The Value Of Negative Emotions

The Value of “Negative” Emotions © 2002 Fred P. Gallo, Ph.D. Our ability to relieve negative emotions has become an amazingly simple and straightforward task with energy psychology. All we need do is target the systemic or context-based negative emotion and apply our meridian-based interventions to produce relief. A few additional adjustments and in many instances the problem is resolved. This is truly wonderful in that we are able to help clients overcome trauma, specific phobias, generalized anxiety, depression, anger/rage, addictive urges, limiting core beliefs, etc. The old way involved examining the basis of the emotional response to arrive at a deeper understanding, after which various psychotherapeutic approaches—such as reframing or other cognitive restructuring—were introduced to help clients let go of the negative emotion and to make appropriate adjustments in their lives. But wait! That doesn’t sound all that bad. Although the old way may not have been rapidly efficient, it involves recognition of something that may be easily forgotten if we rely simply on “tapping” routines. There is a responsibility involved in alleviating negative emotions that should remain in the forefront of every therapist’s mind. Although understanding may not be the necessary and sufficient condition in order to experience relief, it still has tremendous value. For example, let’s take guilt. Some people experience excessive guilt feelings for no good reason; whereas, other instances of guilt are right on the money. Obviously it isn’t always inappropriate to feel guilt. Guilt can be divided into ontological guilt and guilt feelings, and often the twain does not meet. By ontological guilt, I am referring to violations of accepted principles of moral conduct. You know—Thou shalt not steal, kill, waste natural resources, etc. Then there’s the affect—the emotional response to such a violation. When we’re wired correctly moral violation result in visceral kinesthetic responses called guilt feelings. When the wires are crossed, we either don’t experience guilt feelings at all or the affective intensity is awry; the punishment doesn’t suit the crime, so to speak. However, guilt feelings can actually be among the most civilizing of emotions, since they can help us to chart a course of doing to others what we would have them do to us. To some extent, guilt feelings can help us to be more spiritual. All negative emotions can be useful, and we ought not to overlook this fact. Anger may be a signal that we have been taken advantage of or that there is some eminent danger. Anxiety signals a perception of danger. Jealousy lets us know we may be in danger of losing someone or something that “belongs” to us. The threat of shame can save us from becoming social outcasts. And the list goes on. The point is that we should always be cognizant of any important message that is being conveyed by a painful emotion. Since emotions are divided into two primary categories —negative and positive—we may be tempted to commit the error of equivocal terms by

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equating negative with bad. Of course, emotions are not bad. They are internal signals or messages that are important aspects of a fulfilling life. One of the most interesting ways to combine energy psychology methods with discovering the basis of a negative emotion is to use energy meridian tapping with elements of focusing. Focusing is the name that researchers at the University of Chicago gave to a faculty that successful psychotherapy clients either inherently know how to do or can be taught to do. The process involves tuning in to what is referred to as the felt sense—a conglomeration of kinesthetic sensations that contain underlying messages. Focusing then involves defining or translating the felt sense. I have found that this can also be applied to any number of specific emotions. The process involves getting beneath the felt sense or the specific emotion in order to understand what it is about, where it is coming from, what the communication is. An emotion is a felt thought. The skills involved in focusing are relevant to mental health in general. Focusing can be enhanced when combined with stimulating relevant meridian points. I have often found that tapping on triple energizer-3 (between the little and ring fingers on the back of either hand) or using the negative affect erasing method (NAEM)—also called the midline energy treatment (MET)—can be useful in clarifying and translating the kinesthetic response—the felt sense or specific emotion. As clients develop a clearer sense and appreciation as to why they feel the way they do, this level of insight combined with meridian tapping “desensitization” offers useful synergy. For example, some people find it quite difficult to clarify a felt sense when it’s intensity level is either too high or too low. The tapping will adjust the intensity to the needed level as the client proceeds with the intention to understand the meaning of the sensations. As a case example, a recent client came to see me because of “stress,” which she rated as ten on a 0-to-10 scale. I asked her to pay attention to where she felt the stress in her body. At first she said, “All over,” but as she focused more closely, she noted that it was primarily located in her chest and stomach. I then asked her to say, “I’m stressed” while attending to the sensations. The “stress” level remained a ten. Since the sensations did not decrease with this statement, I felt that she was not describing the experience with sufficient accuracy. When people define their sensations precisely, there is usually a reduction in the intensity of the kinesthetic response owing to the fact that the sensations have been correctly translated and understood. The releasing is akin to acknowledgment. “Thank God he gets my drift!” Next I asked her if there could be a better word or phrase to describe this feeling. Although she spent some time pondering this, she could not come up with a more suitable description. I gathered that the intensity was such that she could not see the forest for the trees. I then guided her to physically tap with two fingers several times at each of the following NAEM locations: center of her forehead (i.e., the third eye point), under her nose, under her bottom lip, and at the upper section of her sternum. This resulted in a decrease in the stress level to seven. She then said that a more accurate word would be “pressure,” since she observed “Some of the pressure in my chest and stomach decreased after the tapping.” 2

It occurred to me that the word “pressure” is a noun and that we might look for an even better word in the verb department. So I asked her to announce, “I feel pressured.” As she said this, she seemed to be more congruence in her posture, facial expression, and tone of voice. She then reported a significant decrease in the sensations to a four. Next I asked her to think about the source of being pressured while tapping on the NAEM points. After a round of tapping she said, “I feel pressured by my family. It seems I’m not allowed to be myself.” The sensations decreased to a two. With further clarification, she was able to report that her parents and her sister have been the source of the pressuring. She told me about an event that occurred a couple years previously when she was going to get married and her parents and sister “pressured” her to postpone the wedding, since they did not believe that she was ready to marry. The postponement led to the engagement being called off altogether, and she had been living in regret ever since. She was now involved with another man that her parents and sister liked, but she was not feeling the connection she would like. She was still longing for a relationship with her former fiancé. As a result of that session she decided to get in touch with the “fiancé” to discover what was possible. More importantly, she came to trust her ability to “know my own feelings” and to do what is right for her. When I last saw her she was not feeling stressed and was in contact with her “fiancé.” She wasn’t feeling stressed. The felt sense and emotions are maps of our spiritual territory that require clarification so that we can better navigate our journey through life. In some instances to simply desensitize the “negative emotion” without coming from a deeper level of understanding can interfere with finding our way. As the Sufi poet, Rumi, said, “Welcome and entertain them all! Because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.” More about Energy Psychology and Energy Tapping: Furman ME, and Gallo FP: The neurophysics of human behavior: Explorations at the interface of brain, mind, behavior, and information, Boca Raton, 2000, CRC Press. Gallo FP: Energy psychology: Explorations at the interface of energy, cognition, behavior, and health, Boca Raton, 2005, CRC Press. Gallo FP: Energy diagnostic and treatment methods, New York, 2000, Norton. Gallo FP, and Vincenzi H: Energy tapping, Oakland, CA, 2008, New Harbinger. Gallo FP, editor: Energy psychology in psychotherapy: A comprehensive source book, New York, 2002, Norton. Gallo FP: Energy tapping for trauma, Oakland, CA, 2007, New Harbinger.

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