Pain and the Brain

I specialise in chronic pain and injury – and am fascinated by the effects of EFT for pain.

I have watched and listened to many experts talking about and discussing pain. However, my quest for answers as to how EFT works, and why, are yet to be answered.

Due to this I have come up with my own theory, thanks to the work of Allan Basbaum, Dawson Church Ph.D, Dr. Moseley Dr. Butler, and David Feinstein Ph.D.

In this video Allan Basbaum explains that the brain has it’s own pain relieving system. This happens when endorphins are released, as they are a pain relieving substance.

Now, this fits in with research that Harvard Medical School have done on EFT. They say that EFT reduces blood flow to the Amygdala, RELEASES ENDORPHINS, and increases GABA waves.

In my mind this is the first part of the theory as to how EFT for pain works.

The second part of the theory is that EFT cannot be a placebo. There are several reason for this. Firstly, Allan states that children are immune to placebo’s.  EFT works just as well with children as it does adults. Secondly, nobody that I have EVER worked with (using EFT) has EVER had any belief in it whatsoever. I mean come on …. it’s looks totally bonkers … and generally people feel quite uncomfortable on first trying it (at least the clients that i attract, anyway).

Allan also talks about how pain can change when perceptions are changed, when the brain is manipulated.

Dr. David Feinstein explains this further with the following quote:

“neuroscientists have demonstrated that every memory is encoded in the brain with an emotional charge. This charge creates a neural pathway to signal an appropriate physiological response when you are reminded of the experience, or encounter a similar one. These neural pathways were once protective – a swift fight or flight reaction to an encounter with a lion could keep you alive – the trouble is the brain can’t differentiate between a lion and a modern stressor like a computer crash, so innocuous situations end up being encoded in the brain as dangerous. Tapping (EFT) can help rewire these neural pathways”.

Clinical Psychologist Fred P. Gallo Ph.D says “whenever you think about a stressful experience, the brain activates an alarm response in the Amygdala, the part of the limbic system that governs our emotions, and stimulating acupressure points reduces arousal in the Amygdala. These opposing signals quickly communicate to the brain that there is no danger and reprogram the circuitry so the trigger no longer evokes anxiety, fear or other negative emotions.”

I am interviewing Dawson Church this evening where I will be asking lots of questions about EFT and how EFT for pain works.

Enjoy xx

Olympic athlete cures shoulder pain with EFT!

2012 could be Abi Oyepitan’s final bash at the Olympics. She has done amazingly well this year in the trials,  on the run up to the Olympics. So, I wanted to take the opportunity to find out more about her experience of EFT, and how it helped her rehabilitation from chronic injury to Olympic status.

After the interview she mentioned that she had been the hospital to get a scan as she was experiencing pain in her shoulder. I asked if she had used the ‘tapping’ for it but she said “No, it’s been so long since i’ve used it for pain,  that i totally forgot”.

After, the interview we did a few minutes of tapping and this is what happened.

Memphis residents take control of chronic pain with a holistic approach to pain management

Memphis residents take control of chronic pain with a holistic approach to pain management.

How to rewire your brain with EFT!

Dawson Church Ph.D, talks about how you can rewire your brain using EFT.

Dawson has carried out many studies and trials which have really helped in proving the efficacy of EFT. If you are interested in reading some of them you can do so by clicking on this link  http://energypsych.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=296.

I am really excited about the 6th August as I am going to be interviewing him for my blog.

I have many questions about what is happening, in the mind and body, when using EFT for pain. I am also interested in finding out more about his lates book called The Genie in Your Genes which links ‘consciousness and genetic change’.

Exciting times for me right now.

The Peaceful Warrior

I needed perking up a bit this week as I was feeling a bit flat! There was a time when I would have gone down the pub or stuffed my face with chocolate but nowadays I like to watch, or do, something that inspires me and reminds me that there is only this moment and that there is never nothing going on.

I went to my video library and The Peaceful Warrior jumped out at me.

The main protagonist is a gymnast called Dan. He is striving for greatness on the rings, but he’s reckless and has a massive ego.

Dan has a chance, or not so chance, meeting with a guy that is working in a service station. Dan ends up calling him Socrates, this character is played by Nick Nolte. Socrates can do things, and knows things that are way outside of Dan’s belief systems. But Dan cannot deny that which he can see and is compelled to return time and time again to the service station to see Socrates in the hope that he can help him to become an even better gymnast.

There’s a pivotal moment in the film when Dan faces his worst nightmare after a dramatic accident on his motorbike.

I cannot beging to express the greatness of this film. I had so many realisations, insights the first time that i watched it and it continues to lift my spirits and help me re-member what life is about.

You can watch it now for about £2.49 or I you can get it on amazon.

Enjoy, with tissues at the ready!

Abi Oyeptian uses EFT for a chronic injury!

Abi Oyepitan came to see me in 2010 after suffering an injury in 2004 which halted her career.

Often people come to see me when they have exhausted every other avenue of rehabilitation but to no avail.  This is understandable as the technique that i use has not yet undergone any clinical trials,  in the area of chronic pain and injury.

Abi and I started using EFT (tapping) and within 15 minutes the condition of her injury had changed.  She had no pain when rotating her ankle, and no stiffness.

Testing the work that I do is essential as I don’t want people leaving only to find that there is more work to do.  Also, Abi needed to be able to run so that she could start training again (this is something that she hadn’t been able to do since her operation).

At this point I thought that it would be a good idea to wander over to a running track which sits just on the edge of Victoria Park in East London.  Abi started with a gently jog and every time she felt any tightness or pain we stopped and tapped.  At first she could only jog a few steps but we continued with the jogging, tapping, jogging tapping until she could run a quarter of the way around the track free from any pain, tightness or stiffness.

Abi continued to use the tapping along with her usual rehabilitation programme and quickly found herself back on the track.

In 2010 she made a winning comeback, competing in the Diamond League and winner a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games for England.  She also anchored the relay team to a win in the 200m and secured a gold medal.

I am very excited about interviewing Abi, next week, so that I can find out what she has been up to, and how her training is going on the run up to the Olympics this year.

“I had an Achilles injury and was finding it difficult to move forward – I literally couldn’t run at all even after the operation. My coach told me about Carey and I thought that I would give it a try, as I had nothing to lose. During the first session all the pain in my Achilles seemed to just release and since Carey as shown me how to use tapping technique for pain relief, I have seen a real benefit with the level of pain I’ve felt in my Achilles during training. I think the negative feeling that I was associating with my Achilles definitely made the pain worse. I realised that the injury was definitely linked to emotional issues, now I have dealt with the issues I am pain-free” Abi Oyepitan

Jamie Catto bearing his soul in 2010

https://vimeo.com/11888596

CLICK ABOVE LINK TO WATCH THIS TALK

During this humorous and witty talk Jamie really does be bear his soul for all to see.

This is such a powerful and compelling talk about his experiences and beliefs about life, emotional pain, physical pain, relationships, biology, happiness, suffering and our inner and outer worlds.

It’s one of the most captivating talks that i have ever watched especially considering that the human mind has a short attention span when it comes to listening to talks and presentations.

It’s a must watch for anybody

What is EFT?

What is EFT?

EFT, also known as Tapping, is described as being the ‘Try it on Everything’ technique that can resolve emotional issues and in turn clear physical problems.

It is a relatively new pioneering technique for pain relief and many other issues, where East meets West.  It utilizes both the energetic system of the body and the neurological connections in the brain.

It enables us to communicate with the subconscious mind, but more importantly, to change fears and beliefs that are stored in the subconscious. It is these very fears that can cause pain and a whole host of other symptoms.

It is important to change things on a subconscious level as scientists are now saying that approximately 94-99% of what we think, feel and do is indeed subconscious.

Harvard medical school has described EFT as “reducing the blood flow to the Amygdala (fear centre of the brain), releasing endorphins, and increasing GABA waves.”

Over the past 5 years many athletes and sports professionals have started to use EFT, including Dutch pole-vaulter Rens Blom, whom credited his unexpected 2005 World Champion Gold to its powers.

Rens Blom after his unexpected win in 2005

EFT practically cures a chronic injury!

Last year, during some filming for channel 4, I met a Personal Trainer called Nic Mitchell. We were actually meant to be arch rivals on the TV show as we were competing against each other but, to the astonishment of the production team, we fast became good friends.

Once the show had finished the production company gave me a short show reel of the filming that I did, and I decided at that point that I wanted to do some more filming to add to the reel.  I thought that it would be a good idea to film some sessions, but this time with people who were not only skeptical but total disbelievers. Nic sprang to mind as I knew that he had a couple of old injuries that he couldn’t shift. I asked him if I could do some tapping with him for free, in exchange for being able to film the session. He agreed but I know that it was only because he was humouring me.

I turned up at his gym in The City of London and was ushered in to his office. We started tapping almost straight away. I had already decided that because he was a total non-believer I would start with simply chasing the pain, without bringing any emotional stuff in to the picture. I explained to him that the reason I was asking him for colours, shapes, textures etc. was because the subconscious mind processes things and understand things in a different way to the conscious mind; that it understand shapes, colours, etc.  He understood this so we started to tap.

“Even though I have this red, round, 8 stiffness in my ankle, I’m OK”

“Even though I have this challenging stiffness that prevents me from doing squats, I’m alright”

“Even though I don’t believe in the stuff but I’ve got nothing to lose, I’m OK”

Once we finished the above set-ups followed by full rounds of tapping the stiffness, the restriction had reduced to a 5. However, we got a bit stuck at this point so I decided to investigate what happened at the time of the original accident. Nic had been in Ibiza at the time and felt guilty about various things that had happened when he was there, so we started using the following set-ups.

“Even though, I feel guilty about what I did and there’s a possibility that the emotion is still frozen in my ankle, I’m OK.”

“Even though, I have all this guilt stuck in my ankle and I didn’t realise, I’m alright.”

“Even though, I have this 5 guilt in my ankle and I might not want to let it go, I’m OK.”

We continued tapping and re-framing and within 5 minutes Nic could do a full squat, which is something that he hasn’t been able to do since the accident. His face was such a picture because he was totally shocked, freaked out even, to the point where he burst out in to his gym and started showing people how he could now squat for the first time in years.

Because the session was filmed I have been given permission by Nic to use his name and show the video on YouTube. The video will be up by the 19th October.

The more skeptical people are the better if you ask me, so be brave and believe in the power of EFT!

I agreed to try a little bit of Carey’s treatment because her genuine and effervescent character is hard to refuse, rather than because of any belief (at all) in her methodologies. As someone who makes his living working with bodies I am happy to accept the less “scientific” concepts such as reflexology and meridian lines, but tapping just seemed plain ridiculous to me. It is no exaggeration to say that I was utterly dumbstruck when after just 10 minutes of treatment I had more range in a long-standing injured ankle than at any time in the years since the original injury! Given that I am in a position to receive world class physical therapy I am still astounded when I think back on it almost a year later