How EFT Changed My OCD Brain
My sister turned around flinching, as if our twin spidey sense made her already know the look on my face.
“Are you serious!? How could you not tell me.” I glared at her.
It was a could-be-boring day in our central New Jersey health class where the teacher had asked his students to popcorn read mental health diagnoses.
Obsessive compulsive disorder: A common mental health diagnosis categorized by mental obsessions (rumination, checking locks, repeated hand washing) and compulsions (repeatedly opening and closig doors, counting stairs, repeating words).
My OCD Secret
My sister had just unintentionally revealed a family secret: “Jackie has OCD.”
Unbeknownst to me, my parents had been telling my sister for years to not tell me about my diagnosis.
“We don’t want her to be confined to a label.”
At this point, I was 16 and my major OCD symptoms were 3 years behind me:
My compulsion to spend 15 minutes at the sink splashing my face was done.
I no longer had to flip all my clothing outside-in on their hangers.
I no longer rolled my eyes and clicked my tongue at the confused glances of class mates.
I no longer said “Good night I love you infinity” (I kid you not) 50 plus times at bedtime with my sister understandably yelling, “OK! We heard you the first time!”
OCD was just as irritating to me as it was to my sister. I consciously knew I should and could stop myself… but I couldn’t.
My logical mind wanted to change.
My body and nervous system couldn’t stop… because I didn’t have the right tools (yet).
As my sister read the definition of a diagnosis that I had literally just heard for the first time, a deep shame, followed by immediate relief, filled my body.
“How could you not tell me?” I pleaded after class.
“Mom told me not to. She didn’t want you to feel labeled.”
Ironically the label made me feel seen. I wasn’t the only weird one out there.
I’m torn on the subject: Do we tell kids they are anxious, have OCD, inherited bipolar from dad’s side of the family, or struggle to get the grades of older brother Johnny because of a label that you could medicate?”
Or do you choose alternate approaches, treating the symptoms one by one, until you address the root cause of each?
I most likely wouldn’t have been as motivated to heal my “habits” (as we called them) if I thought OCD was an identity.
I also know how freeing it was to hear that “common” diagnosis and learn I wasn’t alone.
3 Years of Severe OCD
I only had severe OCD from 9 to 12 years old. With mild symptoms lasting until 21... when I found EFT tapping.
This is a very short stint if you look up the statistics.
Thanks to my mother, and the tools she taught me, my OCD was a season of my life, not a life sentence.
Why? After the death of my brother, my mom gave up a successful career in film to pursue healing.
She had Identical twins.
One had OCD.
One didn’t.
How did she try to help?
My mom became a Reiki Master.
Got trained in meditation.
Bought yoga cassette tapes.
Gave us tinctures and flower essences.
It all helped.
How an EFT Tapping Video Changed my Life
Alternate Therapies helped my OCD symptoms subside, but the obsessive thoughts always returned.
By 13, my external habits were gone.
No more hand washing, tongue clicking, stair counting, or wardrobe flipping.
But my mental habits persisted until 21, worst case scenario thinking, rumination, repeating words in my head instead of aloud.
What happened at 21 that changed everything?
My mom (once again) sent me a YouTube video.
I hit play.
The woman tapped her face and repeated the same phrase over and over (very similar to my OCD bedtime habit)!
Then, to my horror, she asked viewers to make large eye circles.
It was triggering.
I had spent years trying to NOT repeat words or roll my eyes.
Now this EFT practitioner was asking me to do the very thing I’d trained myself NOT to do while tapping (something I would later learn reduced cortisol, the hormone creating my compulsions) and rollimg my eyes back and forth (an EMDR-based tool I now teach in my EFT Level 3 workshop) to help balance the brain.
My throat tightened.
Would I bring my OCD back by repeating myself again and again?
As if she heard my fear, the YouTuber explained that repeating the words wouldn’t reinforce my fears but help them dissolve.
Unlike ruminating on worst-case scenarios, which spikes cortisol, tapping while focusing on worst-case scenarios breaks the connection between fear and your stress repsonse: Making the fear dissolve mid-tap.
For example, while I tapped on my upcoming work day, my brain broke the link between work and dread which left me feeling neutral, dare I say confident.
The goal of EFT is to voice the fear based feeling or behavior until you can voice it fearlessly (thanks to the fear-reducing tapping points).
On the first round, I felt my tension spike.
During the second round, I took a deep breath.
By the third round, my anxious thoughts felt quieter. Beliefs that felt all-consuming, became isolated thoughts I could observe and question.
By the end of the video, I nearly laughed.
The workday that seemed so anxiety-inducing minutes ago (I had an upcoming performance review), now left me wondering, “What’s the big deal!? the reviewer is just here to help me.”
I felt like I had a brain transplant.
I’m someone who grew up with yoga, meditation, Reiki, and an ever-growing list of deep healing, but EFT was the first modality that changed the way my brain and body worked together.
EFT doesn’t just calm your brain momentarily, it trains your brain to stay calm:
My OCD was gone by 21 because I finally had a tool to train my brain to stay relaxed in the face of triggers (like a work review, or a sink, or stairs that begged to be counted lol).
Do we tell kids they have a diagnosis? Or do we tell kids they have a brain that needs to be taught a new way of thinking?
I think we can do both.
We can teach kids about the way their brain works.
We can help them identify what triggers their brain.
We can give them tools that calm their brain down so it can work for them.
They might logically know they should feel calm, but EFT helps their brain and body believe it’s true.
Your turn:
Do you have a habit, repetitive thought, or diagnosis that feels like a life sentence? If so, you’re not alone. If so, you have choices:
What is one thing you can do to move the needle on your healing? Maybe it’s a lifestyle change, a diet change, or finally seeing a practitioner. Maybe it’s learning to tap.
Write an intention and share it with a friend as accountability.
Tap with me:
My brain’s way of thinking isn’t working for me
And I’m not alone
I choose to do one thing to help my brain heal.
I choose to…. Fill in the blank with an intention.
Don’t underestimate the power of tapping on your fear, shame, or symptoms.
It might just change your life.
In the words of Doctor Daniel Amen who studies the brain’s role in diagnosis: “When a woman (or man) understands the uniqueness of their brain—how to care for it, how to make the most of its strengths, how to overcome its challenges, how to fall in love with it, and ultimately, how to unleash its full power—there is no stopping her. In her personal development, at work, and in her relationships, she can bring the best of herself to her family, her community, and her planet.”
Last month I realized I didn’t have a simple tapping exercise to send newbies.. so I created five.
I dedicated the 5 audios to my younger self.
My goal: Get alternate solutions in the hands of as many people as possible so your current state isn’t your forever state.
If you want to tap with me (and her) for the next five days… enjoy the Free 5 day tapping challenge. (Log in to your account before clicking Free Sign Up).
I don’t believe in life sentences.
I believe that no matter how stuck you feel, if you create the right environment, and learn the the right tools, your brain can work for you again.
Send it to a friend to enjoy
I’ll see you inside the portal.
We’ve got this,
Jackie Viramontez
