I've been doing EFT for a few months ago and used it with great success on just about everything - on myself, my family and my friends.  I've had consistent successes with surrogate tapping (for both humans and animals, and sometimes at a distance). With myself I've managed to banish cystitis, thrush, and thyroid imbalance, and reduce to zero severe burn pain (melted plastic dripped on my thumb), wisdom tooth pain, back pain.

But my migraines are still driving me crazy.  Always in the right side, in or behind the eye, sometimes starting as a "coldness" of the eye, always associated with neck tension and crunching (it feels like there are crystals in there). I've tried tapping on this headache, this right-eye headache, this migraine, this neck tension, this neck crunchiness, I've tapped positively for the blood vessels in my brain and neck to normalise, to let extra pressure drain away, I've tapped on the word "pressure" and so many other combinations.  Tap as I might, on all the aspects of this headache I can only ever reduce the pain to a manageable one or two, which then flares up again as the day (or evening) progresses. Eventually it gets to the point where I feel my old migraine medication is the only answer - but I really want to get to the bottom of the problem and be able to use EFT on my headaches.  They started 7 years ago,when my partner first moved on.  

I'm aware others have plenty of success with migraines, but I can't find the root emotional cause.  I've tried all sorts of approaches, but I'm obviously missing something.  And it's driving me crazy (which obviously I now have to tap for.)  I've got one coming on now.

Any suggests for what I might tap to unlock this one will be gratefully received.

Ros 

 Dear Ros,

Wow, you have really had a lot of success with EFT in just a few short months! However, it must be frustrating and painful for you not to have been able to eliminate your migraines completely. I see that you have been able to get the pain down to a manageable one or two. So, you have had some success in dealing with them. No one has come up with a migraine pill that you can take just once and the pain goes away completely. So, I think what you have done so far is really something.

Ros, I believe the reason that the migraines keeps coming back is because you haven't got to the root cause. If I am reading your post correctly, it looks to me that you have only been tapping on the symptoms. You said that the migraines started when you partner first moved on. Have you tapped on the feelings about your partner moving on? If you haven't, I believe that this is what you need to do.

First, thing would be to get in touch with the strongest feelings that you have buried deep in your head. Some possibilities:

• grief/sadness

• anger/rage

• betrayal

• disappointment

• crushed/heartbroken

Here is a list of feeling words if you need a larger list.

I would start with the strongest feeling and see if you can bring the SUD level down to zero, and work with all of the emotions until you bring them down to a zero.

If this doesn't work completely, then the next thing I would do is take a stroll down memory lane and see what event(s) from your past that your partner's moving on triggered, and deal with that event (and any other related events). The movie technique is a powerful tool that you can use on those past events.

Another approach, would be to ask the pain what it has been trying to tell you. I good time to ask would be after you have been tapping for at least a few rounds.

So, Ros, I think you just haven't gone deep enough—yet.

Please let me know how this goes. If you have any questions, just ask.

Gratefully yours,

JoAnn

Hi JoAnn,

 Thanks for your input. But what a difference a vowel makes - my finger must have slipped (or is it trying to tell me something?!) - my migraines started when my partner moved in rather than moved on!   And we're still together, married now, and we have a daughter, and, though it's been tough the last couple of years, on the whole his moving in was a very good thing - and certainly, at the time, I was ecstatic.  So I can't understand what it is about his moving in with us that would have caused my headaches to start (even if he sometimes might be the cause of headaches now).

 I'm really aware it's the root emotional cause I'm looking for, and haven't just been tapping on symptoms - but none of things I've tried as possible causes have worked either. With every other condition (mine and others') that I've tried EFT on, the cause arises fairly easily by intuition, but with the migraines I just can't work out (or intuit) what it is.  I tap on the symptoms mostly because I can't find an emotional cause to tap on.  Perhaps I should just go all out with "even though my husband is giving me a headache" even though I can't imagine how it could be anything to do with him. 

 I'll try "asking the pain" next time it starts a-knocking, anyway.   Given that I haven't got any feelings of bereavement or disappointment etc to associate it with (so many good suggestions provoked by my typo!) I'd appreciate any other thoughts you might have.  My responsibility increased slightly when he moved in, because it was one more mouth to feed (I raise the money; he raises the kids) but the amount of help I got from him in return was significant.  So I don't know. Anyway, I'll think on it.

Hi Ros,

Hmm, moving in instead of moving on. That definitely changes things.

Maybe you could try some set-up phrases, something like, Even though:

• I don't have a clue as to what could be the emotional cause of this headache, but I sure know that I feel (angry, upset, piss-off, miffed, or whatever you feel) about my headaches, I deeply and completely love and accept myself
• I am totally puzzled as to what is the cause of my headaches, and I don't know why my intuitions hasn't kicked in the way that it usually does for other things, maybe I'll be stuck with headaches forever, and I feel (fill in the blank with your feeling) about that...and I forgive myself, and who or whatever intially caused my migraines
• my head has been trying to tell me something, and I haven't quite figured out what the message is, but I sure in the heck know that if there is a message that I will listen to the message, so that it doesn't have to keep warning me. "Thank you," pain in the head, for trying to give me a message all of these years, I guees that I haven't been able to get the message in the past...
• I deserve never getting over these migraines for some odd reason. Maybe there is a part of me that identifies with getting these migraines for some reason that has been beyond my conscious mind...

I just had a thought! Are there any advantages to having the headaches? It may seem like a stupid question, but what would you lose if you didn't have them anymore? Tap while you examine these questions. For example:

• time to rest
• time to be a alone
• something to *** about 
• a reason to suffer
  

Please let me know if these trigger an idea that may hold possibilities for you.

Have you been checked for allergies? 

Gratefully yours,

JoAnn 

I think Ros that JoAnn has definitely given you some good ideas. Could you be allergic to something your partner brought with him?  For instance did he bring a cat, or does he smoke,  or did he bring a feather pillow, an old bed, or a bunch of wool?  These environmental triggers may also be worth considering.

Did you start eating or drinking something that you would otherwise not have? Tea, Coffee, alcohol, cinnamon or other spices are typical culprits.  Does he cook? and if so what does he cook that you normally would avoid?

Another clue is sleep patterns.  If you are getting less sleep, this can definitely bring on migraines.  If you still go to bed at the same time, but don't get to sleep at the same time...you could be sleep deprived.

Some things to think about, anyway.

Mildred