I realize there is a lot of information out there on these forums, but it seems hard to find all the answers you're looking for.  I am working on a big global problem at the moment: social anxiety.  I have been advised to go back to specific events and tap on them, while tapping for the limiting beliefs you got from those experiences.  When we tap for these limiting beliefs what wording should we be using?  I have been saying "ET at age 7 I believed I was not good enough because the other kids made fun of me, I deeply and completley accept myself."  In present time I still have this limiting belief (I am not good enough), but I am tapping as though the 7 year old believed they were not good enough.  Should I do this or tap for my age now i.e. "ET I currently believe I am not good enough because the other kids made fun of me......" 

 Also, I am having a problem where I get many many limiting beliefs that can show up with one memory.  So far I have been addressing each limiting belief, but I am having a very hard time actually collapsing the belief no matter how far I go back.  For example, I am also working on anxiety around men.  I went back to literally the earliest memory I could think of in terms of where I started to fear men.  I tapped on it, in addition to the limiting belief, but I did not collapse anything.  In my mind, this must have been the core memory, but I received no relief.  Now I am not sure if going onto another similar memory with the same belief will help collpase the limiting belief?

Kathy

 Hi Kathy, I think it's great you are going after the big stuff.  I'm wondering though, how will you know, or how do you know, when a limiting belief is collapsed?  I would imagine that the words of the belief are bound up with certain uncomfortable emotions, and when you say you received no relief, that's because the emotions are just as strong.  Is that accurate?

Is it possible that when you are saying your set up statements you aren't really tuned in to the emotions?  I ask just because we really need to be tuned in to the problem emotionally (at least in my experience) in order to tap away the disturbance in our energy system.  Not that we need to be flooded with the emotion, but an abstract, intellectual grasp of the issue doesn't usually do the trick, in my experience.

Instead of saying "I believed I was not good enough because the other kids made fun of me", you might need to really tune in to how that felt, or better still, how it feels when you remember it.  Where do you feel it in your body?  What kind of sensations does the memory bring up?  

If the memories don't really bring up much feeling, is it possible to find a recent experience that has a charge? There's nothing wrong with coming at the issue from all sides.

If that's not it, and you really are tuned in to the problem emotionally while you tap, then the next thing to examine might be psychological reversal.  On the dvds I've seen Gary get people to practically yell "I DEEPLY and COMPLETELY accept myself!!!".  And that sometimes was the problem, they just needed to get very emphatic.

One other question I might ask myself is 'how will I know when the issue is collapsed?'  What would feel different? You can work backwards from the desired goal "even though I still don't feel _____, I deeply love and accept myself.....

Don't know if any of this applies, or will help, but don't give up!  Even though progress can be imperceptible sometimes, the EFT is working on some level.  Good luck!

Hi Rob,

Thanks for your reply!  I am actually not having a hard time accessing my emotions when I am tapping for the incident where the kids were making fun of me at age 7.  I was just not sure about my set-up statement, whether to tap as though I am accessing the feelings as a 7 year old or as an adult.  The way you pointed to tapping for how I feel about it as I think of it NOW, makes sense.  I will continue to do this.

 I was having a hard time accessing feelings for a separate occassion, in terms of my fear of men.  I had pinpointed, in my opinion, one of the first, if not the first incident where I gained this fear.  I was a young girl and I watched a movie, where in one scene a man had killed a woman he was dating/married to while she was sleeping.  I remember clearly gaining the message that when I got married, my husband would kill me, the same way this woman died.  That message was loud and clear.  As an adult, I do not believe this.  I have not believed this for many many years, yet I am sure on some level my subconscious still believes it.  So, when I was tapping for it I felt nothing because I know I don't really believe it.  I would agree with you that I am not really tuned into the emotion while saying my set-up statement simply because I do not really believe it.  But I know it is a core memory that helped set-up this current fear I have.  I tried tapping all over the memory like Gary suggests, even if I don't have any emotion towards it.

I have asked myself many times "how will I know if I am collpasing this belief?"  I have not idea.  I am still trying to figure that one out. :)

Hi Kathryn,

Try these sentences using the karate chop point and going over them three times each.

Even though I remember clearly gaining the message that when I got married, my husband would kill me, the same way this in the movie woman died, I accept myself.

Even though that message was loud and clear, I accept myself.

Even though as an adult, I do not believe this, I accept myself.

Even though I have not believed this for many many years, I accept myself.

Even though I am sure on some level my subconscious still believes it, I accept myself.

Even though this is possibly a core memory that helped set-up this current fear I have, I accept myself.

Even though I was really affected at the subconcious level by a silly television movie, I accept myself.

Even though, at that age, I should not have been watching such an inappropriate movie, I accept myself.

Even though my parents (or baby sitter) should have protected me from such a situation I accept myself and I forgive everyone involved in my trauma.

Hope this helps.

Mildred

 I can definitely related to being unable to feel the intensity - for my most profound problems I experience the same thing. But the intensity is somewhere, hidden for your protection. One of the tools that worked best for me (a tool that includes EFT tapping), is Matrix Reimprinting.

 I know someone posted the basic method here on the forums, on an "inner child" themed thread. A quick search will probably point you to the right one and all you have to do is scroll down to the post (I believe it's one of Gill's)

 The process is very forgiving and you must allow yourself the time to tap around the global issue. Be open to any memory that might come back and see yourself in it. This other "you" is the Echo, and when you interact the Echo will probably feel an intensity (and if you are like me, you will feel it yoursel)

Once you get that intensity (and you can disassociate yourself, just seeing your older self form the outside), follow the simple steps, take the time to interact and understand and heal your Echo as best you can.

I hope this helps! and if not, don't despair and try tapping on not being able to feel, or not knowing where the hurt is.

XOX

Hi Mildred and Beluga,

Thank you for you responses.  I will try your set-up phrases and see where that takes me. 

I have heard of the Matrix Reimprinting method and have tried it unsuccessfully.  Every time I do it is mostly me (older me) is doing all the talking.  The younger me doesn't usually say much.  Not that older me is talking over them, but that the younger me does not really have much to say.  They don't mind that I tap on them, but they still don't have all that much to say.