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Deepak Chopra, MD
"EFT offers great healing benefits."
EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques®) Where emotional relief brings physical health
Self help method often works where nothing else will No Drugs Involved ~ High Success Rate
EFT Resources
Bridge phobia fades in one session
Note: This article assumes you have a working knowledge of EFT. Newcomers can still learn from it but are advised to get our Free EFT Get Started Package or our Affordable DVDs for a more complete understanding. For more, read our EFT Info and Disclaimer Document.
Hi Everyone,
Pay particular attention to how Claudia Schecter from Canada works with her client and continually tests her results using visualization and the actual circumstance. Well done.
Hugs, Gary
Dear Gary,
I recently had the opportunity to work with a lady who had an extreme phobia of crossing bridges.
It suddenly came out of nowhere about 5 years ago and limited her tremendously. She lives in Montreal Quebec, which is an island. The only way to leave Montreal is either by air, through a tunnel, or she would have to brave driving over a bridge which caused her so much anxiety that she often had to cancel trips. An unusual factor was that she only had a phobia of bridges with large metal structures. We have some smaller bridges around Montreal that look like streets crossing the water and those did not seem to bother her.
I had Gina think of specific bridges that have the metal structure and immediately her intensity shot up. So we started tapping:
Even though I have this anxiety just thinking of a bridge…
Even though my throat closes when I think of a high metal bridge…
Even though I have a knot in my stomach just thinking of a high metal bridge…
We had to do this for several rounds until the remaining intensity was very low. Before Gina's visit I had printed out two photos of very large metal bridges. I asked Gina if she was ready to look at the pictures. The photos brought out new interesting aspects. She was fine looking at one of the photos, where you could see the large bridge but in the foreground were houses and you could not see any water. The other photo was a similar bridge, however you saw it suspended over water. The sight of the water and the bridge brought up a whole new intensity so we continued tapping:
Even though the bridge over the water constricts my chest…
There were many physical sensations that were triggered by looking at the photo and we dealt with them one after the other until they were gone. Once Gina was calm looking at the photo I asked her if she could imagine driving over the bridge.
By now she realized how gently EFT addresses anxieties, so she wanted to imagine herself in the driver's seat which gave her the most fear ... but only driving in the middle lane … not too close to the edge. We tapped down all the anxieties around crossing the imaginary bridge with huge metal beams above and around ... knowing that the water was there, but not really seeing it well from the middle lane. So finally Gina was ready to cross the imaginary bridge in the outside lane close to the water. This brought up a lot of fear:
Even though the water looks so threatening…
Even though I am afraid to lose control and end up in the water…
Even though I am afraid to drown…
Even though I am afraid to lose control and cannot keep my head over the water…
This brought back very strong memories of her divorce and she whispered, "Oh my god, these are the exact words I used when my husband and I separated approximately 5 years ago," around the time this phobia started.
After Gina was able to cross the imaginary bridge without intensity in the outside lane, I invited her to go on a test drive. Tap, tap, tap just … the thought of it brought up more anxiety but then she laughed and we got into her car with her in the driver’s seat. We chose a bridge with little traffic, because I asked her to honor herself and pull over as soon as any anxiety came up. We had to stop a few times, tapped everything down, and continued driving to the bridge. The rest you can read in Gina's letter that I am posting with her permission.
Five years ago, driving my car crossing over a bridge, I started to feel some fear. With time, this fear had evolved to the state of phobia. Just thinking that I would have to drive over a bridge I would become anxious to the point that my behavior was altered: my whole body would start shaking and I would become angry. This phobia of bridges had taken on so much proportions that I would avoid some trips or otherwise, I would go round the problem by driving many additional kilometers.
Thanks to a friend, I met Claudia Schecter, an EFT practitioner. She demonstrated a great patience to get rid of my fear, the meeting lasted almost two hours. Afterwards, with my agreement, we took the direction of a bridge over which I successfully drove by staying calm and relaxed. Since we had to come back, we cross over the same bridge again but this time, I felt a tremendous joy and total happiness realizing the fact that I was finally liberated of my phobia.
The Emotional Freedom Technique is simple, gentle and efficient. Delighted by its results, I intend to refer to this technique again to overcome other psychological blockages that are harmful to my personal wellbeing.
Thank you Claudia, I am grateful for this wonderful gift you offered me so gently.
Sincerely,
Warm regards,
Claudia Schecter
