beautiful example of how feeling empathy for our clients can really help the results.  Once he had reached a place of complete peace and calm, he said that the pain had gone although the shoulder was still stiff.  The following morning, the stiffness was greatly reduced and it continued to abate over the next few days.  Perhaps more importantly, he kept commenting on how 'at ease' he felt.

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