Tapping for Stress Due To Isolation And Loneliness

We're talking about different stresses right now. And the stress of isolation can be really powerful. When you feel alone or unsupported, that can be incredibly stressful, even if it's a small thing that someone wrote in and said, I feel like there's no one to support me in the evenings to help me watch my kids. I just feel like I have to do it all by myself. And that can be really powerful. And there are some things you can do to help ease that isolation and reduce the stress you're feeling. This is Rick Wilkes, and I'm Kathy.

Bartulli from thrivingnow.com Our primitive brain wasn't designed to have to do everything on our own. We're capable of doing it as a survival mechanism for a period of time, but it starts activating feelings inside the body. And one of the essences of tapping that I like is that we can speak a truth of how it feels to us. Notice where we feel it in our body, and also choose a direction for our energy toward acceptance, toward loving ourselves, toward being open to change. A lot of times when people have been isolated for a long time, there's a safety aspect to it, too, that, you know, people have been let down. People have let all of us down.

In some way and different.

And sometimes in really big ways, really painful ways, sometimes even in abusive ways.

There's also different people. We don't want to shame anyone. There are different people have different amounts of need to be around other people. And sometimes we look at other people or what society says and should on ourselves. So it's okay to tune into yourself and say, hey, I need an hour with people, but I don't need to spend a full day right now. Whatever. Your needs are okay and valid. So if you're feeling really alone, just tune into that. And sometimes we kind of get numb to these feelings. So we always encourage you to tap along at least once and just see if it resonates for you. And feel your feet on the floor. Take a nice, slow, deep breath. And as Rick said, notice where in your body. If you think about being lonely or isolated, tune into your body and notice where you feel it. I often feel kind of a tension around my heart or my shoulders and neck get kind of stiff.

I feel it up in my throat as I'm remembering times when I felt more isolated and alone. And sometimes that can be even when you're surrounded by family or friends or people. So whether you're feeling it actively, strongly right now, or it's something from your past that feels Big. If you tune to it, just touch on it, that feeling, and notice where it is in your body and give it a. A number. 0 to 10.

0 being no intensity, 10 being very intense.

Yeah. And that's useful. It gets your analytical brain involved and it also just gives you a sense of the scale of it. Sometimes we feel. I feel so alone. And it's a six. And that's useful to know. This is six.

And it's useful to know too. Like as you do the work, is it dropping off? Sometimes things get a little more intense when you first look at them. Because if you've worn tight, the analogy I use, you've worn tight shoes all day, your feet get kind of numb. After a while, you take the shoes off, the blood flow returns and it initially hurts more. But you don't want to put the shoes back on. You just, you want to keep going, moving through it. But monitoring that, the way it's flowing gives you some feedback. So wherever you're feeling it, just tune in and notice it. And one thing I like to do is send love to that part of me. A lot of us feel deeply ashamed and feel like we shouldn't feel this way. There's something wrong with us. We tell ourselves stories about that. And when you're writing this down, you're writing down, I'm feeling this tension in my heart or this, you know, feeling in my throat. It's a six today. What am I telling? What is the mind chatter about it? Oh, if I was really lovable, I would have people around me or I must be a horrible person. Whatever it is, write that down too and just be with it for a minute. Imagine sending love to that part of you, the part of you that believes that. Because Rick and I talk about hamsters, sometimes there's part of our primitive brain believes something because at the time it's the most logical explanation. And sometimes we made these decisions when we were very small. Either our parent or someone else said them to us, or we just came up with this explanation to explain what might have been just simply overwhelmed parents or, or things that aren't actually true about us, just the situation we were in. And we generalized because we're little kids and we didn't know any better. So just noticing that part of you is holding that message from a long time ago. And I like to just close my eyes and imagine sending love to that part of me.

Just take a moment to do that.

It's like, hey, sweetheart, I hear you. I understand that you feel that way. And I'm right here with you now.

Wanting support, connection.

Yeah. Then take a nice deep breath. Let's do some tapping for that. Karate Tap. Even though I'm feeling stressed Even though I'm feeling stressed because I feel alone.

Because I feel alone.

And I feel it in this part of my body.

And I feel it in this part of my body.

And I think that I'm not lovable.

And I think that I'm not lovable.

I choose to be here with me now.

I choose to be here with me now.

And I choose to send love to that part of me.

And I choose to send love to that part of me.

Top of the head. I do feel stressed.

I do feel stressed.

Eyebrow. I'm not getting my social needs met.

I'm not getting my social needs met.

Side of the eye. I don't feel supported.

I I don't feel supported.

Under the eye. And I can support myself right now.

And I can support myself right now.

Under the nose and calm myself.

And calm myself.

Chin. So I can make good decisions about what I do next.

So I can make good decisions about what to do next.

Palabone. It's okay to soothe myself.

It's okay to soothe myself.

Under the arm. It's okay to love myself.

It's okay to love myself too.

Top of the head. And I choose to be here, loving me right now.

And I choose to be here, loving me right now.

Nice, slow, deep breath. If you have trouble saying you love yourself right now, it's okay. I had to start out with, I kind of am willing to try.

I'm kind of willing to try to possibly someday love myself, maybe.

Except I might be, and it's all right, it's fine. Whatever you can say that's in the positive direction. Even I might be willing to understand where this came from, or I might be willing to be kind to myself, no matter why I'm feeling this way. Some positive direction on that will help you start moving in the direction you want to go. It took me, I think, six months before I could say I was willing to love myself, but it's been a really powerful shift. So be gentle with yourself if that's where you are, and tune back in and notice where the stress level is for you on this. How intense is that feeling, either in your heart or wherever part of your.

Body, and know that it doesn't have to go to a zero. Our being responds to a trend and a baby step in the direction of self. Love and self appreciation activates energies that are able to connect with others too. And are able to feel connected even when we're in solitude.

Yeah, let's come back and shoot a video on about having to get to zero right away.

Yeah, let's do that.

Thanks. Please leave comments below.