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Other Emotional Issues

Eating Disorders

Bulimia in Brazil


Important Note: This article was written prior to 2010 and is now outdated.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

Including two follow-ups at the end

Hi Everyone,

Those of you who have been on this list for awhile will recall Sonia Novinsky, the Brazilian therapist who has contributed so elegantly to our understanding of how best to deliver these procedures.

Sonia blends her skill & caring with EFT to achieve some enviable results, not the least of which is a recent success regarding bulimia. She gives us the details in her message below.

But first, some comments from beneath my minister's hat. It has long been my view that bulimia is NOT a problem in and of itself. Neither are addictions, cancer and a long list of other ailments/behaviors. Rather, these are often SYMPTOMS which are contributed to by unresolved anger, guilt, fear, etc. These unresolved emotions cause conflicts (lack of peace) within the system and are thus the true causes of many of our problems. Until they are properly resolved, we may just flit from symptom to symptom with the illusion that healing is taking place.

We do the best we can given our existing beliefs, attitudes and other resources. But now we have a new understanding about what healing is about. Our new energy based techniques are SHOUTING at us to re-evaluate our previous procedures. With their use, such things as headaches, stomach distress, depression, orthopedic problems and lactose intolerance have gone completely away without pills or surgeries. Further, even the most intense of emotional issues have often subsided without a trace of their return.

Some of these results happen so rapidly that we call them "one minute wonders." Other ailments, like bulimia, have so many intertwined emotional causes that it takes time, skill and persistence to unravel it all. Until now, bulimia and other forms of eating disorders, have rarely been cured. Rather, they have been treated by a variety of means in hopes they would "get better." By contrast, Sonia Novinsky spends her time using EFT (plus affirmations) to go straight for the emotional causes--and in her bulimia case there are many of them, as you will see. The result? A complete cessation of the symptoms. What else would you expect when you have eradicated the causes?

You will note in Sonia's message that English is not her first language. Further, she had to write in a hurried state (between appointments). Nonetheless, her conviction, caring and skill come across quite clearly. I called her this morning in Brazil to learn that she has had at least 5 other compulsive eating disorder clients. Since using EFT and other energy therapies she has been successful (no recurring symptoms) with all of them. How many eating disorder specialists can say that? Hopefully, Sonia's message will find its way into eating disorder clinics around the world and initiate healing at new levels.

Don't you just love it when one voice from a far away land can bring healing to many?

Hugs, Gary


By Sonia Novinsky

Hi Gary,

I will share with you as much as my English allows me...

Shelly is my bulimic client , Personal trainer, 34 years old, married, one child.

I worked with her for 3 months, once a week ( June - September 1999). Since then she came till January once a month, only for checking, but the symptoms didn't came back.

Symptoms started in the early twenties (24, when she got married). From menstruation phase (11 years old) till 24 wasn't allowed to date, go out, take a shower, dress herself beautiful etc. All day in the bedroom, crying most of the time: feeling shame of being fat. Almost no rememberings of these years. Very severe depression after delivery of her child.

When she arrived she was taking Reductil, Prozac and Triptanol. When she left she was free from these drugs.

Symptoms: she ate compulsively, till no place was left in the stomach (mainly in the evening). Then vomited or runned like 10 -30 km for sweating all calories.

Then started eating again. Obsessive for losing weight. Not fat at all. Three lipoaspiration in the belly and in the buttocks. Besides, compulsive shopping, till bankrupt.

I worked with EFT + Affirmations.

Main issues I worked:

Family issues:

1. Her mother is very sick since adolescence: a very rare kind of leprosy, no cure available. Very disagreeable spots in the skin. Shelly never felt permission to develop her own femininity. Guilty of being beautiful.

2. Grandmother living in the same house, taking care of Shelly's mother and the children. A very authoritarian person, violent, seducer and intrusive (including in sexual issues) -- feelings of hate and guilt.

(Grandmother used to say that Shelly and his brother were responsible for spots in mother's body). Shelly yelled: you are not my mother! (guilty all the time, she wore only male clothes).

3. Her father, (a compulsive eater, maybe bulimic also, she thinks) felt in a trap, he didn't know the mother was with this terrible leprosy before marriage. Violent conflicts at home, all the time. She feels her father at the same time look at her in a sensual way, and with contempt.

Once she put her hand on his shoulder and he screamed: "I am not your boyfriend." Very ambivalent situation.

Feelings: shame and guilty. And a lot of passion and rage.

When she feel better, skinnier, beautiful, and her father say a compliment, (like : You look beautiful, today!). Immediately this triggered a deep tension and the compulsion to eat and throw up the food). And she start fatting again. Feeling that food is in a bad place in the body and has to be thrown away in some way (vomiting or aerobic activity). Feelings: Fear of being beautiful, fear of not being able to put limits, fear of becoming a whore.

4. Marriage issues: limits issues with his husband and his family.

Results:

1. more comfortable when visiting her mother and father. No tension felt anymore. .

2. no compulsion at all (SUDS =0) for buying and eating. No need to eliminate food from the body or to fast ( she used before to fast somedays for eliminate food).

3. Start using more female clothes. Shame and guilt =0

4. She now can look in the mirror and love herself. Rage=0

5. She is now putting limits: and is discriminating more herself from her husband and his family ( very intrusive). Being able to say: I don't want you here today, for ex.

6. More healthy relationship with job and career--> more stable clients.

Hope you understand, I can't review the English, have to work. Excuse my faults, please.

the best,

Sonia


First follow up on Bulimia in Brazil

Hi Everyone,

Here's a follow up from Sonia Novinsky regarding her recent post entitled "Bulimia in Brazil." Please recall that Sonia's persistent use of EFT, combined with quality detective work, gave her client, "Shelly," complete freedom from bulimia--at least from September through January (the last time Sonia saw her). As a checkup, Shelly recently came in again to see Sonia (it is now June) and, as you will see, her bulimia and many of the underlying issues (such as a shopping compulsion) are still history.

Also recall that Sonia has at least 5 other eating disorder clients whose symptoms have vanished. In fact, since learning these energy procedures she has had no failures with these otherwise difficult-to-move clients. Let me hasten to add that none of these clients were pushovers. Not a single "one minute wonder" among them. They all required diligent, skillful and caring application of these procedures. However, the message here is that even issues with intense and multi-faceted underlying aspects become clear candidates for tapping. Despite the loving intentions of all the non-tapping eating disorder clinics in the world, success rates like Sonia's are very hard to find.

Sonia's update is not all peaches and cream, however. While Shelly still has no trace of her bulimic reaction, she has developed other eating/weight responses to recent events in her life. This should come as no surprise, especially given Shelly's difficult childhood. While Shelly has freedom on some things there are now new issues that are begging for attention.

Here's Sonia's message. Her English, while not perfect, carries within it abundant evidence of her skill and caring.

Hugs, Gary


Hi,

Shelly came today.

Very interesting.

Shopping compulsion: never more

Bulimic reactions: never more.

job as personal trainer: 7 clients per day (earning money)

But something happened with eating compulsion.

After our last session I called asking for authorization of telling her story to a magazine that invited me for an interview. She agreed immediately but this phone call triggered a very anxious feeling/belief:

"I can't deal with a success. I can't sustain a success, I prefer leave forever, there is no durable success for me."

After this she never tapped again, and never called me back again. She just forgot me. (it's a pattern: when she has a success with someone, and she gave examples, and has some public recognition she leaves immediately and cut off the person, it succeed with a karate classes, etc); I didn't catch this problem the first time around ( I accept myself...).

Then she was involved in a big stress in February: husband bankrupt, and teeth problem (being obliged to put a fix "equipment" in her mouth). She felt that her eating compulsion could come back and so she looked for another treatment: homotoxology (works with homotoxins, thymus gland, do you know this?).

GC COMMENT: No, I don't know anything about homotoxology. But this is a classic example of the Apex problem wherein tapping gives her major relief from her disorder but she chooses something else next time.

SONIA CONTINUES: When this last event occurred, she gained 3 kg (she was constant at 62 since our treatment). Feels some compulsion but not bulimic reaction.

Now she is working very hard and has no time to big compulsion!

I notice now a dissociation: a part of her wants to be 58-60 kg .

Another part still can't sustain victory, success. Can't have a fruition of a such success. When we worked (last year) she had an image: an Indian woman, very beautiful, being punished because she betrayed someone.

She remembered this image today. Ugliness, Punishment, failure, OH! Its easy to deal with these situation... (says the other one). And says also: these energy methods are too simple to treat a so complicated problem like mine.

GC COMMENT: Again, the Apex problem.

SONIA CONTINUES: Conclusion:

1. We will start another piece of treatment. She will pay me only if she maintains 58 kg for a while.

2. Core issues remained untreated, and a critical one that allows her to sabotage our connection and EFT. (mea culpa... I accept...).

3. However, the bulk of our previous work is fine: she never throwed up food anymore, never went to a mall to buy things by impulse, she is very responsible in money issues, earning and sustaining her house practically alone now.

Hope you understand my English.

I learnt a lot with that difficult client, and I promise to tell you more about it as soon as I have results. I am adding some MT [muscle testing] so I will be able to know better if issues are cleared up.

Sonia


Second followup on Bulimia in Brazil

Hi, Gary

I think my work with Shelly just finished today.

She is feeling great. I will see her next week for the last time, only for safeness (this word exists?)

Today she told me some important feelings she had last week that gives evidence she is ok:

1. She is dressing herself in a feminine way almost everyday. Previously she wore men's clothes because of her shame.

2. Someone said: "How thin you are!" And she liked this and did not feel the urge to eat compulsively after that.

3. Her mother said: "The way your are using your hair is like whores use it!" And she smiled and translated for herself: "I am beautiful, my hair is beautiful, and doesn't feel ashamed and guilty."

4. She is in a wonderful moment with her husband. And when they were doing sex and he passed his hands over her body, she felt: I feel like I have 57 kilos. (appreciation for her weight--something really new for her).

5. Just before menstruation she felt dopamine high and serotonin low and she eat a piece of chocolate and could stop immediately.

6. In the week end (when she used to eat a lot), she now talks to herself as follows, "I want to have the pleasure of being skinny so I will not have now the pleasure of eating a lot now, I can postpone my pleasure." And she is playing with this new possibility in her life, to postpone pleasure sometimes. For example, she postponed the pleasure of reading a magazine she wanted to read alone in a peaceful moment and not in the moment she bought it, and so on.

7. She was alone Saturday night (a good moment for the compulsion) and she didn't feel an emptiness inside, she called some friends, she drank a juice, she watched a soap opera and fell asleep.

We will see what tomorrow brings...

Sonia

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