Though classifying issues as “cognitive-emotional” or “physical” belies the holistic understanding that Tapping practitioners have about the mindbody, the examples below are broken into two categories for the sake of convenience
Cognitive-emotional Issues
I have shown clients how they can Tap on a wide array of cognitive-emotional issues. What follows are sample descriptions of my clients’ presenting issues. In all cases cited, clients achieved total or significant symptom relief (either temporary or permanent).
- 13 years ago a woman was treated for cancer. On the day I met with her, she reported frequently thinking about the possibility that her cancer may return. In addition to these disturbing thoughts, she would touch her throat frequently to see if she could detect the return of cancer. At the end of our session her countenance had visibly changed. She smiled widely and said that, even though she was trying, she couldn’t bring up the troubling thoughts about the disease and that her mind was now at ease.
- A client said that he gets very nervous in social settings. On the day that I taught him Tapping, he recounted having the following feelings while at his popular sister’s birthday party: “a state of uneasiness / like I was not on firm footing / like I didn’t belong”. He reported that he is always keenly aware of other people’s gaze on him and that he doesn’t like to be observed. After we Tapped, his face lit up. He then reported perceiving the memory of his sister’s party not only as a pleasant experience, but also, when he remembered walking amongst the party attendees, the scenes had slowed down and he was no longer upset by the memory.
- A mother reported constantly thinking about her daughter’s strong character and being highly distressed because of it. As a result of her daughter’s overbearing attitude, the mother said that she often feels sluggish and tired. She later revealed that her daughter says disrespectful things which, in turn, cause her great sadness. After two rounds of Tapping, my client began to feel more relaxed. After more rounds of Tapping, she reported that an image of her daughter's smiling face came to her mind. By the end of our session, the woman reported feeling no sluggishness and almost no sadness.
*As alluded to at the end of the homepage of this website, one of the principal goals of Tapping is the acceptance of ‘what is’. This is because after achieving this type of acceptance, generally comes a sense of personal empowerment and self-agency.
Physical Issues
Most people are aware of some of the effects that our emotions can have on our physical well-being, e.g. stress can cause headaches or even ulcers. However, what is much less well-known is the fact that humans also have a natural propensity to channel overwhelming negative emotional energy into different parts of the body. This, in turn, often leads to physical discomfort. Fortunately, however, not only can you do Tapping for negative emotions but, when you do, you will often experience a decrease in physical discomfort as well.
- A woman reported being under intense pressure at her job two years prior to our session. At that time, she suffered from headaches as well as discomfort in her lower back and calves. Only her lower back and calves continued bothering her the day I taught her Tapping. After three rounds of Tapping, she reported her subjective level of discomfort dropping from 5 > 2 > 0.
- A man in his 70s said that, for about six months, his calves had been hurting him when he had to remain standing. He reported that he also experiences a slight feeling of numbness and tiredness in his legs. He associated this condition with the weight he has gained in recent years. After advising my client to consult with his doctor for this issue, we began Tapping. He reported feeling more relaxed after the first round of Tapping and said that the intensity level of his discomfort had dropped from 5 > 3. Here my client changed the description of what he was experiencing and said that what he was now feeling was akin to a “slight irritation” in the legs. After a final round of Tapping, he reported the intensity level at 1 or 2.
- A client reported feeling discomfort in her shoulders and said that it dated back to around the time that her husband started drinking. After one round of Tapping, she reported the discomfort level dropping from 8 > 2.
- A 59-year old woman initially reported having had discomfort in her shoulder for eight years because of repetitive movement at work. After describing in greater detail what she felt, she added that the discomfort runs up and down her arm all the way to her hand. After one round of Tapping, her level of discomfort dropped from 8 > 5. After more discussion and deep breathing, she said she could no longer feel the discomfort in her forearm. She opened and closed her hand several times as if to show me it didn’t cause her discomfort. She commented that the sensation was only present now in her shoulder (which felt like pins and needles, mixed with slight cramping) and the top of her arm extending down to her elbow. After another round of Tapping, she noted that she no longer felt pins and needles in her shoulder and that the sensation of discomfort had moved from her shoulder to above her waist. She reported feeling pins and needles above her waist, in addition to a slight burning sensation. The first level of intensity for this new discomfort was a 4. After a subsequent round of Tapping she reported that the sensation in both her shoulder and her waist had reduced to 0.