Do you suffer from bad anxiety attacks?
How can you tell that your anxiety levels are even high in the first place when being nervous or feeling worried is something that any person would “normally” experience?
What are the signs and symptoms of heightened anxiety?
Bad anxiety attacks can put you constantly on the edge. They affect every part of your life. You are like a nervous wreck even when it comes to dealing with everyday situations. Situations such as handling family responsibilities, juggling your activities, speaking up in front of a small group of friends, facing your boss at work and so on. Despite your attempts, you’ve not succeeded with shaking away the fear.
You may even prefer to avoid social outings or extended family get-togethers, so as to prevent being anxious. After all, you can still recall the many get-togethers over special occasions in the past where you’ve felt extremely uncomfortable. If given a choice, you’d prefer to avoid any form of interaction with others. Solitude – and not company – is your best friend.
Anxiety is triggered whenever you feel under pressure, such as sitting for a difficult exams, facing a new challenge or going beyond your comfort zone. You are aware that moderate levels of anxiety may not necessarily be bad because it can spur you into action, create focus and to take preventative measures. However, the difference is when anxiety attacks are constant, overwhelming and a regular occurrence.
Symptoms of anxiety attacks may include the following…
– uncontrollable shaking,
– fast heartbeats,
– profuse sweating,
– muscles tensing up,
– difficulties in breathinng
– dizziness, etc.
To cope with the said symptoms, many -perhaps, yourself – turn to using drug medication. You need to be able to function after all. There are dishes to wash in the sink, bills to pay and grocery errands to run. You’ve got client meetings, business presentations to make and there is the family dinner with the in-laws coming. So, you need something quick where you’d find relief!
Well, it’s important to realise that drugs are not a cure. In fact, there have been many questions about their long-term effectiveness. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, benzodiazepines lose their therapeutic anti-anxiety effect after 4 to 6 months of regular use. What’s more, a recent analysis reported in JAMA Psychiatry found that the effectiveness of anti-depressants in treating anxiety is no better than placebo in some cases.
Fortunately, there are ways to bringing about anxiety relief naturally.
Ways that are proven, effective and that offers sustainable results too!
May I have the permission to introduce Les to you. She’s someone with whom I have worked with.
Les had found out that the nervous tension associated with anxiety attacks could be released rather quickly. Before I proceed, I’d like to add a disclaimer. The content that I am sharing is for information only. You should always consult appropriate advice from a qualified physician for your specific circumstance. Fortunately, Les was able to find out how she can shift out from anxiety into calmness with meridian or EFT tapping.
How Anxiety Attacks Affect Les
Me: How do you know that your anxiety is a big problem for you?
Les: Well, it has affected many areas in my life. For example, it has affected my work life and in social settings, where I need to speak up or interact with others, even loved ones.
Me: What are the signs and symptoms when you go into anxiety?
Les: I feel sweaty, my heartbeat starts to race, and I experience constrictions. The symptoms are disruptive and they affect me badly.
Me: What are the things or activities will be possible for you, if anxiety is no longer a problem?
Les: I’d be able to relax. I’d be able to meditate because I can’t now and my mind can barely keep still. By being able to relax, I will be able to feel more at ease in social settings, public speaking and feeling free to pursue what I do want.
Despite trying out various healing methods and working with other therapists, Les’s problem had persisted. In fact, her inability to relax impacted her ability to find a solution for her other issues whether through hypnosis or meditation. Having heard her story, I was very excited to work with her after a quick discovery session.
The F3 Response
Les had described her wanting to “flee” every single time when she got triggered into chronic anxiety. It’s also why all along, she had preferred to avoid situations that would cause her to be anxious. However, her avoidance has reached an unhealthy state and it is time to change how she has been responding.
I highlighted to Les that there is a difference between a real physical threat and a psychological threat. Her body has been interpreting all triggers as if they are the same. It’s when her F3 or the Fight-Flight-Freeze response kicks in. F3 or the Fight-Flight-Freeze response is the body’s automatic, built-in system designed to protect anyone from threat or danger.
The crux is that in the present, her fear is mostly not real. Les is not facing any physical threat to her life such as a tiger or any other dangerous animal. Her fear is merely psychological and hence, there is no need to go into freeze or to even to pick up and run.
What is EFT Tapping for Anxiety Attacks
Meridian tapping or Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) has been known to help greatly for anxiety and/or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). What’s great is that no drugs are required. EFT simply involves using the fingertips to tap on specific end meridian points on the face or on the body, to release energy blockages. Refer to the diagram below on the various points.
There are already a number of scientific studies proving that meridian or EFT tapping can dramatically reduce high anxiety levels. Clinical EFT is shown to be an “evidence-based” practice. And, according to this other research paper, there is evidence of efficacy with acupoint stimulation for treating psychological disorders.
As a life coach who offers therapy solutions, I’ve been working with clients to reduce heightened stress and anxiety levels naturally. One effective method I have found is via using EFT tapping. From working together, clients had reported experiencing some pretty amazing shifts. And so, I wanted to help Les explore if tapping could work with her too.
How Our Meridian or EFT Tapping Session Went
Les was guided to recall a recent event that had triggered an anxiety attack. While recalling, she could feel her anxiety levels going up with an intensity score of a 9 out of 10. Specifically, she started to experience having the same butterflies in her stomach and constriction in her chest.
With guidance, she tapped through the meridian points while verbally acknowledging what she was feeling and experiencing in her body. In order to override the habitual F3 response, Les tapped into making the choice to let go of her fear; and in the awareness that she is safe in the now. It worked beautifully!
After a few rounds of tapping, the butterflies in her stomach and the constriction in her chest were gone. Her intensity score came down from a 9 to a zero. With all that tense energy lifted, Lesley tuned into a sense of peace and calmness.
The tapping session took less than 20 minutes for resolution. Les was amazed by the fast result especially where she had been suffering from anxiety for many years or in her own words, “for as long as I can remember”. She was glad to find relief from tapping, where no other methods she had attempted could.
What EFT tapping did is to send a calming signal to her brain. This helped her to release anxiety and to restore her body’s energy system. The combination of EFT tapping on the meridian points of her body and acknowledging the anxiety brought her mind and body into alignment.
Les had released her anxiety as she recalled about a recent event. Moving on, what will help for is to address her chronic anxiety patterns specifically when the fear first originated. It will mean having to recall further back into the past, so that she can release the stuck energies that have been locked in time bubbles;formed at the crucial moments when the F3 response kicked in. Once psychological fear is released at root cause, safety can be effectively restored.
Make the Choice: From Anxiety Into Calmness
It’s natural to assume that since everyone suffers from anxiety, there is no need to make a big deal out of it. Hence, you could have been finding ways to live with your anxiety. However, where you are experiencing anxiety attacks that are impacting normal functioning, it can help for you to know that you don’t have to struggle to cope daily.
“If you treat every situation as a life and death matter, you’ll die a lot of times.”
– Dean Smith
You can choose to live with anxiety — or you can choose to do something about it. And if you choose the latter, do know that meridian or EFT tapping can bring about calm and relief.
Because meridian or EFT tapping is non-invasive and it merely involves your fingers to lightly touch on specific points in your body, the method is considered safe. There are no known side-effects, unlike drugs. EFT tapping has been proven to work for thousands of others. And fortunately, for someone like Les.
Over to you.
What will life look like for you, if you are without your anxiety attacks?
What will it do for your relationships and the people around, when you are less anxious?
What will it do for you to be able to thrive, without the long term use of medication?
Love and abundance always,
Evelyn Lim
P.S. Featured Image by DanaTentis from Pixabay
P.S.S. Meridian or EFT tapping is a great way to reduce anxiety attacks. There are also other forms of drug-free solutions. If you’d like to find out more about how you can calm yourself naturally, apply for a complimentary discovery call here!
The post How to Turn Anxiety Attacks into Calmness with EFT Tapping appeared first on Abundance Coach for Women in Business | Evelyn Lim.
