Question:
Hi everyone,
Am about to have my first attempt with using EFT. I was hoping for some help - what affirmation would I use for skin-picking? Would something along the lines this be right?
"Even though I have this skin-picking habit, I deeply and completely accept myself"
Or do I need to be more precise as to WHY the picking takes place in the first place, i.e. the underlying issues?
Thank you.
Rainbow x :)
Dear Rainbow
The answer is both! It is often useful to take some time to jot down answers to the following questions, then rate how intense your feelings are about each of them, and start tapping on them- possibly starting with the worst first, or whichever one seems to you that it might be the mostimportant aspect:
Some questions:
How long have you had this habit? (even though I've done it for x years)
How do you feel just before you do it? (even though I feel -----)
ditto while you are doing it?
ditto afterwards?
What do you think ledyou starting to pick your skin?
Do you believe you can stop doing it? (e.g. even though I doubt I can stop it)
What does itdo foryou? (e.g. even though it calms me down/takes my mind off things etc)
Would you lose anything if you stopped it?
See how you get on with these and please let us know how it's going
Best wishes
Karen
Thanks Karen!
Will print off those suggestions now and think about the questions tonight. And will definitely be back with feedback as to how it's going!
Another quick Q - if you have many things you feel you'd like to tap for, how many can you tackle at once? Is it sensible to just deal with one thing at a time, rather than doing the sequence for one, then another?
Rainbow x
Dear Rainbow
You're welcome :)
Personally, I concentrate on one issue at a time and spend time finding all the aspects and clearing them all before switching to another issue- otherwise it can get very messy!
However, sometimes as you start to clear things, related issues crop up and it can be helpful to make a note of them to come back to later.
But you can deal with a different issue every day, or every few days, as long as you have spent a little time to identify and clear the aspects so that there are no little 'hooks' left for the issue to come back.
I don't know whether others work the same way, but this is how I was taught and I believe it's the way Gary Craig still works too.
Warmest
Karen x
Hi again Karen,
Ok so I tried my first tapping session last night - concentrating on those questions you asked me. These are a few of the statements I tapped on:
"Even though I have this habit of picking my skin..."
"Even though I feel bored before I start picking my skin..."
"Even though I feet comforted when I pick my skin..."
"Even though I feel satisfied when I pick my skin..."
"Even though I feel ashamed and embarrassed when I pick my skin..."
"Even though it takes my mind of things when I pick my skin..."
"Even though I feel not good enough..."
So I went through all the processes and picked them up quite nicely and felt quite comfortable in the statements I was making. But almost straight away afterwards it was like I had this real overwhelming urge to pick my skin……..almost like I knew I shouldn’t but wanted to. But then it died down and I didn’t pick my skin last night – it was almost like I felt I couldn’t be bothered and I felt that I didn’t actually like[/i] the thought of picking my skin anymore.
Still, I am not confident that I have addressed the correct issues, to enable me to stop completely. I was thinking to myself though, that although I don’t know I can stop completely, at least I was able to tell myself no or to stop myself doing it.
I’m not even completely sure why[/i] I pick. I think I have a perfectionist personality – and when I look at my skin I want it to be perfect and smooth and I suffer from dry, bumpy skin anyway, so I pick at it, to try to make it perfect. And I often feel quite down at the appearance of it, compared to other peoples’ skin.
I don’t think I have particularly bad self-esteem or particularly low confidence but I do think that this is pointing to something in me that feels I’m not good enough.
It’s like I’ll do it when I’m not doing anything else – like boredom but then I end up in a sort of trance and I can’t stop. I suppose I pick more when I have something on my mind or am just thinking about something in general – it doesn’t have to be a problem as such, just a thought. I have noticed if I’m not picking or scratching at my face/neck/arms/skin in general, I’ll be nail-biting, scratching at my scalp or just doing anything else I can possibly do with my hands.
Can you suggest anyway of wording this or a way of getting to the bottom of this?!
Thank you so much for your help + guidance.
Rainbow x
Hi Rainbow
Well done you have made an excellent start ;)
Following on from what you said here, I have made some more suggestions below:
Even though I'm not even completely sure why I pick...
Even though I think I am a perfectionist...
Even though I suffer from dry bumpy skin...
Even though I want my skin to be perfect and smooth....
Even though I feel down at the appearance of it, compared to other people's skin....
Even though something in me feels not good enough....
Even though it's like boredom...
Even though it's like I'm in a trance and can't stop....
Even though I pick more when there's something on my mind...
Even though I scatch or nail bite when I'm not picking.....
So, I suggest you tap on these- rate the intensity before and after each round. You might also like to experiment with the other half of the set up too:
.... I deeply and completely accept myself
... I love myself exactly as I am
... I choose to accept my skin as it is
... I choose to know that I am ok
and state these aloud and with emphasis and meaning.
Good luck and keep me posted.
Karen x
Karen,
Thank you again. Of course - I didn't think of changing the end part!! I'd feel even more comfortable using some of those words. Will print off now and try tonight + will keep you posted!!
Rainbow xx :)
Hello,
What you can also do is capture all the feelings and tap on them at once. This is easily done by imagining a particular specific event, for example "Sunday 2 weeks ago" and imagine looking at that event on a TV in front of you. If there was a special measure of how likely you would be to pick your skin, from 10 for Gotta Do It to 0 for No Thank You where would you be, thinking about the event on TV. If you can't think about it, then close your eyes and imagine it. Then all you need to tap on is:
Setup:
"Even though I have this Sunday 2 weeks ago feeling, I deeply love and accept myself"
Reminder:
"This Sunday 2 weeks ago feeling"
Then assess your numbers again, and carry on as before until the number is 0.
Find another incident when you had a skin-picking moment. Repeat the above procedure.
Let us know how you get on :)
Hi Suzanne,
Thanks for your suggestions, I will give them a go.
To update you on where I am now - the more I tap the more I discover and learn that this goes a lot deeper. My anxiousness and habits (in the form of skin picking, nail biting and generally anything that involves trying to 'perfect' my physical appearance), seem to come from perhaps an inner low confidence within myself. Perhaps, deep down, I feel I am not good enough. I wondered whether I may even be punishing myself for something? It is self-harm, after all.
It is often hard to know which aspect to deal with first and I may consider seeing a practitioner to get the ball rolling.
When you describe 'rating' the feeling, do you mean to imagine it and imagine how you felt? For example to imagine how much I wanted to pick my skin and how intense the feeling was? Or to imagine how I felt when picking my skin?
Thanks
Rainbow :)
Am about to have my first attempt with using EFT. I was hoping for some help - what affirmation would I use for skin-picking? Would something along the lines this be right?
"Even though I have this skin-picking habit, I deeply and completely accept myself"
Or do I need to be more precise as to WHY the picking takes place in the first place, i.e. the underlying issues?
Thank you.
Rainbow x :)
Answers:
Dear Rainbow
The answer is both! It is often useful to take some time to jot down answers to the following questions, then rate how intense your feelings are about each of them, and start tapping on them- possibly starting with the worst first, or whichever one seems to you that it might be the mostimportant aspect:
Some questions:
How long have you had this habit? (even though I've done it for x years)
How do you feel just before you do it? (even though I feel -----)
ditto while you are doing it?
ditto afterwards?
What do you think ledyou starting to pick your skin?
Do you believe you can stop doing it? (e.g. even though I doubt I can stop it)
What does itdo foryou? (e.g. even though it calms me down/takes my mind off things etc)
Would you lose anything if you stopped it?
See how you get on with these and please let us know how it's going
Best wishes
Karen
Answers:
Thanks Karen!
Will print off those suggestions now and think about the questions tonight. And will definitely be back with feedback as to how it's going!
Another quick Q - if you have many things you feel you'd like to tap for, how many can you tackle at once? Is it sensible to just deal with one thing at a time, rather than doing the sequence for one, then another?
Rainbow x
Answers:
Dear Rainbow
You're welcome :)
Personally, I concentrate on one issue at a time and spend time finding all the aspects and clearing them all before switching to another issue- otherwise it can get very messy!
However, sometimes as you start to clear things, related issues crop up and it can be helpful to make a note of them to come back to later.
But you can deal with a different issue every day, or every few days, as long as you have spent a little time to identify and clear the aspects so that there are no little 'hooks' left for the issue to come back.
I don't know whether others work the same way, but this is how I was taught and I believe it's the way Gary Craig still works too.
Warmest
Karen x
Answers:
Hi again Karen,
Ok so I tried my first tapping session last night - concentrating on those questions you asked me. These are a few of the statements I tapped on:
"Even though I have this habit of picking my skin..."
"Even though I feel bored before I start picking my skin..."
"Even though I feet comforted when I pick my skin..."
"Even though I feel satisfied when I pick my skin..."
"Even though I feel ashamed and embarrassed when I pick my skin..."
"Even though it takes my mind of things when I pick my skin..."
"Even though I feel not good enough..."
So I went through all the processes and picked them up quite nicely and felt quite comfortable in the statements I was making. But almost straight away afterwards it was like I had this real overwhelming urge to pick my skin……..almost like I knew I shouldn’t but wanted to. But then it died down and I didn’t pick my skin last night – it was almost like I felt I couldn’t be bothered and I felt that I didn’t actually like[/i] the thought of picking my skin anymore.
Still, I am not confident that I have addressed the correct issues, to enable me to stop completely. I was thinking to myself though, that although I don’t know I can stop completely, at least I was able to tell myself no or to stop myself doing it.
I’m not even completely sure why[/i] I pick. I think I have a perfectionist personality – and when I look at my skin I want it to be perfect and smooth and I suffer from dry, bumpy skin anyway, so I pick at it, to try to make it perfect. And I often feel quite down at the appearance of it, compared to other peoples’ skin.
I don’t think I have particularly bad self-esteem or particularly low confidence but I do think that this is pointing to something in me that feels I’m not good enough.
It’s like I’ll do it when I’m not doing anything else – like boredom but then I end up in a sort of trance and I can’t stop. I suppose I pick more when I have something on my mind or am just thinking about something in general – it doesn’t have to be a problem as such, just a thought. I have noticed if I’m not picking or scratching at my face/neck/arms/skin in general, I’ll be nail-biting, scratching at my scalp or just doing anything else I can possibly do with my hands.
Can you suggest anyway of wording this or a way of getting to the bottom of this?!
Thank you so much for your help + guidance.
Rainbow x
Answers:
Hi Rainbow
Well done you have made an excellent start ;)
Following on from what you said here, I have made some more suggestions below:
Even though I'm not even completely sure why I pick...
Even though I think I am a perfectionist...
Even though I suffer from dry bumpy skin...
Even though I want my skin to be perfect and smooth....
Even though I feel down at the appearance of it, compared to other people's skin....
Even though something in me feels not good enough....
Even though it's like boredom...
Even though it's like I'm in a trance and can't stop....
Even though I pick more when there's something on my mind...
Even though I scatch or nail bite when I'm not picking.....
So, I suggest you tap on these- rate the intensity before and after each round. You might also like to experiment with the other half of the set up too:
.... I deeply and completely accept myself
... I love myself exactly as I am
... I choose to accept my skin as it is
... I choose to know that I am ok
and state these aloud and with emphasis and meaning.
Good luck and keep me posted.
Karen x
Answers:
Karen,
Thank you again. Of course - I didn't think of changing the end part!! I'd feel even more comfortable using some of those words. Will print off now and try tonight + will keep you posted!!
Rainbow xx :)
Answers:
Hello,
What you can also do is capture all the feelings and tap on them at once. This is easily done by imagining a particular specific event, for example "Sunday 2 weeks ago" and imagine looking at that event on a TV in front of you. If there was a special measure of how likely you would be to pick your skin, from 10 for Gotta Do It to 0 for No Thank You where would you be, thinking about the event on TV. If you can't think about it, then close your eyes and imagine it. Then all you need to tap on is:
Setup:
"Even though I have this Sunday 2 weeks ago feeling, I deeply love and accept myself"
Reminder:
"This Sunday 2 weeks ago feeling"
Then assess your numbers again, and carry on as before until the number is 0.
Find another incident when you had a skin-picking moment. Repeat the above procedure.
Let us know how you get on :)
Answers:
Hi Suzanne,
Thanks for your suggestions, I will give them a go.
To update you on where I am now - the more I tap the more I discover and learn that this goes a lot deeper. My anxiousness and habits (in the form of skin picking, nail biting and generally anything that involves trying to 'perfect' my physical appearance), seem to come from perhaps an inner low confidence within myself. Perhaps, deep down, I feel I am not good enough. I wondered whether I may even be punishing myself for something? It is self-harm, after all.
It is often hard to know which aspect to deal with first and I may consider seeing a practitioner to get the ball rolling.
When you describe 'rating' the feeling, do you mean to imagine it and imagine how you felt? For example to imagine how much I wanted to pick my skin and how intense the feeling was? Or to imagine how I felt when picking my skin?
Thanks
Rainbow :)
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