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Kathy Doner,
MD
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FEATURE ARTICLE
"
Man, This is Cool Stuff,"
Said the 16
year old young man whose parents had brought him to see me for a change
in
attitude. His anger was out of control and he and his step-father had
had
fist-fights. He was withdrawn at home. And he was threatening to drop
out of
school. The family had severe financial problems and did not speak
English. “Why
me, why Hypnotherapy?” I despaired, as the teenager answered in
monosyllables,
rolled his eyes and gave no sign of cooperation.
Obviously he
wasn’t going to take my advice or even close his eyes so I
changed tactics. He sort
of paid attention as I taught him the Emotional Freedom Technique and
sort of
shook my hand on the way out the door.
Without high
hopes for any change I welcomed him back the next week. “Man,
this is cool
stuff!” he claimed excitedly. “I was playing baseball and
some idiot couldn’t
throw the ball worth anything. I was getting really mad and about to
lose it
when I just tapped like you showed me. No one noticed. I cooled down
right away
and didn’t get myself in trouble. This stuff works!”
I
haven’t heard from him since then. I
couldn’t fix his family or his future but I did teach him a very
quick and easy
technique that gave him control over his out-of-control feelings and
actions. And
with that self-empowerment he now has more of a chance of dealing with
whatever
happens.
So, when
situations
seem almost impossible I always teach the Emotional Freedom Technique
(EFT).
Whether it’s the Titusville Circles of Care out-patient group
with mental
health issues (they did great!) or a gentleman with brain injury and
emotional
outbursts over his spastic bladder or someone struggling with life-long
food
addictions, they all enjoy using EFT. They are in control of their
feelings and
cravings.
EFT is an
easy-to-learn self-help technique
of tapping on acupuncture points on the face and chest. Emotions of
anxiety,
stress, panic, anger and cravings are quickly brought down to a more
manageable
level. And the down feelings of sadness, depression, low motivation and
poor
self-esteem are brought up to a balanced feeling of more hope and
confidence. The
chosen positive suggestions can then be added with EFT on these points.
It always
sounded too good to be true to me, the skeptical scientist – that
is until I
used it on myself during the overwhelming stress of 2004 hurricane
destruction,
consequent financial mess and crooked contractor incompetence. And now
I’m more
than happy to teach it to anyone! (Including a small group you might
organize
in school, church or business.)
So, whether
you check out EFT and the
free manual on www.emofree.com, attend a local workshop in Sebastian or
Melbourne (see “Announcing”), work with me for a personal
issue or just open
your mind to the possibilities of controlling your stress and cravings,
please
consider EFT.
To quote
the
gentleman with brain injury: “You may have to
sleep in the bed you are given.
But you, and only you, can change the sheets.” And he did.
Read Dr. Doner's Personal
Reflections; "A
Year to Live"
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Announcing
