"Joe" told me that he wasn't exactly sure as to what had caused the skin eruptions on the backs of his hands. It seemed like poison oak, and that he may have gotten it from his cats. However, it didn't heal. The next month it spread to his face. One doctor prescribed steroids, and the condition seemed to go away, though after he stopped taking the steroids his condition came back, only worse. He had a full body rash, and his skin was extremely dry. According to him, his immune system was in overdrive.
I found out that he had recently become a lawyer, and that he had taken on too much responsibility. He shared that he had both work related and personal issues. He and his girlfriend had broken up a little over a year ago, and he missed the connection. He had an outbreak on his hands right before his girlfriend moved out. Since he was a new lawyer, he felt obligated to take on everything--even if he didn't like the case. He felt that he had been taken advantage of because he was the new guy, and he felt bombarded by pleas for help from all different directions. It was stressful for him to deal with all of the egos and agendas, too.
When I asked him how he liked being a lawyer, he answered that he was questioning the nature of the work that he was doing. I am always looking for the conflict that my client feels that they are in, and his conflict was that he felt trapped and confined. Though being a lawyer was the path that he had chosen, he felt locked into it. His SUDS level was a 9-10.
Here are some of the set-up phrases I had him use:
- Even though I feel trapped and confined as a lawyer, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
- Even though I spent all of this time and money on becoming a lawyer and my family expects me to follow through, I deeply...
- Even though I feel like I am locked into a career where there are parts of it that I really hate, I...
After one round of tapping, his SUDS level dropped to a 6. He felt the muscles of his lower back relax; he felt a gentleness that he hadn't felt in a long while; and he confided that he wanted his parents to love him.
His next batch of set-up phrases included:
- Even though I feel trapped because I am practicing law and I dislike I lot of what I see, and I feel uncomfortable in being in some of the situations that I have been in, I deeply and completely love and accept myself and forgive myself for putting myself in these situations and allowing myself to put up with what I find unacceptable.
- Even though there is a part of me that hates being a lawyer and dealing with all of those asshole lawyers and unreasonable clients, I deeply...
- Even though I have overextended myself and have been a patsy--and that has not felt good--my skin has been trying to tell me that it doesn't like how I have been handling these different situations, and I deeply and completely love and accept that my skin has been trying to tell me to say "no" to some of these arrangements, and I promise my system that I will pay attention to how I feel. I forgive myself for raging a war inside of my body.
These setup phrases and tapping on the points on his face and torso brought his SUDS level down to a 3. It was amazing to see how much more relaxed he looked, including the muscles in his jaw.
Then I started to balance positive and negative affirmations:
- Even though I haven't known what to do, and my skin has been telling me that things aren't right inside of me, when I get in a situation where I feel uncomfortable, I remember to breathe and go to my center. Here I can make the right decisions. I deeply...
- Even though I have been uncomfortable with taking on too much in my first year practicing law, I will now remember to be aware of how I am feeling. I remember to breathe and center. I am whole and complete.
- Even though I have had a tough first year of being a lawyer, I have learned a lot. I know my limits and pay attention to how I feel. I breathe, let go and become present.
As he tapped, before he could get down his face with tapping, he started laughing at the absurdity of his situation. His SUDS level dropped to a 1. He said that he was enjoying the lightness that he felt, and that he was feeling love in his heart.
We did one more round of tapping in the positive:
- Being in his heart
- Being in the present moment
- Knowing exactly what to do
- Taking on the right amount of work for himself
- Being an honest lawyer
- Serving the people
- Balancing work and play
- Having fun
This brought his SUDS level down to zero. He was totally relaxed, yet vibrant. The swelling in his hands went down and they no longer itched.
I telephoned him few a days later to see how things were going. He said that his hands were even better, and he felt great!
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