I have a confession. I didn’t practice what I preach the other week.
Why I got that guilty feeling.
Mr Elvie (my handsome tabby cat) had a reaction to a de-worming treatment ( I had tried him on natural options such as Diatomaceous Earth but he really didn’t like it). It has happened before, and results in bald patches and weepy skin. I felt that some EFT tapping, aloe vera and coconut oil would be enough to sort it … and ignored my usual advice that I give to ALL of my clients of bringing him to the vet first and doing my healing work alongside the vets work.
No, I wanted to sort it all myself. It went well enough for a few days but after a week I had to hold up my hands and admit that I needed extra help, so I rang the vet and made an appointment. Then I started to feel really guilty.
The ‘shoulda, coulda, woulda’ syndrome.
Now, I help a lot of my pet owning clients with feelings of guilt – so often they wonder if they could have spotted symptoms earlier, should have done something differently, should have tried a different type of treatment. The list is endless.
Thus, I found myself in that awkwardly familiar territory that I help my clients through. I wondered why I hadn’t just gone straight to the vet. I wondered if Elvie’s discomfort could have been reduced better if I had. I wondered if I was a bad person and why I didn’t follow my own advice. I wondered what the vet would say and think.
The two steps I took to turn things around.
Thank goodness I was able to witness myself sliding into ‘guilt’ mode. Once I did I took two vital steps to turn things around.
The first thing I did was to give myself a good pep talk.
We all make mistakes and often we have good reasons for taking the actions that we do. Especially when it comes to our beloved furry ones, we really do intend to act in their best interests. Sometimes we need to be reminded of that because when things go wrong we start to second guess ourselves, analyse every little detail and beat ourselves up about every little thing we could have done wrong.
Take my situation. Initially I was perfectly happy about trying to sort it out at home, to save the stress of a vets visit and use my tools and skills. it seemed like a fine option. Yet when things didn’t work out then I started to feel guilty for not going to the vet straight away. It was only then I started to see myself as a ‘bad person’ and judging myself harshly.
The second thing that I did was to clear that horrible feeling of guilt. I knew it wasn’t useful or productive for me or for Elvie, so I used my favourite tool, EFT tapping, to release it. The tapping helps clear negative emotions quickly and effectively. It’s a godsend and I felt immediate relief and was able to look the vet in the eye without feeling like an absolutely horrible person for not coming sooner (and she was really good about it).
Once I’d done the tapping it was easier to see the bigger picture and remember why I initially took the path I chose. Like any of you, I’d done what I thought was best and I changed course quickly when it didn’t work. I did my best, which is all any of us can do. I know I never meant to cause him any discomfort, I just made a little mistake, it happens to the best of us and the best thing to do is to let it go and move on.
The Outcome.
Luckily, things worked out ok. With some treatment Elvie’s reaction did clear up pretty fast, even though he ended up having the wear an e-cone for a week while he healed up, which caused great upheaval in the house with the cat flap out of action and Elvie being very reluctant to use a litter tray (more on that in another post , lets just say I got to do more guilt tapping when he’d meow so plaintively at the door to get out and look at me with those big sad eyes).
If you have that guilty feeling, then try this.
Here’s an EFT tapping video that you can use if you want to clear feelings of guilt. All you have to do is think about the issue that has you feeling guilty and then follow along with what I do in the video. It’s really simple. Click here or on the image below to watch the video.
What do you think?
If you tried tapping along with the video I’d love to know how it went for you.
Did it help you clear those ‘shoulda, coulda, woulda’ feelings? Did it change how you felt about the situation?
Leave me a comment below this post and please share this post with those who will benefit from it.
Thank you,
Ferris.
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