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Joint

Foot

A pain in the feet

Important Note: This article was written prior to 2010 and is now outdated. Please use my newest advancement, Optimal EFT. It is more efficient, more powerful and clearly explained in my free e-book, The Unseen Therapist™.  Best wishes, Gary

by Gary Craig

Hi Everyone,

This is a case of "semi-success" from which we can all learn.

"Dennis" reported a level of pain in his feet that had been at a constant "5 or 6" for the past 4 years. There didn't seem to be an obvious cause for this pain, although his doctors had various theories for it. Since he had made no headway with conventional techniques, he came to my EFT workshop hoping for a remedy.

As usual, I had each member of the audience locate individual physical issues and then tap for them as a group. Dennis, of course, tapped for "this foot pain." Several rounds later, he reported no success. His foot pain hadn't budged.

As you know by now, my next step is to look for emotional contributors to this problem. So I asked one of my favorite questions which brought about a conversation like this...

GC: If there was an emotional contributor to your foot pain, what might it be?

DENNIS: There aren't any.

GC: How do you know?

DENNIS: Because it's a physical problem.

GC: Hmmm....OK....Let me ask this....do some people have physical problems that are caused by unresolved emotional issues?

DENNIS: I don't think so.

GC: Well.....as an example....can ulcers be caused by worry, stress or fear?

DENNIS: Yes...I suppose so....that might be an exception.

GC: What about high blood pressure? Can that be caused by emotional stress?

DENNIS: Yes.

GC: Do some people's heart pound fast or do they sweat when they get nervous? Does nervousness some cause some people to have buterflies in their stomach?

DENNIS: Yes.

GC: OK......then is it possible for a physical problem, like your foot, to be at least partly caused by some unresolved emotional issues?

DENNIS: I suppose so, but I don't know what they would be. I don't have any emotional problems.

Note: Although Dennis seemed very calm and was apparently convinced that he didn't have any emotional issues, I also knew that he had an alcohol problem (which typically goes hand in hand with emotional issues). This, plus my intuitive sense that he was likely repressing some substantial fears, angers, grief, trauma, etc., led me to pursue this issue further....

GC: When did you first notice your foot pain?

DENNIS: About 4 years ago.

GC: Was there a significant emotional event in your life at about that time?

DENNIS: Yes. I had a major blow-up with "Jake" in the workplace. He was unfairly critical of me and I became furious. I've been mad at him ever since.

GC: Who else has been critical of you?

DENNIS: My father.

GC: Can you give me an example?

DENNIS: He was a carpenter and every time I tried to help him by pounding nails he would yell at me and say, "Can't you do anything right?"

GC COMMENT: Ahhhh....more criticism. This may not be THE bullseye issue but it is certainly worth addressing with EFT. Upon further questioning, Dennis said he didn't have much in the way of current intensity about either Jake or his father's comments. However, his posture and the tone of his voice said otherwise--he just wasn't feeling it.

So we tapped....

"Even though Jake criticized me...."

"Even though Dad said You can't do anything right..."

....and his foot pain went down to a 2. We then discussed some other issues regarding both Jake and his father and his foot pain went up to a 7. We tapped on those and it went down to a 2. We kept going for about 20 minutes and his foot pain went like a yo-yo from 7 to 2 to 7 to 2 to 7 to 2 etc. as we kept addressing emotional issues.

Afterwards--15 minutes or so after we finished tapping--the foot pain returned to its previous 5 or 6 level.

An EFT beginner might conclude from all this that EFT "didn't work." After all, we did a lot of tapping and the end result was that his foot pain stayed the same. Please remember, however, that we were only at this for about 20 minutes and, during that time, EFT consistently brought his pain down to a 2--although temporarily in each instance. This is robust evidence that emotional issues are contributors to his foot pain. It is also evidence that we didn't find the core issue(s) within our allotted 20 minutes. We were, apparently, tip-toeing around the edges.

That's why I said at the beginning of this article that we had "semi-success." In the short time we had together (and in this public circumstance), we didn't "fix" Dennis's problem. But we DID point the way. We clearly established that his foot pain had emotional roots. Even Dennis saw that and said so as the workshop concluded. Future persistence will likely pay dividends.

Our "failures" and "semi-successes" provide valuable learning opportunities. Those who pursue them persistently deserve our deep respect for they are the ones who develop mastery. They are the ones who will lead the way as these procedures continue to spread throughout the world.

Hugs, Gary

More articles on Pain Management and Pain Relief

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