by Lora Solomon, MSN Family Nurse Practitioner 

We are all beings of energy. Virtually every culture acknowledges the life-force or bio-vitality that keeps living things healthy. In order for our bodies to heal and be well, that energy must be flowing freely. If it does not, a state of dis-ease may occur. One of the biggest factors that cause blockages of the body’s healing energy is suppressed emotions.  

Wanda S., a registered nurse, was diagnosed with fibromyalgia five years ago and even with prescription pain medication was rarely pain free. She started working with a therapy known as Emotional Freedom Technique and was able to reduce her pain medication right away. After 8 months of doing EFT regularly, her pain is completely gone. Proponents of EFT claim it relieves many psychological and physical conditions including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, general stress, addictions and phobias. 

Blocked Emotions Get Stored in the Body 

Most of the time, blocked emotions are stored in the smooth muscles which function automatically, without our conscious control. Any part of the body can be affected by an absence of flowing energy. For example, if we block energy in the smooth muscles of the blood vessels going to the head, we might call this a migraine headache. If it is blocked in the smooth muscles of the air passages of the lungs, this could be asthma. Blocked energy in the smooth muscle of the intestinal tract may result in nausea, bloating, or abdominal pain. Emotions unconsciously blocked in the body can have detrimental effects.

Dr. Bernie Siegel, an author and cancer surgeon at Yale University, revealed in several studies how blocked emotions suppress the function of white blood cells called T-cells, which are crucial to a healthy immune system.  In his paper called “Foundation Theory,” Dr. Paul Goodwin says that wherever blocked emotions are stored in the body, they create a “functional boundary condition in the nervous system”—a blockage of the flow of the body’s healing energy.

This might explain why chronic conditions persist in spite of the body’s innate ability and propensity for healing. Many times, the initial events that cause energy blockages are so deeply buried inside the body that they cannot be easily accessed by the conscious mind. Conventional cognitive therapy may only scratch the surface of the deeper barriers to healing. The body does an excellent job of keeping “unacceptable” emotions deeply buried until an individual has the ego structure and maturity to allow the emotions and energy to flow again. Emotions themselves do not cause energy blocks, but the unconscious resistance to emotions does.  

One of the main functions of the unconscious mind is to keep us safe in our family while growing up. As children, events may happen that cause us to develop beliefs that it’s not okay to show anger, anxiety, pride or excitement because these emotions might upset our caretakers and that would compromise our safety. This does not mean that we had terrible parents or were abused. It simply means that a pattern of unconsciously blocking emotions started very early in our lives and most likely these patterns persist today. 

Without treatment, the pattern of blocked energy goes like this: As unacceptable emotions begin to arise in the body the unconscious mind says, “It’s not okay to be feeling these things, it’s not safe.” Then the unconscious prompts the body to clamp down on these emotions, holding them in the body and preventing them from coming to conscious awareness. This internal clamping down may eventually cause cell damage, physical pain and disease.  

Working with the Body’s Energy System 

To effectively release these patterns, we must work with the body’s energy system. EFT was developed on the theory that energy runs along meridians in the body and that we can intentionally enhance the movement of energy.  The basic EFT technique involves holding a disturbing memory or emotion in mind and simultaneously using the fingers to tap on a series of 12 specific points on the body that correspond to meridians used in Chinese medicine. 

EFT requires energy awareness and intuition on the part of the provider and these are skills are nurtured in the patient. Once the basic technique is learned and the skills are strengthened, almost anyone committed to healing can become proficient and reap the benefits of EFT. The support and coaching of the EFT provider over several sessions helps to build confidence that increases the chance that one will use EFT as a healing modality for any type of discomfort. 

Many people find the technique a last resort for problems that have not responded to anything else. Sandy K. of Charlotte struggled with anxiety and panic attacks since she was a teenager and had tried therapy without much success and several different medications, but could not stand the side effects. “I learned EFT and have not had a panic attack in over six months. I have never felt so peaceful and confident,” she said.

Lora Solomon RN, MSN is a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She is also experienced in meditation, Qi Gong, Ayurveda, emotional freedom technique and integrative approaches to chronic diseases. She can be reached at 704-877-4824.