It’s October and here we are again—the month when Halloween candy temptations are lurking around most every corner. Oi vey, if you’re like me, with a giant “sweet tooth” that dates back to early childhood, then this time of year can be really challenging. To avoid giving into sugar cravings (and gaining excess weight), how about you join me in gearing up with tools to help you OUTSMART unhealthy temptations? 
So, instead of simply drumming your fingers trying to decide if you should visit the Halloween candy bowl…again… you might consider adding EFT “tapping” to your “self-care” tool kit. Now, in case you’ve not heard of it—or seen it featured on Dr. Oz’s website—EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Technique.
The good news is, EFT is a simple tool to learn, and for many people, this technique is a powerful way to reduce unhealthy food cravings (and stress). EFT consists of gentle fingertip tapping at specific places on the body that align with a person’s acupuncture meridian points. So, the acupuncture meridian points are stimulated without the use of needles.
To give you a bit of historical background, Stanford engineer Gary Craig developed EFT to assist people in reducing or clearing emotional pain and negativity that may have fueled their fears and self-destructive behaviors. Now, after teaching clients how to use EFT on themselves for the past ten years in my private practice—I must admit—I am a big fan of this tool. For this reason, I often teach EFT to people who want to release habits such as overeating, nail biting, or cigarette smoking.
For instance, I taught EFT to Carey (a thirty-year-old woman) whose medical doctor referred her to me after Carey’s weight escalated to an unhealthy level. During our first session, Carey confessed (while staring at the floor) that she’d been eating fast food—a super-sized cheeseburger, fries, and a shake—multiple times throughout her week (for the past several years). Then, most every evening after supper, she’d watch TV while nibbling foods…that were drenched in sugar, salt, and fat.
I explained to Carey that overeating high levels of sugar, salt, and fat can create addictive cycles. For example, former U.S. Food and Drug Administrator David Kessler, M.D., explains how foods high in sugar, salt, and fat alter the brain’s chemistry by creating a release of powerful chemicals, such as dopamine and natural pain-killing substances called opioids. Surprisingly, these are the very same chemicals that are released when people are addicted to alcohol, cigarette smoking, and drugs.
After Carey gained a clear “intellectual understanding” of why her unhealthy food cravings had gotten out of control, we addressed her junk-food addiction during three EFT sessions. Between sessions, Carey used EFT on her own. As a result, Carey was pleased to see her weight begin to go down, while her self-esteem…began to go up!
In addition to weight loss, when doctors or psychologists send referrals to me, I often teach my clients how to use EFT for the following personal challenges:
• Stress
• Anxiety & insomnia
• Public speaking fear • Cigarette smoking
• Life transitions: Career change or empty nest
Finally, if the idea of adding EFT to your stress-reducing “repertoire” sounds appealing, then call or email me today. After all, you might be surprised to find that EFT’s tapping—to release pent-up emotions and OUTSMART unhealthy sugar cravings—is much more productive than reaching for the alluring Halloween candy! In fact, after experiencing the gifts of EFT, you just may be happy that…you let your fingers do the “tapping!”
Trina’s Upcoming Events:
1) Managing Emotional and Compulsive Eating: A one-evening workshop for women & men—at John Muir Women’s Health Center in Walnut Creek. Learn how to tame your “Inner Critic” & connect with your “Inner Motivator!” Thursday, Oct 16, 6:30-8:30 pm. Fee: $40 (includes self-hypnosis for weight loss: 2-CD set). Register today: (925) 941-7900 option 3.
2) Weight Loss Groups: INSPIRING groups are now forming! Receive holistic, leading-edge tools (EFT and self-hypnosis) while getting heartfelt support from Trina. Get ready to “lighten up”—from the inside out—and have some FUN in the process…after all, belly laughs DO burn calories! Email for details: info@TrinaSwerdlow.com
Trina Swerdlow, BFA, CCHT, is a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, an author and artist. She has a private practice in downtown Danville. You can reach her at: (925) 285.5759, or info@TrinaSwerdlow.com.
Certified Clinical Hypnotherapy services in California can be alternative or complementary to licensed healing arts, such as psychotherapy.
Name and client details changed to protect confidentiality.
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