Part 2: My Second Healing Modality (How I Overcame a Phobia)

During yesterday's post, I spoke about Usui Reiki, a natural form of healing. Today, I am featuring the second healing modality which I experienced. This was powerful for me as I overcame a major fear: my fear of spiders which, believe me, was a HUGE deal, at least it was for me! Would you like to know how I did that?

The first healing modality I actually learned was at a workshop with Dr. Lee Polous, a Vancouver-based psychologist, who was featured as a guest. His teaching was an alternative healing method, Emotional Freedom Technique, (EFT for short).

"EFT draws on various theories of alternative medicine including acupuncture, neuro-linguistic programming, energy medicine, and Thought Field Therapy (TFT)." It involves tapping on meridian points, derived from acupressure, on the body which can release energy blockages that cause negative emotions. "During a typical EFT session, the person will focus on a specific issue while tapping on 'end points of the body's energy meridians'.

According to the EFT manual, the procedure consists of the participant rating the emotional intensity of their reaction on a Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS) (a Likert scale for subjective measures of distress, calibrated 0-10) then repeating an orienting affirmation while rubbing or tapping specific points on the body. Some practitioners incorporate eye movements or other tasks. The emotional intensity is then rescored and repeated until no changes are noted in the emotional intensity."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_Freedom_Techniques)

During the exercise of listening to guided instructions with my eyes closed, I imagined a tarantula while tapping certain energy points on my face, hands, and body. I went from an intense '10' on a scale (of 1 to 10) to about a 1, even a 0. That, to me, was remarkable: how exciting! To this day, I am generally not afraid of spiders, maybe the odd time (like a huge one).

I learned this technique about 15 years ago give or take. The interesting thing is that I seem to forget I have this tool at my disposal until I read or hear about it from someone else. It is a very practical tool for not only dealing with phobias, but also pretty much anything, whether physical, mental, or emotional issues.

Have you experienced (as a recipient) or used any healing modality to overcome any pain (physical/mental/emotional) or any of your fears? How successful was it? Was it a permanent or temporary change? How did you feel before, during, and afterwards?