Thanksgiving is less than a week away! It is the most traveled holiday in America. People with prepare their hearts and homes for gathering with their loved ones. It’s a time to set all differences aside and celebrate the good things the Lord has provided over the past year. During the holidays, stress levels can increase because of a variety of factors, such as financial pressures, family dynamics, and the emotional intensity of the season. These situations and more, lead to many families and friends coming together feeling the stresses of life. Preparing yourself to attend gatherings will empower you to be a person of peace. A peaceful heart positions you to being solution oriented. When your soul is at rest you can respond to situations, rather than react.
Though you can’t control the world around you, you can take care of yourself to have a positive impact in it. Intentional self- care is empowering, especially during the holiday seasons. Have you considered what are your favorite ways which you enjoy caring for yourself? How can you show up as the best you that you can be? Take a moment and think on these things and maybe even jot them down to look at and do for yourself throughout the week.
Basic Emotional Freedom Techniques aka EFT has helped many people through high times of stress. EFT can help individuals manage and reduce their stress by addressing the underlying emotional responses and helping to release them through the tapping process. The process consists of acknowledging your emotion, rating it, saying the set up statements and tapping. In this article, I will share with you a Basic EFT set up and statement for stress to help you through the holidays.
To begin, you will need to consider on a scale of 0 -10 how stressed out you are feeling and rate it; 0, meaning not at all, to 10, meaning it’s taking over your life and emotions. By taking a moment to acknowledge your emotions, you are not ignoring them or stuffing them down. You are saying, “I’m listening.” In your listening ask yourself how intense your emotions are and write that number down. For a simple basic set up statement, you can say, “Even though I am feeling this stress about (fill in the blank) – I deeply and completely accept myself,” and tap that on the side of your hand three times. Then tap on the other eight points,”This stress about (fill in the blank).” Check yourself and your rate number. Did it go down? The goal is to get to 0, however getting to a 2 or 3 is good. If your rate hasn’t lowered, then do another round until you get it down to 3 or less. Once you get your rate lowered, you can tap a round of positive affirmations. As a Christian believer, I prefer to use scripture as my affirmations. God gave us His Word and it will not return void, hallelujah! For stress surrounding a feelings of lack, I personally like, “My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches and glory,” Philippians 4:19.
It’s important to understand that sometimes a rate will go up before it comes down. This is not typical, but it’s best you know that it could happen. If it does, stay calm, get a glass of water, sip on it and remind yourself, “I’m here right now and I am safe.” Then do another round or two until you get it down where you’d like to be. By tapping, we are not only acknowledging our emotion, but we’re letting the emotion surface. Sometimes that emotions surfaces with intensity, which is evidence it needs a dose of peace and healing. If you feel “stuck” after four or five rounds and you would like to have help, please contact EFT Believer’s Wellness and we’ll connect you with a Trained and Certified EFT Coach to help you through the process.
On rare occasions, people will use EFT tapping and nothing changes. In those situations, it’s good to consider other ways to calm themselves down. They can pray, take a walk or even do a breathing exercise. I personally like Dr. Weil’s 4-7-8 approach (this link will take you directly to him teaching how to do it). After doing Dr. Weil’s 4-7-8 breathing approach, getting a sip of water, try again. If you feel like you’re not seeing progress, please feel free to contact EFT Believer’s Wellness and we’ll connect you with a Trained and Certified EFT Coach.
My prayer for you is that you will come together with your loved ones in peace, real peace. May this year be one of your favorite years celebrating life together!
Deborah Scott CEFTC, CHC, CLC; Christian Life & Wellness Coach
As a gift for stopping by to catch this quick article, I have a song my friend released this year. This song is very helpful to resting in the Lord’s Presence. When we take time to rest in Him, we get refreshed spiritually and recalibrate our thoughts, emotions and physical body. May you enjoy her rendition of Psalm 23.
