How To Deal With The Physical Symptoms Of Anxiety

I saw this great graphic over on Instagram and thought it was a great way of showing how anxiety is not just a mind thing but also has physical elements to it. This will give you a guide to listen to your body and then use EFT tapping on whatever physical aspect is emerging.

In EFT tapping the simplest way to start is to tap on the global problem, so in this case our set-up phrase would be along the lines of –

‘Even though I have this anxiety I deeply and completely accept myself’ or maybe –

‘Even though I feel anxious I deeply and completely accept myself’ . Play with the wording of how you are experiencing anxiety until you are happy then commence tapping. I’m assuming you are familiar with EFT tapping if not there are plenty of videos on-line giving the basics. The last thing you need is my ugly mug teaching you how to suck eggs!

So after doing a global round of tapping we need to start getting specific. Now if you are suffering from GAD (Generalised Anxiety Disorder) there might not be a specific situation that triggers you (but I’d suggest keep a note of when it kicks in to see if there are patterns) however you are probably experiencing the same physical symptoms. So begin to tap on those aspects.

Picking an example from the graphic above, lets go with chest tightness. Assess on a scale of 0-10 how uncomfortable it is (the SUD score), note down the number and remember, we’re being specific so if you say to yourself ‘Hmmm it’s about a 7 or 8…. stop it! Choose, is it a 7 or is it an 8’? (This wishy-washy behaviour is also an indicator of behavioural traits which feed the anxiety, start being decisive… now!)

Then start tapping on ‘Even though I have this tightness in my chest I deeply and completely accept myself’ – do the reminder phrase – ‘this tight chest’ then re-assess your SUD number. Did any other aspects of the tight chest pop up? Did the tightness move? If yes then adjust your set-up phrase accordingly. This is all about being specific.

Give it a go and see how you get on. The beauty of EFT is it is very forgiving and you can’t really ‘Do it wrong’ – you may not get a reaction or a softening of the problem but it doesn’t mean you’ve done it wrong, it is probably that you not found the right words or the actual problem hasn’t surfaced yet. So often with this work the subconscious mind is protecting us so the emotional problem or trauma manifests itself somatically. Eventually the correct wording, event or experience will float to the surface and you can start to work on whatever is presented.

Take your time, be gentle with yourself and wonderful things can unfold and change your life profoundly, remember anxiety is a word not a sentence.