This is something I dealt with in the beginning of my EFT journey as well.
I would get triggered in real life scenarios, but when I was asked in a therapy session how I felt about XYZ I had no emotional response whatsoever. Couldn't feel anything.
I've since also worked with quite a few clients who've had the same challenge since then and have they have gotten great results after initial struggle.
So you're not alone this and there are solutions available.
A few things can be going on here. One is that you’re not vividly imagining what can be going on.
Some simple instructions (really vividly image being in the situation again, step into your younger self's shoes, see what you saw, notice the details, the expressions on the faces, the look in the eyes, hear the sounds, tune into what you felt) can remedy this.
But this is less commonly the case when you can't feel the feelings. Though try this first!
It is more likely that your subconscious has switched off your awareness of your feeling in order to keep you safe and protect you from the enduring emotional pain.
This is what was the case for me.
I had experienced a lot of trauma for a long time, and my subconscious had shut off the ability to access my feelings about the past.
It took some persistent inner work of get back to feeling my feelings and emotions again.
And it’s been SO WORTH IT!
When you are disconnected from your feelings like you describe, I don't recommend working with the Social Confidence System alone.
You really want to get some proper help, and I highly suggest working with a therapist.
Check out this very empowering podcast interview with EFT Master Sophia Cayer on the benefits of working with a great therapist.
Contrary to what you might believe, change does not have to be painful, and you can get results quite quickly. A first session you'll already experience huge relief.
And in time you'll feel so much better it's beyond words to describe.
Trust me on this one, I wouldn't be anywhere close to where I'm at to day if I hadn't worked with the many experts who have guided me.
Me suggesting you work with a therapist might not be what you like to hear, but working with an expert alongside doing the tapping work and other energy psychology techniques will give you the best possible results.
I wouldn’t be where I am if I hadn’t worked with my coach. Aside from being free of anxiety, my life has improved on so many other levels, it’s beyond description the benefit I have gotten from getting outside help.
There’s this ridiculous stigma on working with a therapist, but there’s tremendous value in it.
I strongly recommend listening to the advice of psychotherapist, supervisor of therapists, and my supervisor, Dr David Lake, on this podcast show:
If you absolutely cannot do that for whatever reason, you may experience some success by using the trauma buster technique on all your memories.
Additionally, there are a few other techniques I recommend looking into.
There’s Matrix Re-imprinting (you would do this with a practitioner, not by yourself) which is an advanced form of EFT which combines Neuro Linguistic Programming and Inner Child work.
I have been using this for years and have benefited from this both personally and have used it successfully in my coaching.
Matrix Re-Imprinting is a tool that can be used for people that have their emotions numbed, like you say you experience.
Additionally, there’s a variety of other energetic healing tools I benefited from which I recommend checking out.
One is called "the Emotion Code”, another one called “PSYCH-K”, another one called TAT, and another one called “Logosynthesis”.
These are all very powerful healing techniques too, I use them in my own coaching nearly every session, I have benefited from these tremendously, and they can be very helpful to you too.