Understanding Psychological Reversals

In life, there is a phenomenon called psychological reversal, which is a subconscious condition of self-sabotage. This term was coined by Roger Callahan, the psychologist who developed Thought Field Therapy (TFT) tapping techniques. He described it as a state that blocks positive results or the ability to feel happy. Essentially, it involves resistance to letting go of the more well-known and comfortably uncomfortable, lower-frequency emotions such as fear, depression, anger, guilt, shame, and others.

This may look like when you are doing something you genuinely want to do and making significant progress toward your goal, only to suddenly and inexplicably mess it up. It’s not someone else or some external force that messes it up. No, this is entirely of your own making. You build a thing up only to unconsciously tear it down. When this happens—and it happens to many people—you struggle to achieve lasting success or find it consistent success harder to reach and sustain. This is self-sabotage: fulfilling the subconscious belief or expectation that you don’t deserve happiness and that life should be hard and miserable—because, well, "look at my life so far."

On the flip side, when psychological reversal is no longer an issue, people tend to see themselves as "lucky," and maintaining feelings of happiness and success becomes much easier.

It may sound unbelievable to those who have never experienced this, but what’s seemingly more unbelievable is when someone is consciously aware of their unconscious actions! They can’t logically understand why they can’t stop.

I knew someone who did this. For many years, this person was fully aware of their self-sabotage. And I know because they told me about it. I believe it stemmed from a sense of not feeling worthy of success or deserving to be happy and have a good life. Subconsciously, this person viewed their own positives as uncomfortable and, as a result, unintentionally undid all progress made, thereby having to start over time and again.

So why bring this up? Ultimately, it’s about self-awareness and emotional reactions—how psychological and somatic experiences shape how we live and function. It makes me think of those who living in survival mode. In these situations, positive experiences or successes feel unfamiliar and unsettling because they break from the norm. The person then feels a compulsion to return to what’s familiar, because in survival mode the unknown is a scary place. After all, what if you do the thing and prove your fears were justified? Or worse, what if you prove your beliefs about yourself to be false?

This even happened to me when I was younger and I remember the exact moment. I didn’t date a lot, but I was always self-reflecting. I was staring at a guy I was dating: I was actively looking for things wrong with him. It was crazy! Nothing was wrong with him, and I knew it, but that didn’t stop my mind from telling me what I wanted to hear. So, of course, due to my years of growing self-awareness, I stopped that shit. (And we all know that when you go looking for problems, you tend to find them.)

Now, if you struggle to recognize certain behaviors and emotional reactions to take appropriate (for you) actions, what can you do to clear resistance to change or stop them completely? Here are a few things to try:

1. Find a qualified Quantum Alignment System (QAS) Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) practitioner to do an assessment and realign reversals 

2. Remind yourself that you are safe and everything is okay, no matter what happens. Breathe deeply and hold your hand over your heart chakra for several breaths while repeating the affirmation, “I am safe and everything is okay no matter what happens”. Repeat as often as needed.

3. Allow yourself to become aware of the emotions that arise. Welcome and accept them as part of who you are. Don’t see them as negatives. 

4. Consult a professional energy therapist or practitioner about muscle testing and psychological and energetic reversal clearing.

5. And finally, try grounding. Go outside and touch grass—walking or sitting or both.

When you can acknowledge and address unconscious patterns, you begin to break free from self-sabotage, and emotional suppression, and move toward a more balanced, successful, and fulfilling life.