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Nate's fear of heights: From the Grand Canyon to a helicopter experience

by The Editors

Hi Everyone,

Phobias are often easily relieved with EFT and are among our "one minute wonders." Sometimes, however, they are linked to other issues and become fertile ground for persistent practitioners to produce widespread emotional freedom. That's what this case history (and discussion) is about.

At my recent Cleveland training I asked 4 people to come up on stage and work with me on their fear of heights. Things went rather routinely in that all 4 of them reported substantial lessening of their fear response while "thinking" about being up high and looking down. After a few minutes with EFT, most of them couldn't get any charge at all.

For newcomers to this process, let me emphasize that doing EFT while someone is "thinking" about the issue is often effective even in the real live situation. The height phobic, for example, who ends up with no charge while thinking about being up high usually has little or no charge in the actual situation. Remember, the essence of EFT (and its many cousins) is that we tune into the problem while addressing the body's energy system. As long as the client is tuned into (and taps for) all the various aspects, s/he should have complete relief. If s/he gets in the actual situation and still has some fear it is because there is something (an aspect) about the actual situation that wasn't present when merely thinking about it. Since the remaining aspects are obviously tuned into if someone is anxious while up high, it is usually a simple matter of tapping at that in-vivo moment.

Now back to our 4 people. One of them, Nate, was tapping on an incident where he slipped on some ice at the Grand Canyon and almost fell. It's a long way to the bottom and it's no wonder such a narrow escape managed to lodge itself within Nate's psyche. After a round or two of EFT, however, the charge on the Grand Canyon event subsided and Nate switched to another incident--this one regarded a helicopter experience.

This "switching to a new issue" experience happens with some frequency. Often, EFT provides relief for a presenting issue thus paving the way for another issue to pop up. Sometimes this results in a daisy chain of issues as one leads to another...to another....to another...and so on. This can, and often does, take one on a remarkable healing journey. For a detailed look at this daisy chain phenomenon, please review the videotaped session with Marlys on our EFT Course.

Also, some phobias are a walk in the park. A round or two of EFT and the fear of heights, snakes, public speaking, etc. become history. Others, however, take longer and require more artistry because they are linked to many traumas and other negative experiences in one's life. Sometimes they represent major core issues which, when finally relieved, open up whole new vistas for the client. This appeared to be the case with Nate's helicopter incident.

Nate began to sweat as he switched to his helicopter memory. The perspiration on his forehead was obvious and he felt "wet" when I touched his shirt. We did a little tapping in front of the group and made some headway. However, this was at the end of our workshop and it was time to bring things to a close. I asked Nate to stay over and work with me after hours and he agreed.

The sweating resumed as he told me the details of the incident. He was a psychologist in the army (Delta Force) and performed his duties amidst "macho" paratroopers. One day he was teased by his fellow soldiers into parachuting out of a helicopter. This was a new (and frightening) experience for Nate but he went along anyway--just to save face. Otherwise, he wouldn't belong--or at least that's how he perceived it.

So we tapped on the various aspects until the sweating subsided and he was able to have peace about the incident (he actually jumped, by the way, and was terrified until his chute opened). The whole tapping session took maybe 10 or 15 minutes as we threaded in and out of the story and tapped on the various intense moments that showed up.

That was Friday. On Sunday morning, two days later, I asked Nate how things were regarding the helicopter incident. He reported no problem AND said he had noticeably improved clarity in his eyesight AND said his blood pressure was dramatically improved. He takes medication daily for his elevated blood pressure and, with medication, it ranges from 130/80 to 140/90. On Sunday morning it was 106/"70 something." Please know that we didn't tap directly on either his eyesight or his blood pressure. These were "side benefits" and, to me, were indicative of the fact that this helicopter incident was a core issue that was holding him in fear throughout many areas of his life. Once it was relieved, the lid came off of other things.

Two days ago (which was two weeks after my session with Nate) I talked to him by phone. He reported numerous positive changes in his life as a result of his experience in Cleveland. Here they are...

His eyesight remained improved. He estimated that it is 5% to 10% better when he is not wearing glasses.
His blood pressure remains low. Although he is still taking his medication, his blood pressure is in the range of 117/79. He expects to contact his doctor about weaning off of the medication. That is between Nate and his doctor, of course.
He feels more "aligned" (his term). This results in more efficiency and a certain amount of useful detachment instead of immersion in trivial items. He is more of an observer to life. For example, he no longer has a preoccupation with counting his money in anticipation of his eventual retirement (we didn't tap on that either).
For reasons he cannot explain, his psychotherapy practice has accelerated. He is getting new referrals and clients are coming "out of the woodwork." Coincidence? Perhaps. But I am a great believer that we radiate our inner thoughts & confidence and people pick up on them. I have mentioned this many times on this list.

One final note. As we discussed his positive results over the phone, I probed around to see if there were any more remnants of his helicopter experience. There were. He got some charge on remembering his feet dangling over the edge at 5,000 feet. It was a 3 or 4.

So...."Even though my feet are dangling and it's waaaaay down there...."

He also got some charge on remembering the Jump Master pointing at him and saying "Go."

So...."Even though I have this 'Go' response...."

Both issues subsided.

Hugs to all, Gary