Finding Your Center Through Crisis: How Tapping Transformed a Cancer Diagnosis into a Journey of Self-Discovery

I recently received this beautiful testimonial from a woman named Pia that I wanted to share with you:

“After a cancer diagnosis in 2023, tapping was my lifeline. It helped me deal with my fear, trust myself and life, and stay strong. Thanks to Tapping and Meditation, I am healthy and have never been as close to myself as I am now. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the tapping app”

Pia, thank you for sharing your powerful journey with us. First, I want to acknowledge your courage—not just in facing cancer, but in doing the inner work to transform a frightening experience into a pathway to deeper self-connection.

Your story beautifully illustrates something I’ve witnessed repeatedly over the years: our greatest challenges often become our most profound teachers when we have the right tools to process them.

Health crises, especially something as significant as cancer, create a unique kind of emotional earthquake. In an instant, everything shifts. The ground you thought was stable suddenly isn’t. Plans you had confidently made now come with question marks. And perhaps most challenging of all, the body you’ve relied on feels like it’s sending you alarming signals rather than supporting you.

Yet within this upheaval, you found something remarkable—a path to being “closer to yourself” than ever before. This transformation isn’t just inspiring; it reveals something profound about how our brains and bodies process crises, and how tools like Tapping can help us navigate even the most challenging terrain.

Let’s explore both the science behind what you experienced and how others facing health challenges (or any significant life disruption) might find similar resilience and self-connection.

The Brain on Crisis: Why Cancer Diagnoses Trigger Our Deepest Fears

When someone receives a cancer diagnosis, it’s not just the medical information the brain processes—it’s an entire cascade of survival-level responses that ripple through the nervous system.

The Survival Brain Takes Over

Our brains are wired to protect us. When faced with a threat—and make no mistake, your brain categorizes a cancer diagnosis as a major threat—your nervous system immediately shifts into a heightened state of alertness. This activation of your sympathetic nervous system (the “fight-or-flight” response) floods your body with stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.

In this state, several key things happen:

• Your thinking narrows, focusing primarily on threats and dangers
• Future planning becomes difficult as your brain prioritizes immediate survival
• Your perception of time changes, with the future feeling uncertain or unavailable
• Your body diverts resources away from restoration and healing
• The emotional centers of your brain become hyperactive

This state is perfectly designed for dealing with immediate physical dangers—like escaping a predator. But for processing a complex health challenge that requires clear thinking, emotional resilience, and a balanced perspective? It’s exactly the opposite of what you need.

The Emotional Tsunami

Beyond the survival response, a cancer diagnosis often triggers what I call an “emotional tsunami”—waves of fear, grief, anger, and confusion that can feel overwhelming. Each of these emotions serves a purpose, but when they all arrive at once, they can be paralyzing.

These emotions aren’t just “in your head” either. Your body physically responds to them—tension in your muscles, changes in your breathing, disruptions to your sleep and digestion. This creates a feedback loop where physical symptoms increase emotional distress, which in turn intensifies physical symptoms.

This is where Tapping becomes such a powerful ally—it directly addresses both the activated nervous system and the emotional processing that needs to happen.

How Tapping Rewires the Crisis Response

Pia mentioned that Tapping helped her “deal with fear” and “trust herself and life.” This transformation isn’t magical—it’s actually how our nervous systems are designed to function when given the right tools.

Breaking the Panic Cycle

When you tap on the acupressure points while focusing on your fears about cancer, several remarkable things happen simultaneously:

1. Your amygdala (the brain’s alarm center) begins to calm down – Research shows that stimulating these specific points while processing emotional content reduces activity in the brain’s fear center
2. Your cortisol levels start to decrease – Studies have demonstrated that Tapping sessions can reduce cortisol (the stress hormone) by 24% or more in a single session
3. Your body sends “safety signals” that counteract the fear response – The sensory input from Tapping helps shift your nervous system from sympathetic (fight-or-flight) to parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) activation
4. The emotional processing centers of your brain activate – Allowing you to process fear rather than be consumed by it

“Your emotions aren’t just ‘in your head’ — your body physically responds to them, creating a feedback loop where physical symptoms increase emotional distress.”

Pia described Tapping as her “lifeline.” This is quite a common experience, because Tapping literally creates a physiological state where thinking clearly, feeling emotions without being overwhelmed by them, and making conscious choices becomes possible again.

Connecting with Your Core Self

Perhaps most fascinating is Pia’s observation that she’s “never been as close to herself” as she is now. This profound shift happens because crisis, when processed effectively, can strip away layers of conditioning and defense mechanisms that often separate us from our authentic core.

When we face mortality directly, many of our everyday concerns and social masks suddenly seem less important. The questions become more fundamental: What truly matters to me? What do I value? How do I want to live the life I have?

Tapping supports this journey by:

• Creating a physiological state where deeper insights can emerge
• Providing a framework for acknowledging difficult emotions without being defined by them
• Helping release old limiting beliefs that may have been operating unconsciously
• Building a stronger connection between mind and body

A Tapping Sequence for Processing Health Challenges

If you’re facing a health diagnosis or other significant life challenge, this Tapping sequence can help you begin processing the emotional impact while supporting your nervous system.

Take a deep breath and check in with yourself. How does your body feel now? Has your emotional state shifted at all? Continue tapping if you feel called to.

The “Both/And” Mindset to Health Challenges

One concept that I’ve found particularly helpful for navigating health crises is the “Both/And” mindset. This framework acknowledges that seemingly contradictory experiences can coexist, especially during challenging times.

With a health diagnosis, you can be:

• Both scared about the future AND present with each day as it comes
• Both trusting your medical team AND honoring your own intuition
• Both acknowledging the reality of your diagnosis AND not defining yourself by it
• Both processing difficult emotions AND cultivating moments of joy and gratitude
• Both taking care of your physical needs AND attending to your emotional well-being

This “Both/And” mindset creates a more spacious place from which to navigate complex challenges. Rather than feeling torn between opposing approaches, you can integrate multiple truths and find your own balanced path forward.

Tapping supports this integration by creating a physiological state where nuance and complexity can be held without overwhelm.

The Unexpected Gift: Finding Yourself Through Crisis

“Crisis often accelerates self-discovery in ways that might have taken decades otherwise.”

Pia’s experience of becoming “closer to herself” through her cancer journey reflects something I’ve witnessed with many clients: crisis often accelerates self-discovery in ways that might have taken decades otherwise.

There’s actually a term for this phenomenon—post-traumatic growth—which describes the positive psychological changes that can emerge from struggling with highly challenging life circumstances.

While no one would choose to have cancer or another serious illness, when we have tools like Tapping to process the experience, these challenges can become powerful catalysts for:

1. Deeper self-knowledge – Understanding your true priorities, values, and boundaries
2. Authentic relationships – Recognizing who truly supports you and learning to connect more genuinely
3. Expanded perspective – Seeing life with new appreciation for what truly matters
4. Increased personal strength – Discovering resilience you didn’t know you had
5. Spiritual development – Connecting with larger questions of meaning and purpose

Practical Steps for Cultivating Self-Connection Through Health Challenges

If you’re navigating a health crisis or supporting someone who is, here are some practical ways to use Tapping and other practices to foster deeper self-connection:

1. Create a Daily Emotional Check-In Practice

Take 5-10 minutes each day to sit quietly and ask yourself: “What am I feeling right now?” Without judgment, notice what emotions are present. Use Tapping to process whatever arises, especially the difficult emotions that might otherwise be pushed aside.

2. Tap on Mixed Feelings

Often during health challenges, we experience conflicting emotions simultaneously—gratitude alongside fear, hope tangled with worry. Instead of trying to “pick one,” use Tapping to acknowledge this complexity:

3. Listen to Your Body’s Wisdom

Our bodies often communicate through sensations, not just symptoms. Take time each day to scan your body and notice where you’re holding tension, where you feel open and relaxed, and what sensations arise when you think about your situation.

Use this simple Tapping sequence to strengthen this connection:

4. Use the “Fear to Freedom” Journaling Technique

This powerful journaling method pairs perfectly with Tapping:

1. Write down your biggest fear about your health situation
2. Tap through a full round focusing on that fear
3. Then write a new entry beginning with: “What I really want is…”
4. Tap through a round focusing on this desire
5. Finally, write: “One small step I can take today is…”

This process helps transform fear-based thinking into aligned action, even in challenging circumstances.

5. Practice Presence Through Sensory Awareness

When anxiety about the future becomes overwhelming, use this grounding technique:

• Notice 5 things you can see
• Acknowledge 4 things you can touch
• Listen for 3 sounds in your environment
• Identify 2 things you can smell (or like to smell)
• Note 1 thing you can taste

We even have a Tapping meditation that pairs with this technique in The Tapping Solution App. Search for “Anxiety Relief: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Method” in the app to give it a try.

The Community Factor: You Are Not Alone

One element that strikes me about Pia’s story is how she reached out to share her experience—extending a hand to others who might be walking a similar path. This impulse to connect reflects another powerful aspect of healing: community.

While your journey with illness may feel deeply personal—and in many ways it is—you don’t have to navigate it alone. Research consistently shows that social connection improves health outcomes and emotional resilience during medical challenges.

Consider:

• Joining a support group (in-person or online) specific to your health condition
• Sharing your Tapping journey with at least one trusted friend or family member
• Connecting with a certified EFT practitioner who specializes in health challenges
• Participating in community Tapping events or challenges
• Join our Tapping Solution App Facebook Group and share your experiences with like-minded individuals

Even if you’re someone who typically processes things privately, allowing others to witness parts of your journey can create unexpected pathways for healing and connection.

Embracing Your Whole Self: The Journey Forward

“Our wholeness includes everything — our fears and our courage, our pain and our joy, our wounds and our healing.”

What moves me most about Pia’s testimonial is her recognition that through this challenging journey, she’s discovered a deeper relationship with herself. This isn’t despite the cancer diagnosis—in many ways, it’s because of how she chose to move through it, using tools like Tapping to process her experience fully.

This speaks to a profound truth: our wholeness includes everything—our fears and our courage, our pain and our joy, our wounds and our healing. When we use Tapping to create enough internal safety to embrace all these parts, we discover that we are so much more than any diagnosis, challenge, or limitation.

As you move forward on your own journey—whether that involves health challenges or other life transitions—I invite you to remember Pia’s words about being “closer to herself.” This connection to your authentic core is available to you too, especially in the moments that seem most challenging.

Resources for Your Journey

If you’re navigating a health challenge or simply want to deepen your connection with yourself through Tapping, these resources might be helpful:

• The Tapping Solution App – Includes specific meditations for health challenges, fear and anxiety, trust, and self-connection. Try these specific sessions:
  • I’m Stressed About My Health – When we tap to release stress, it allows the body to heal, come into balance, and feel better. As you relax, you are able to tune in to your intuition to make the best decisions for yourself.
  • Gratitude for My Physical Body – Come tap along to cultivate greater gratitude and appreciation for your physical body, which in turn helps it heal and thrive.
  • Cancer Support Collection – These 2 min long Quick Taps are designed to support anyone on their cancer journey to find comfort and strength. These short and soothing sessions will help you prepare for treatment, ease symptoms, empower your body’s natural defenses, and more.
  • 6 Day Inner Peace and Power Challenge – Experience a deep sense of inner peace and tap into the limitless power within you with this 6 Day Challenge, led by Iyanla Vanzant. Each day, we’ll explore a different “I am” statement, helping you reclaim your truest, most peaceful and powerful self.
• The Tapping Solution for Pain Relief – While focused on pain symptoms, this book contains valuable insights for anyone dealing with health challenges.
• Find a Certified EFT Practitioner – For personalized support, especially for complex health situations

Note: You can access the App meditations listed by clicking the links above using your mobile device, or type the name of the meditation into The Tapping Solution App’s search function.

Have you found that challenging life experiences have ultimately brought you closer to yourself? Or are you currently navigating a health situation where you could use more support? I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments below.

Until next time… Keep Tapping!
Nick Ortner