Anxiety

Anxiety disorders affect about 40 million adult Americans each year, causing fear, uncertainty, and diminished ability to cope effectively. Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event (such as speaking in public or a first date), anxiety disorders last at least 6 months and can get worse if they are not treated.

Stimulating acupuncture points while mentally evoking anxious feelings or a trigger for anxiety is believed to send deactivating signals directly to the amygdala's lateral nucleus, its threat detection center, as well as to other areas of the limbic system that are involved with fear. Both clinical reports and research findings indicate that reducing anxiety is an area where energy psychology protocols are particularly effective.

Case Example [summarized from a report posted on www.EFTUniverse.com.]

"Venkat" reported debilitating anxiety that had persisted for two years. Describing himself as having to that point been quite extraverted, his life was narrowing as he was now unable to drive and was avoiding gatherings of people and even shopping. He reported being in a constant state of tension, with physical symptoms such as pounding of the heart and tightness in his head and left leg becoming pronounced when having to meet people or when encountering other triggers.

Several treatment sessions were administered over the phone. Venkat also complied with instructions to self-apply the protocol between meetings.

In the first session, Venkat identified a precipitating event two years earlier when he was having a dizzy spell at his workplace and eventually fainted. Even though people were there to help him, he felt "helpless," "out of control," and "weak." After this incident, he had constant fear and anxiety that he would faint again. Attempts by others to help with advice such as "It's all in your mind" and "You just need more willpower" served to further isolate him.

The therapist moved in very slowly, even with the initial 0 to 10 SUD assessment of the precipitating event. Rather than being asked to recall the incident, Venkat was asked to rate what he thought the rating would be if he were to bring it to mind. The generic phrase, "dizzy incident," was chosen as the reminder phrase. After a few rounds of tapping using this phrase, he was more in control and able to talk about the details. At that point, he was able to visualize the incident and tap on specific elements of it until the SUD was down to a zero.

With that achieved, Venkat began to feel regret that he had lost two years of his life and had suffered so much pain. The wording now focused on this regret, and also on the sense of powerlessness and weakness he had experienced. After the emotional charge on these issues had been eliminated, the wording became more future-oriented, with phrases such as "I take my power back."

Another area of focus was on the somatic dimension of his anxiety, such as his pounding heart and the tension in his head and left leg. All were in the 8 to 10 range on his early SUD ratings. They came down to around 4 without having been a specific area of focus, and were completely resolved by the end of the treatment.

On follow-up a month after the final session, Venkat reported that he was driving again, was comfortable meeting people, was no longer terrified of crowds, and that he had made two trips without incident.

Clinical Trials: Several clinical trials showing energy psychology to be effective in treating anxiety disorders are reviewed in "Acupoint Stimulation in Treating Psychological Disorders: Evidence of Efficacy" which appeared in the APA journal Review of General Psychology (2012, 16, 364-380).