An Intense fear of tunnels in Norway

By Ellen Dyb Wedeld

Dear EFT’rs everywhere,

I am a devoted student of EFT, and I’m very much looking forward to opening up my practice within a year. Meanwhile I use EFT on myself, and anyone who’ll let me, and have experienced so many one minute wonders, that I sometimes have to remind myself of the value of persistence!

I have learned so much from the case histories on the EFT newsletter list, and I hope my contribution will be useful.

I have suffered from tunnel-phobia for the past few years, progressively getting worse and culminating in a terrible panic-attack 2 years ago. And then...no more tunnels for me. The phobia was
A mixture of agoraphobia, claustrophobia, and the remains of a major depression+anxiety and panic disorder (long gone now, luckily!!!)

What motivated me to REALLY work on it, was that I had to visit my father who had recently moved to western Norway. It would mean A LOT to him. It would also mean a lot to me to be able to travel again, and this was a golden opportunity. An incredible number of tunnels lay between us, though...

First I got hold of the database of all the tunnels in the country, with all possible information about length, lighting, ventilation, rescue systems etc. I also bought an updated map so as not to be surprised by any unknown tunnels. I marked the map with the length of the tunnels, lay the map out on the table, and just CRIED. It looked HOPELESS!

In my despair I noticed a strange feeling; It was like I had been wearing a strait jacket for years. Everyone had noticed it, of course, it looks quite strange, but I hadn’t noticed it because I had been sitting still for so long! Now I was trying to move, and could feel it on me, restraining me!

(In my despair I did not think of working directly on the strait jacket with EFT ... I think that might have been a good idea!) I sat up all night downloading pictures of tunnels on my computer, using the scariest one-a black tunnel opening, as screensaver. I looked at the pictures, doing the tapping,

*Even though I hate the black tunnel-opening...
*....................the tunnels are too long...
*....................the tunnels are too dark...
*....................I’m afraid I’ll have another panic attack...
*....................I’m afraid to freak out like I did before...

I did the complete “sandwich”, with the 9 gamut every time, but forgot to check the 0-10 intensity.

I didn’t feel noticeably better, so I sat down in my “quiet” room to pray, and tap. First I prayed (or, rather begged) to God and The Universe for access to my infinite power, courage and light. I then continued with the tapping, and adding some choices;

*Even though the tunnel is terribly dark and narrow, i choose to experience that it’s like driving on an open road in the sun...(I used Dr. Carrington’s Choices)
*Even though the tunnel is horribly long, I choose to experience it as short and quick...
*Even though I might have to go places I don’t want to, If I don’t have this phobia, I choose to let it go..
I did several complete rounds of these, and then, some positives only:
*I choose to have FUN in tunnels...
*I choose to be calm and confident...
*I choose to experience the tunnels as filled with light and sunshine...
*It’s like driving in the sunshine...
*I am safe in tunnels....
*It’s just a road...

I was calmer, but didn’t know if it was from pure exhaustion, I was still afraid of being afraid..

The following morning I asked my partner if he would take me on a test-tour of the nearby tunnels (he is very understanding and patient about my problem). What I had in mind was starting small with some of the nearest, smallest tunnels. He, on the other hand, thought it was a good idea to go for the big ones straight away! I was torn between the possibility of freaking out, and a strong urge to get on with my life, so I let him drive on. I was bringing my notebook, and was monitoring myself and taking notes of my thoughts and physical reactions.

Knowing there were long tunnels ahead, I felt only slight nervousness. I tapped, just in case, the full rounds, saying the words internally; ..this fear of tunnels...

When I could see the opening far ahead (the tunnel was 3,8km long) I got more uneasy, started to cry and wanted to stop. Then inside the tunnel;” fire” in my chest, feeling faint, feels narrow, long...
I tap on every symptom (without the setup). I start to hyperventilate, and feel loss of sensation in my lips and extremities...tapping, while only moving the lips:...

*I choose to be safe, calm, and relaxed (talking s l o w l y)...
I immediately feel the energy shifting, like a big “flake” of electricity is lifted off me..
*I choose that my heart beats calmly....
*I choose to get enough air...

This calmed me down completely, doing it really slowly seemed to be important.

When we got out of the tunnel I felt fine, besides a little numbness of the lip!

After a celebratory coffee/croissant break in a small town I hadn’t been able to visit for years (for obvious reasons) my partner decided that we should go through the WORST tunnel I know of. I had long ago decided to never, ever in my life go anywhere NEAR this tunnel. And that anyone that did, had to be TOTALLY stupid. But his arguments were good, if I did this, I would have done the impossible.

This was a 7,8 km long, steep, narrow, UNDERWATER tunnel. But my phobia wasn’t about accidents or disasters that might actually happen, only fear of fear, and strange bodily reactions. And I didn’t like the thought of being limited in that way; being ok in some tunnels, and not in others. So I went for it.

We first had to stop and wait for awhile, at the turnpike in front of the opening. I was crying, and tapping and tapping without words, (I wonder if had I been able to say the words out loud, that it would have worked?) and meanwhile the drivers passing by, wondered what was going on in our car! 30 min. went by, and I just couldn’t get “ready”. So my partner just drove on, I didn’t have the strength to stop him.

As we went downward into the tunnel, my anxiety level rose, I felt a flaming, flickering sensation in my chest, a lack of air, a “prickling” feeling in my nose and forehead, as if I didn’t get enough oxygen...I closed my eyes.. When I opened them again, I could see an infinitely long and straight road going towards a black hole far down there.. My chest was on fire, and my face, I began to remember panic..

I then made myself start tapping - the whole rounds, and very slowly:

*I choose to be calm and confident... This was repeated several rounds.

To say anything about the heart felt to scary! When we began the ascending, I was able to keep my eyes open (while still repeating the choice), and feeling totally calm!!! On the way home, we passed through several other tunnels, including me driving through some of them myself, with no problems whatsoever.

But, later that evening, I suddenly got a delayed reaction of fear from the underwater tunnel, remembering the narrow and dark downhill. I regretted having done it, and felt a desperate need to have it “undone”, I almost panicked. I started tapping immediately: The anxiety vanished even before I reached the fourth point!! Gone...!

The end of the story is that 2 weeks later I Was able to hug my very happy father, who had lost all hope of me ever coming to visit. There is a crazy number of tunnels between us, long and dark and dirty, and what not, but I had NO symptoms, neither driving myself, nor as a passenger, not anticipating the tunnels, seeing the black openings, the inside, the length, nothing. Only, on the return home, a little uneasiness “Fearing the Fear”. In preparation for the journey home, and during, I tapped vigorously for: "I trust myself..."

Now, a month later, I notice that I have “lost” the fear of a lot of things – a very nice side effect. Only a little fear of fear remains, it’s just an old pattern that is being replaced little by little. But I am NOT afraid of tunnels (I have fun in tunnels!)

Hugs
Ellen Dyb Wedeld