I tried to write this once but got a 'duplicate post' error message. I'm not sure what that means, but if I am restating a successfully completed post, I apologize.

I am new to EFT, but after downloading and reading the manual I experimented with a couple of small things and had a cathartic and successful experience. I went a little bit further by exploring a few painful memories while utilizing EFT and was very pleased with the outcome - through the process, I dredged up memories that I didn't even know that I had, worked through them, and had incredible feelings of peace surrounding the subjects (the peace remains).

So, I thought that I should tackle three addictions that I have - one at a time, of course.

The first and most pressing is my need for wine to fall asleep. I never, really, took any alcohol until I was 27 (I'm 41 now), but started having wine in the evenings after I was prescribed sleeping pills. The wine seemed more natural to me and I didn't like the way that the pills made me feel in the morning. It may or may not be important to note that the sleeping pills were prescribed because I wasn't sleeping because of issues surrounding my mothers life and recent death.

Since then, wine became a habitual thing for me, and I always told myself (and others) that I only took wine to sleep. This notion has been reinforced by the few times that I've stopped taking wine at night. The last time, I stopped for 3 days and did not sleep at all the entire time.

There is the first addiction that I want to address in a nutshell.

My problem is that I can't seem to bring myself to apply EFT to this problem. I do a lot of reading, planning and constructing my strategy but I never do it. The thought always pops up: 'what if it works', and it fills me with dread. I know that it seems silly because, after all, working is the point, right? I am, actually, quite convinced that, once applied to this addiction and the surrounding issues, I will successfully find sleep without wine and that just leaves a big empty hole in my mind.

I  don't know what to do about this. I tried to connect with EFT practitioners in my state. I left messages with two that were posted on emofree website, but no one has gotten back with me.

Maybe I need to understand why I've hit this road block but I think that simply knowing how to move beyond it would be most helpful.

Any advice or guidance would be appreciated.

Hello Katyelaine, welcome to the emofree addictions forum.

My name is Jack and I am one of the moderators. 

We received both of your posts, however I only posted one because they were pretty much the same. So, disregard the email you will get when I delete the other one. The one I approved was the more revealing of the two. It will give us much more to work with.

Here is something I think you could start with.

Rate your level of discomfort on a scale of one to ten when you think about EFT working for you, 10 being as uncomfortable as it gets and 0 being no discomfort at all, and write it down. Then do the same thing when you think about your Mother. Pay particular attention to any memories or  incidents that come up and make a note of them. Pay attention to what feelings come up and where you feel them in your body. Then start with this:

The Set-up while tapping on the Karate Chop point or while rubbing the sore spot.

 "Even though a part of me is afraid to change, I deeply and completely accept all of me."

"Even though I might upset other people if EFT works for me, I choose to move forward anyway."

"Even though I don't want them to be mad at me, I accept who I am and all of my feelings."

 Now for the phases that focus on the problem.

Eyebrow: "I don't want to change."

Side of Eye: "I'm afraid to change."

Under Eye: "They'll feel threatened if I change."

Nose: "I don't want to upset them."

Chin: "I want to stay where I am."

Collarbone: "I have this conflict about my Mother and it's keeping me from sleeping."

Under Arm: "I don't want to rock the boat."

Head: "It's easier to stay where I am and drink wine."

 Now for phrases that focus on the solution.

Eyebrow: "I do want to change."

Side of Eye: "They can handle it, it's none of their business anyway."

Under Eye: "What if I could feel safe when I am tapping?"

Nose: "What if I could feel safe when I am sleeping?"

Chin: "I deserve to get to sleep easily without pills or wine, don't I?"

Collarbone: "I appreciate this new discovery, and choose to tap, even if EFT scares me."

Under Arm: "I love the feelings of peace that EFT gives me"

Head: "I feel free to release this conflict once and for all."

Then you can modify things by applying how things feel physically. eg. Eyebrow: This fear of change that makes my neck hurt. or makes my stomach ache etc. Find out where you are holding this fear in your body and work with it.

Let me know how this works for you and feel free to contact me via the buttons on the website if you need to.

Keep tapping it works.

Jack