My brother has had a continuous series of illnesses over the past 15 years and has tried almost every possible physical remedy.  He is open to EFT but when I try to explore where the physical issues may have started he cannot connect them to anything.  He is totally in his head and rationalizes that everything that has happened is in perspective and no emotions are attached.

I can appreciate this inability because that would have been me 20 years ago. Just today he was put on prednizone because they have decided he has rheumatoid arthritis.  I believe this is very probably true (Louise Hay indicates the emotional component for RA is giving up.).

How do you help someone like this make progress?  In the videos everyone seems readily able to connect to the source of their problems.

Hi Judith and thank you for your post. Your brother is fortunate in having a sister who cares so much for his health and well-being as you do.

People who are 'in their head' and stuck in rational thought are usually in what is know as a dissociated state. That is, at some time in their past, they suffered several trauma - either many small 't' traumas or a big 'T' trauma. What happens in a trauma is that our energy goes up into our head and the body becomes an unsafe place to be, because it is full of the emotions from the trauma such as terror and helplessness. 

However, even with such a condition, it is possible to make progress with EFT just by starting with whatever is going on now and that he does have feelings about. The all-important issue here is safety. And when people don't feel safe in the world they can end up with an autoimmune disease or condition. I developed an underactive thyroid after years of feeling unsafe due to a birth trauma which I am now healing with EFT and help from a brilliant practitioner. 

It is fantastic that your brother is even open to EFT so that's a huge step. Would he consider working with a practitioner? I ask this because there may well be an underlying safety issue and working with someone else helps to create a safe space which then allows the mind to process the traumas better. He may be surprised then by how the connections can be made. Sometimes it's a matter of asking the right questions, and sometimes it can be just trusting the tapping and the person's own process.

It certainly does get easier as dissociation lessens, but it's really important to not trigger another flight into dissociation by trying to take things too fast. I know this from my earlier experience with EFT which left me feeling shocked and unable to tap for myself for several months. It happened during a training session and I'm not blaming anyone, but it helped me to understand much better what my core issue was.

I'm sure that with someone around who supports him as you do, he will be able to navigate his way towards healing. Bless you.

Marian