Ritualized Handwashing often becomes compulsive as it functions as a magical personal spell against perceived contagions. A sense of control is provided by a behavior that functions as a sedative for anxiety. Since different aspects of the perceiving mind are at odds with one another – one aspect repeating the compulsion and another at the same time knowing that it is fictitious and magical, EFT tapping on those opposiites reveals and exposes the polarities. Clearing and identifying the anxiety, ritual and sensation in the body often results in freedom from the self-enforced captivity.

All of us have contradictory thoughts that coexist within our minds and cognitive structures. We often hold two opposite ideas simultaneously and that internal conflict leaves us confused and anxious.

For example, a person may at the same time long for approval from others and also know that ultimate approval comes from a sense of inner belonging, what some would call a sense of being loved by God. By tapping on these opposites we not only expose the contradicting cognitive structures but more importantly the emotions attached to them.

Once the opposites are exposed and the tapping activates our energy to sedate the limbic system, we feel much calmer, more accepting of our internal contradictions. We develop a clarity about them and then, at the best, move back toward the origins of the convictions. These are most usually tied to narratives from our past experience that we have internalized; the stories have defined us. Clearing a story of its emotional charge allows us to view our own stories in a more objective way, as an observer who recognizes having chapters in a biography. This work reduces the sense of conflict realized in opposites that used to upset and unsettle us.