EFT for Digestion: Transformative Techniques for a Healthier Gut

Coping with gut issues can be challenging. This article discusses how the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) helps address and alleviate gut issues. Discover the connection between emotions and digestive health and learn how EFT Tapping can be a transformative tool for achieving freedom from gut-related concerns.
Have you ever had those days where your stomach just doesn't feel right, and you can't figure out why?
Those moments when your gut seems to have its own mood swings, leaving you uncomfortable and frustrated. It's like your body is speaking a language you just can't understand, making you feel helpless and seeking answers.
But what really triggers these gut issues? Is it due to indulging in your favorite unhealthy foods, overeating, consuming spicy foods, or snacking late at night?
It's strange how our stomachs can suddenly act up, whether it's during the day, at night, or at specific times like during menstruation or pregnancy.
The are many culprits – from what you eat, to lurking infections, inflammation, or even the medications you take. Toss in the mix a sedentary lifestyle, not drinking enough water, or skimping on sleep, and you've got the perfect storm for gut issues.
But here's a twist: sometimes, your gut woes aren't just about what you eat or do. Often, they're intertwined with your emotions in a complex relationship.
This article delves deep into the world of EFT Tapping and its powerful impact on digestive health, exploring how this technique can offer relief from gut troubles that seem to have no apparent cause.
“The road to health is paved with good intestines!"
Sherry A. Rogers
WHAT ARE GUT ISSUES AND HOW PREVALENT THEY ARE?
You might have had those moments when your tummy just doesn't feel right. Some days your stomach may seem like the bustling neighbourhood where things can get a bit chaotic and out of your control.
Gut issues cover a range of digestive problems affecting the stomach and intestines. Symptoms can include abdominal pain, bloating, and changes in bowel habits (diarrhoea or constipation).
These problems can vary from mild to chronic, with 60 to 70 million people experiencing some form of digestive issues. Half of the population faces gut-related challenges. Understanding gut issues is crucial for a healthier digestive system.
TYPES OF GUT ISSUES: UNDERSTANDING DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS
Gut issues, also known as gastrointestinal disorders, include various conditions affecting the digestive system:
1.
Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (FGID)
These are chronic stomach issues with no clear reason. The main players are:
Functional Dyspepsia: Brings recurring upper abdomen pain, fullness, and bloating.
Functional Heartburn: Feels like heartburn but without the acid reflux.
2.
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD)
Here, the gut gets inflamed. The reason could be:
Crohn's Disease: Affects any part of the digestive tract, causing pain, diarrhoea, and weight loss.
Ulcerative Colitis: Focuses on the colon and rectum, leading to bloody diarrhoea and stomach pain.
3.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
Stomach acid frequently flows back to the oesophagus, causing heartburn and chest pain.
4.
Celiac Disease
Eating gluten triggers an immune response, messing with the small intestine and causing issues like diarrhoea.
5.
Gastroparesis
It’s a condition where the stomach muscles do not function properly.
6.
Gut Infections
Bacteria, viruses, or parasites can cause bacterial, viral, or parasitic infections leading to acute gastrointestinal issues.
7.
Gallbladder Issues
Conditions such as gallstones can cause problems, including upper abdominal pain, bloating, and indigestion.
Thus, there are diverse reasons causing mayhem in your gut!
WHAT ARE THE COMMON CAUSES OF GUT ISSUES?
The general causes of gut issues are:
1.
Dietary Factors
- High-fat Foods: Consuming a diet high in saturated and trans-fats can lead to digestive problems.
- Spicy Foods: Spices and spicy foods may trigger heartburn or exacerbate existing conditions like GERD.
- Low Fiber Intake: Inadequate fiber consumption can lead to constipation and other digestive issues.
- Excessive Sugar and Artificial Sweeteners: Overconsumption of sugar and artificial sweeteners can disrupt gut bacteria and lead to bloating and diarrhoea.
2.
Stress
Chronic stress can also affect the functioning of your gut.
3.
Medications
Certain medications, such as antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), can disrupt the balance of gut bacteria and lead to gastrointestinal problems.
4.
Food Allergies
Food allergies (e.g., celiac disease) and food sensitivities (e.g., lactose intolerance) can also cause a range of digestive symptoms.
5.
Gastrointestinal Infections
Bacterial, viral, or parasitic infections can lead to acute gut issues like diarrhoea and stomach cramps.
Apart from these common factors, issues like Dysbiosis (an imbalance in the gut microbiome), lack of physical activity, sedentary lifestyle, excessive or frequent alcohol, smoking, and inadequate hydration can also lead to multiple gut-related challenges and make issues worse.
WHAT ARE THE COMMON SYMPTOMS OF GUT ISSUES?
Gut issues come with various signals that your stomach isn't having the best time. Keep an eye out for:
Abdominal pain or discomfort
Bloating
Changes in bowel habits like diarrhoea or constipation
Increased flatulence i.e., having more gas in your belly, which can make you pass gas more often.
Belching is when you release air from your stomach through your mouth, like burping.
Other symptoms can include heartburn, nausea or vomiting, sudden weight changes, blood in stool, fatigue, alterations in appetite, bad breath, and foul-smelling stool.
These signals indicate potential challenges in your stomach's well-being, urging you to pay attention and prioritise your gut health.
PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS OF GUT ISSUES AND CONNECTION WITH STRESS RESPONSE
Gut issues can extend beyond physical discomfort, influencing behaviour and well-being.
You may notice psychological symptoms such as mood swings associated with conditions like depression and anxiety, stress, and grumpiness resulting from persistent tummy troubles.
There could be brain fog affecting concentration, and potential disturbances in cognitive skills due to gut inflammation.
You could also experience eating disorders, that disrupt eating habits.
Moreover, abdominal discomfort may contribute to sleepless nights, leading to fatigue and insomnia. The cumulative effect of physical discomfort and mental distress can diminish life quality, hinder daily activities, and limit the enjoyment of life.
Now that you might be aware of or perhaps experiencing the symptoms mentioned above, it's essential to recognise that these signals may be linked to your deep emotional roots.
After all, taking care of your gut isn't just about your stomach it’s about the well-being of your entire body and mind.
MICROBIOME CHANGES
Anxiety and stress have the power to alter the composition of the gut microbiome, potentially leading to an imbalance of "good" and "bad" bacteria. This dysbiosis can contribute to gastrointestinal problems and affect mood regulation.
SUPPRESSED EMOTIONS ARE OFTEN DEEPLY LINKED WITH GUT ISSUES
Have you ever wondered why your gut sometimes becomes rebellious?
Perhaps it’s your body trying to send signals of some things you need to explore, a deeper root cause like bottled-up feelings that you must let go.
Yes, you heard right, your unresolved emotions are often connected to the painful and troublesome state of your gut.
The word emotion means energy in motion when translated from Latin. Emotions such as fear, sadness, stress, and anger can all affect your gut.
Emotion is the experience of energy moving through the body and these energy currents can increase or decrease the movements of the gut and the contents within it, making the digestive system susceptible to bloating and other types of pain (1).
EXPLORING THE ROOTS OF GUT ISSUES: DIGESTIVE SYSTEM AND CONNECTION WITH EMOTIONS
Emotional factors play a crucial role in your gut health, often in ways that are not immediately obvious. Understanding this connection can be key to managing gut issues effectively.
- Mood Swings: Frequent mood swings can be a sign of underlying dissatisfaction, unmet emotional needs, or stressors, affecting your gut health.
- Stress: This is a two-way street with gut issues. Long-term stress can trigger gut problems and vice versa, creating a cycle of discomfort. Chronic stress impacts digestion and disrupts the balance of good bacteria in the gut (2).
- Anxiety: There's a strong link between anxiety and gut issues. Anxiety can make the stomach more sensitive, leading to discomfort.
- Depression: Low mood can slow digestion and disrupt the brain-gut connection, leading to various digestive issues and contributing to feelings of sadness.
- Past Trauma: Emotional or physical abuse in the past can disrupt the brain-gut connection, resulting in gastrointestinal symptoms.
- Anger: Issues with anger management are often accompanied by stomach ailments. Extreme anger can interfere with the release of chemicals needed for healthy digestion and increase stomach acids, leading to various digestive problems.
- Body Image Issues: Concerns about weight or bloating can lead to dissatisfaction with body image, further impacting gut health.
- Eating Disorders: Unhealthy eating habits as coping mechanisms can lead to conditions like, Anorexia (an eating disorder characterised by limiting food intake, resulting in low body weight, and often accompanied by a strong fear of weight gain), Bulimia (another eating disorder marked by frequent, secretive overeating episodes followed by self-induced vomiting, strict dieting, or excessive exercise, often driven by a constant, excessive worry about body weight), or binge-eating disorder, all of which significantly affect your digestive health.
- Fear of Food: Aversion to certain foods due to past experiences or phobias can limit dietary choices, causing gut problems.
- Sleepless Nights: Insomnia, often caused by unresolved mental chatter, can have a cascading effect on overall well-being, including gut health.
Recognising and addressing these emotional factors is crucial for managing gut health. This is where a therapeutic tool like EFT Tapping can be invaluable.
EFT Tapping helps explore the root causes of gut issues in a safe way, promoting both physical and emotional well-being. So, taking care of your mind might just be the key to helping your gut feel better too!
EFT FOR DIGESTION - HOW CAN EFT TAPPING HELP WITH GUT ISSUES?
Emotional Freedom Techniques or EFT Tapping goes at a deeper level reaching the emotional root cause and not just dealing with the surface-level symptoms.
Here’s how EFT Tapping can help with gut issues:
1.
Reducing stress and anxiety
Stress is a common trigger for overeating and food cravings. EFT is known for its stress-reduction benefits. By using tapping to alleviate stress and anxiety, you can slowly feel less inclined to turn to food for comfort during stressful situations.
2.
Releasing emotional blocks
EFT is designed to release emotional and psychological blocks. Gut issues are sometimes linked to emotional stress, past traumas, or unresolved issues. By addressing these emotional components through tapping, individuals may find relief from gut symptoms.
3.
Helping the body and mind connect
There is a strong connection between the mind and body. When addressing emotional and psychological issues through tapping, you can indirectly impact your gut health.
4.
Controlling eating patterns and disorders
EFT can promote mindful eating by increasing awareness of physical hunger cues and satiety. It can be used to reinforce the practice of eating slowly, savouring each bite, and recognising when the body has had enough.
5.
Self-acceptance and body image
Eating disorders often have emotional and psychological roots. EFT can help individuals address and release the underlying emotional issues, past traumas, or negative thought patterns that contribute to their eating disorders and gut issues.
Therefore EFT, known globally and used by millions, is clinically proven to lessen depression, anxiety, addiction, PTSD, phobias, and pain.
It's effective in reducing cravings and negative emotions like anger, sadness, grief, fear, hurt, and guilt. Additionally, it helps manage traumatic memories, fostering a sense of calm and well-being.
A study with people having chronic diseases found that Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), which involves tapping on specific points, helped with both physical pain and the feelings connected to it (3).
Many other studies checked how EFT healed various physical conditions like fibromyalgia, psoriasis, headaches, frozen shoulder, and more. Some studies measured physiological markers, including heart rate and cortisol levels (4).
Emotional Freedom Technique Tapping Steps to Overcome Gut Issues
Step 1:
Identify Surface Symptoms of Gut Issues
Identify surface symptoms of gut issues (e.g., bloating, pain, constipation). Explore associated emotions like anxiety, frustration, stress, anger or discomfort.
1.
Investigate the Physical Nature of Gut Issues
To get started, begin by investigating the physical nature of your gut issue by asking yourself the following:
Where in the body do you experience those issues?
Does it have a colour, texture, size, shape? (Try to imagine)
What are the sensations like? How does that issue feel? For example, rough or smooth.
2.
Explore Associated Emotions and Measure their Level of Intensity
Now, measure the level of intensity of the associated emotions (anxiety, frustration, discomfort) by rating it on a scale of 0-10.
Ask yourself, “What number is ________ (emotion) at?” where 10 is very high and 0 is very low. Just go with whatever comes up in your mind spontaneously, without over-thinking about it.
3.
Tap on the Karate Chop
Start tapping on the side of the hand,
“Even though I am unable to express my needs related to my gut issue and I can feel it in my (part of the body) ________________________ and it’s at a number _____________ and it makes me feel _______________ I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
(Repeat this 3 times)
4.
Tap on the Facial and Finger Tapping Points
Start tapping on the upper body, facial, and finger tapping points:
Eyebrow: I feel ________ (emotion) about _________ (gut issue)
Side of the Eye: I feel it in my ___________
Under the Eye: It’s at a number _________
Under the Nose: It makes me feel _________
Chin: It’s in my ________ at a number _________
Collarbone: It makes me feel _________
Under the arm: So ____________
Thumb: So ____________
Index Finger: Worried because___________
Middle Finger: I feel it in my ______________
Little Finger: So_____________
5.
Close the Sequence with Positive Tapping
Close the sequence by tapping on the Karate Chop,
“Even though I am unable to express my needs related to my gut issue and I can feel it in my (part of the body) ________________________ and it’s at a number _____________ and it makes me feel _______________, I allow myself to express myself and how I am feeling. I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
6.
Relax
Take a gentle breath in and out and take a sip of water.
7.
Test
After the round of tapping, ask yourself, “What number is the emotion associated with your gut issue at?”
If it has reduced to a level, you feel happy with, you can stop. Or you can repeat this process if you feel like the number could come down a little more.
Step 2:
Explore Associated Memories
Examine past experiences linked to the identified emotions. Address memories that intensify emotional responses and clear them.
To reveal the memories linked to your gut issues, you can ask questions like:
When have you felt _______ (emotion) before?
What does that emotion remind you of?
When is it that you don’t experience that emotion?
What can trigger and bring about the feeling of that same emotion?
Step 3:
Focus on the Theme of Inability to Express and Communicate
Target theme of suppressing emotions and inability to express needs. Focus on self-expression and releasing pent-up emotions.
Step 4:
Positive EFT Tapping for Optimal Gut Health
Conclude the session with positive EFT Tapping. Focus on balance, harmony, and nourishment within the gut. Use affirmations to promote healing and well-being.
An example of a positive tapping statement is,
“Even though I am unable to express my needs related to my gut issue and I can feel it in my (part of the body) ________________________ and it’s at a number _____________ and it makes me feel _______________, I allow myself to express myself and how I am feeling. I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
CONCLUSION
Gut issues are prevalent and can significantly impact one's overall well-being. From the various types of gastrointestinal disorders to the diverse causes, it's essential to recognise the close connection between emotions and digestive health.
The interplay of factors such as stress, unresolved emotions, anxiety, and lifestyle choices can contribute to digestive distress. This article went into the profound role of the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Tapping in addressing and alleviating gut issues.
By acknowledging the emotional roots of digestive problems, EFT offers a holistic approach to achieving freedom from gut-related concerns.
The integration of EFT Tapping into one's wellness journey may not only bring relief from surface symptoms but also foster a deeper understanding of the emotional aspects intertwined with gut health.
While exploring the transformative potential of EFT Tapping, it is recommended to consider the mind-body connection and associated emotions with the physical issue to help embark on a path toward better gut health and improved overall well-being.
Love,
Dr Rangana Rupavi Choudhuri (PhD)
In summary, EFT Tapping emerges as a powerful and transformative tool for addressing gut issues by targeting underlying negative emotions such as stress, anxiety, and unresolved feelings. This technique sends calming signals to the brain, providing relief and promoting a sense of relaxation. By incorporating EFT Tapping into your routine, you have the potential to tap away the emotional roots of gut issues, fostering a path toward improved digestive health and overall well-being.
References:
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