Some people love bridges. They stand on them and look over the edges, walk across them, drive across them and fear nothing from them. If you are one of those people you might find it hard to believe that some people (including the author of this article!) can be terrified at the thought of crossing a bridge.
In the past, when we have been on vacation and driving around various parts of the USA, there always seemed to be a bridge that had to be crossed. Bridges that to me were huge things, rearing up out of the road ahead, full of heart pounding enormity. I have crossed the Tappan Zee Bridge in the New York area and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge across Tampa Bay in Florida several times and in the past I would close my eyes in abject terror, dig my nails into the palms of my hands so hard they would bleed, be unable to breathe, crying silent tears of panic, convinced that something awful was going to happen to us! the bridge would break! my husband would suddenly drive off the side and we would drown! I couldn’t even articulate most of the terrors that would befall us.
Yes, rationally I knew that none of these would happen. Yes we always survived but that did not help my emotional irrational behaviour and thoughts.
This year we managed to avert the Sunshine Skyway Bridge as our plane was diverted to Orlando – relief – but the Tappan Zee still had to be navigated as we went to visit family in Pennsylvania.
Well… as we drew near to the bridge I noticed… nothing. No heart pounding, no shortness of breath! no fear of death! Hmmm… I wondered what was different? We drove over the bridge and I actually looked around… looked at the boats, looked at the view down the river! showed my husband outstretched hands with no white knuckles. What had changed? I had not done EFT on my bridge fear as I only cross bridges on my US vacation once a year (we are living in South Africa for now) it was not “important” enough for me to think about it until I was approaching the bridge.
I use EFT on myself and family (and six cats) as well as in person and phone/Skype clients every day. The only thing that happened was that all the EFT done for other issues and with other people and animals helped my fear of bridges so much that it is entirely gone!
I was very excited! I searched out bridges in every place I could find. We went up to New Hampshire and also visited Maine… bridges! No problem. Old bridges, new ones, cantilevered ones, small cement ones – no fear or panic at all!
A final test came when we had a tour of historic Boston and ended up having to walk (yes walk) across the bridge over the Charles River. No problem I thought as I started across it with my husband and hundreds of other people. Then I came to a part of the bridge that is constructed of open metal woven plates… the kind of thing you have on fire escape steps… the kind you can see though and actually view what is below them! I paused momentarily and took a deep breath. Would I have to stop the flow of people by standing there and tapping on this new aspect? I took another deep breath and just took hold of my husband’s hand and walked across. Now I know that my bridge fear has gone. If I could do that, knowing that the river was in view beneath me, then I can cross any bridge.
How many things in our lives I wonder are helped by unconsciously borrowing benefits? We know how well borrowing benefits works in a controlled environment, sitting and tapping and saying the words for the volunteer and finding our own issues lessen or disappear completely but my bridge fear shows that it works even when we are not thinking about an issue we have or had.
Thank you EFT for helping without even conscious thought on my part!
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