Come Tap it Out with Me! EFT for Cancer Survivors

After a cancer diagnosis, there are wounds beneath the surface that most people can’t see. Even your closest friends and family might not fully grasp what you hold, especially if you’ve developed a good poker face. If you’ve found the standard reply of “I’m OK,” or “I’m fine,” easier because to go there would be a big undertaking, you’re not alone. For people diagnosed with cancer or who have had other major life and body changing illnesses and injuries, SO much can change. The body can seem unrecognizable to who you once were. Your focus, your plans, your finances, your relationships and opportunities may have been impacted. Your challenges and concerns might be so very different from same aged peers without these same issues. You may be flooded with uncertainty now. With all of that comes a deep well of emotions to process.

And how about your relationship with yourself? How have your feelings about your body and being in general changed? What thoughts and feelings stand in the way of having a kinder and more loving relationship with yourself?

Emotional healing is not a there and done. It is a practice. It’s a cultivation that takes place over time with commitment and knowing oneself. I look at it as a combination of expressing, nurturing and supporting yourself, and integrating your experiences as you go along. It takes patience, curiosity and willingness. Very importantly, it takes a knowing that you are worth it. It involves healthy boundaries and often redesigning with the people in our lives. I see it as a balance between processing the past and planting meaningful seeds for the future.

In my coaching work with cancer survivors, there are different ways that this need for emotional work expresses itself. Here are just a few. Do you ever find yourself falling into one of these traps?

Putting on a brave face for others and stuffing feelings. May be overly positive all the time, while minimizing the real emotions that are there under the surface.

Overcommitting -Notorious for saying yes to everyone and everything else, and putting themselves last. Saying “no” seems inconceivable.

Numbing through drugs, alcohol, food, or overwork.

Poor self image -Avoids mirrors and can only sees faults and flaws; never feels good enough and that voice of the inner critic tends to dominate. Constantly comparing -Feels overly concerned with how they imagine other people see them, and what they think is being said about them. This is often paired with being overly judgmental of others. Seeing through the lens of loss -Feels stuck in feelings of trauma and has a hard time being present with the goodness of life (relaxation, enjoyment, love, connection, pleasure, etc.)

If any of the above resonated with you, the good news is that you can do something about this. Cancer steals enough, but it shouldn’t get to eat away at your relationship with yourself or hold you back from the fullness of life. Today you are here reading this, and today you have a choice as to what kind of relationship you want to have with your body and your emotions. Are you ready to do some courageous and worthwhile work?

One tool that I love to share with my clients is EFT Tapping. EFT or Emotional Freedom Technique is a stress reduction practice that has been effectively used to support people who suffer from anxiety, chronic pain, addiction, and fear. By tapping on specific acupressure points while repeating a series of phrases, you can effectively switch the body out of fight, flight and freeze mode, and send calming signals to the nervous system. I have used this technique personally and with others for the last 5 years and have witnessed very profound transformations.

I will be sharing a free EFT workshop for cancer survivors on Wednesday, 6/9 at 5:30 p.m. ET where you'll learn how Tapping works to send calming signals to the nervous system. No previous experience is required, just follow along with me. I’ll be sharing a handout afterwards so attendees can practice on their own. You can register by emailing oncology.support@hahv.org.

If this spoke to some deep place in you, or stirred up feelings, I want to encourage you to please be gentle with yourself. You’ve been through a lot and may be still healing... even if others can't see it. And if this isn't your topic, but you would love to learn more about EFT and get support on another topic, please reach out and we can schedule some time to tap together.