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By Christine Wheeler, MA
Our population is aging and many of us find ourselves caring for our elderly parents. It is difficult watching their energy and vibrancy fade before your eyes... even with medications. You may even feel like there is nothing you can do to help.
However, a new no-meds technique often provides benefits where other methods fail. Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is a do-it-yourself healing tool that is based on the principles of acupuncture.
It has become a Universal Healing Aid for thousands of households and anyone can learn the basics.
When my 80-year-old mother was diagnosed with terminal leukemia, we did EFT several times a day to calm her nausea, her nerves and her pain. With EFT, she resolved emotional upsets, and annoyances at her nurses.
And when she was in a weakened state, she could perform EFT for herself. EFT was a real gift for her... she felt as if she had some control over her body and her symptoms and her energy... at a time when it seemed like the leukemia was in total control.
EFT is different from conventional medical treatments because it looks at any emotional or physical illness or upset from the perspective of the body's meridian system. In fact, physical symptoms of pain and illness are clues to an imbalance in the body's energies... which is the way Traditional Chinese Medicine has approached illness for 5,000 years.
When your meridian system (or subtle energy system) is out of balance, existing illnesses, emotional upsets and physical symptoms can feel exaggerated, even out of control.
With EFT, you use your fingertips to tap on a series of acupuncture points and this balances your meridian system... calms your upset... relieves pain and increases your energy-- without any drugs or known side effects.
EFT doesn't claim to be perfect... but it does offer relief about 80% of the time.
While a complete description of EFT is beyond the scope of this article, you can learn all the basics from the free EFT Get Started Package on the EFT website. This includes a free download of the 79 page EFT Manual.Those wishing to save time and dive right in can get the affordable 5 star training DVDs.
If the concept of your body's energy system is new for you, notice in the following case study, how Jessie, a 90 year old woman was so depleted of energy that she felt ready to die. After two brief sessions of EFT, she was walking around unaided. Consider how EFT may give a boost to your elderly parent... or give you a boost if you are the caregiver. You can read this story in more detail on the EFT website.5 days after EFT treatment, doctor sees dramatic
change in blood oxygen levels in 90 year old patient.
Beverly Schydlowsky considered herself an EFT novice. She had the opportunity to work with Jessie (whose name has been changed to protect privacy), a 90 year old woman whose quality of life had begun to decline in the previous year.
She was having difficulties walking, and her heart rate was so low that she had a pacemaker installed.
After much celebrating of her 90th birthday, she became weakened and wanted to stay in bed. She became feverish-- and then hospitalized when she was diagnosed with pneumonia.
The hospital staff treated her as if she was dying and finally, Jessie did want to die just so she'd be left alone. After 2 weeks in hospital, she was taken home and put on oxygen 24 hours a day... she was unable to breathe on her own. She felt too weak to eat much and could only walk a few steps with a walker or a cane.
Beverly went to Jessie's home for their meeting and Jessie became exhausted just by the brief trip with her walker from the bedroom to the living room. Although she was interested in what Beverly had to say about EFT, her eyes were dull and lifeless. She said she wanted to feel stronger... she could barely do anything.
Beverly did EFT with Jessie for her feelings of weakness. At first Jessie walked around a bit, but feeling shaky, she sat down again and said that she felt worse.
After a bit more EFT, she felt better and Beverly said that her eyes became alive and sparkly, her body energy seemed to improve and she became a bit feisty and humorous. She told Jessie that it might take a couple of days for her to notice a really meaningful difference.
After two days Jessie did experience dramatic changes. For the first time, Jessie made her bed, taking 30 minutes to do so. Then she used her walker to walk the deck 9 times... previously she could walk only once, with the aid of her daughter.
A few days later, she was only using her cane. Her appetite increased and she was sleeping less. She was staying up later at night and even watching television.
Beverly visited again and this time Jessie surprised her by walking across the room without her cane. This time, she wanted to work on the balancing the strength in her legs, to help her walk even better. She also wanted to reduce the shaking in her right arm and hand.
They did EFT on these things and the shaking improved and then worsened and then improved again. They worked on the balance problem but left it after a while as Jessie was feeling "woozy" (which she often felt).
To her daughter's surprise, Jessie drank a full glass of water and ate cheese and crackers. Her appetite seemed to be improving... she had more strength to eat.
Beverly kept her EFT work to a minimum with Jessie. They talked a lot and Beverly left Jessie with some tips for further improving her energy. Jessie's daughter later reported that just 5 days after the initial EFT session, the doctor ordered that her oxygen be removed because there was such a dramatic change in her blood levels.
This profound improvement in Jessie's energy is not surprising because the theory behind EFT involves blockages, or disruptions in the free flow of energy in the body. When you use EFT to balance your energies, it is likely to result in an increase in your energy.
This tool will be useful for anybody whose energy is sapped by illness or disease, depression or stress. Consider adding EFT to your first aid kit. More on EFT
Please note that in addition to increasing your energy, EFT has been a consistently effective healing tool for hundreds of other physical, mental and emotional ailments. For more information, you can explore the EFT website and its numerous success stories regarding fears, phobias, emotional traumas and physical ailments.
Please consult qualified health professionals before putting EFT into practice for yourself or others.
Christine Wheeler is an EFT Practitioner, and freelance natural health writer. Christine and Dr. Carolyn Dean co-authored IBS for Dummies (Wiley Publishing) where they present EFT as one of the natural treatments options for people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
