Emotional Freedom Tapping (EFT)

EFT has been found to be very helpful for relieving anxiety, depression, trauma, and stress. 

You may have heard of tapping to help relieve anxiety, that is what EFT is, tapping to relieve anxiety and stress.  Some people tap on their bodies naturally already to self soothe in some way. As the name suggests, it is designed to help you have freedom from your emotions, instead of your emotions controlling you.  It is similar to what acupuncture does for you, by utilizing meridian points in your body to restore balance to your body’s energy.  Meridian points, according to Chinese medicine, are areas of the body in which energy flows through.  By tapping on these meridian points, it is believed that it can clear the energy pathways so energy can flow and help to maintain health.  Imbalance in these points are believed to influence your body’s ability to cope with sickness or disease.  The tapping on these meridian points sends signals to the part of your brain that controls anxiety and stress.  People have reported that EFT helps them to create a balance in their energy system within their body. 

Not so sure that you believe in meridian points and the flow of energy in your body?  That is okay, EFT still can help.  It is more than just stimulating energy points, it establishes a routine that can be comforting, as well as providing a distraction.  The tapping in a routine way gives you something to concentrate on instead of sitting in your emotions which often makes them worse as it can create a spiral of emotions.  It can be especially helpful if you practice the technique when you are calm.  The more you do this, the more that your body will associate the tapping with feelings of calm.  Our body holds memories and reacts to those memories.  Such as smelling really good food can make you feel hungry, maybe even make your mouth water.  Your body has learned to associate the smell with good tasting food and reacts accordingly.  This can be done with EFT, as well as other anxiety relieving techniques.  In addition, it will help reinforce how to do it, so it is not a struggle to remember when you do find yourself needing it.

The Basic Steps for EFT – The sequence of the taps.  It is a good idea to wash your hands before beginning, and to find a safe and quiet place if possible. 

Tap a few times in each area, 5-10 is often the best for most people.

1. Top of the head

2. Eyebrows

3. Side of your eyes

4. Just below your eyes

5. Under Nose

6. Chin – between lower lip and chin

7. Beginning of Collarbone – slightly underneath the bone

8. Under Arm – upper side of torso, for woman it is often the middle of the bra strap on your side..      

9. Karate Chop – the area on the long side of your palm.  It is the center between the base of your pinky finger and wrist.

Repeat this sequence a few times until you feel calmer.  Remember, practicing when you are calm helps it be more effective when you need it.  Some prefer to start with the Karate Chop, that is fine, whatever works best for you is what is important.

Ready to take EFT to the next level?

Now it’s time to add in a thought process to your tapping.  This will help you really process the emotions, instead of just getting through the moment.

Steps for adding emotion to the tapping

1. Take Responsibility - Agree to take full responsibility for your own emotional health, your wellbeing.  By taking responsibility you are starting to take control of your emotions, instead of blaming others which isn’t helpful, as you can’t control others.

2. Identify a Focal Point - Acknowledge what is bothering you, whether it be an issue or a fear that you are having. and the intensity of the emotions associated with it. This will be your focal point while you are doing the tapping. Focusing on only one problem at a time is purported to enhance your outcome.  Focusing on too much can lead to being overwhelmed and anxious.

3. Put Focal Point into a few words - Take what feels bad in the moment, whether it be a thought, an uncomfortable feeling, or a body sensation you are not liking. Take that and put it into a few words.  For example – “I feel sad”, “I feel overwhelmed”, “I feel anxious”, “I feel uncomfortable in my body”, etc.

4. Rate the intensity - Measure the intensity of that feeling on a scale of 0 – 10, with 10 being the maximum.  Setting a benchmark of the intensity helps you to see your progress after you go through the EFT Sequence.    

5. Setup -  This means to tap on the side of your hand (Karate Chop) while saying those few words aloud in a phrase, such as “Even though I [focal point words], I deeply and completely accept myself”.  Do this, speaking while tapping, three times.  It is very important that you say the words aloud, not just think them.  You can alter the phrase to what works for you, however it is essential that you are focusing on you, not on someone else’s actions/behaviors/emotions.  Need to focus on how the problem makes you feel.

6. Sequence – Tap each of the spots in the Basic Steps above 7 times.  At the beginning of each location say your reminder phrase.  Your reminder phrase is the focal point you identified in step 2.  For example “The fear I feel about passing my test”.  Make sure your focal point matches the same issue as your Setup Phrase.  After tapping under your arms, return to the top of your head one more time.  Repeat the set up and sequence 2-3 times.

7. Evaluate – What is your current intensity at?  If it is lower, keep going until it gets as low as it will go.  If something else pops up now that is more intense then the initial issue, focus on that instead.  It is likely that the stronger issue is what is affecting the original issue and needs to be resolved first.  If your emotional intensity is still quite high, tap silently on each point until it reduces. 

8. Congratulate yourself – This is a great time to congratulate yourself while tapping on the Karate Chop position.  Do this a few times to help reinforce that you accomplished your goal.

Remember, this is an alternative treatment for anxiety and stress.  It does not replace therapy which can help get to the root of the issue and help you change your thought processes to reduce the discomfort from happening in the first place.  It is a good idea to talk to your therapist about what you have used EFT for to have it addressed on a cognitive level in addition to the energy level.