EFT Tapping: What it is and how you can use it

EFT Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique) is a practice which combines the treatment of the physical and emotional aspects of an individual. By tapping on specific acupressure points around the body while at the same time thinking about a specific issue that needs resolving, it can help release negative emotional energies which are stuck in the subconscious.

EFT is similar to acupuncture, but uses the tapping of fingertips instead of the insertion of needles. Every time you tap on a meridian point, while going through the tapping process and focusing on the challenge you’re dealing with, you are sending a calming signal to your brain that is rewiring it.

The combination of tapping on the various acupressure points while at the same time saying positive affirmations helps to clear the emotional barrier. Furthermore, it restores the mind-body balance necessary for optimal health. EFT works by clearing blockages within the energy system of the body optimising mental and physical health.

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“You don’t have to solve it, only evolve it!” Silvia Hartmann

What does EFT treat?

EFT treats a wide variety of disorders such as:

emotional problems,
self-sabotaging beliefs,
anxiety,
pain-management,
weight loss,
body image,
grief,
addictions,
phobias,
and many more …..!

It is important to remember that when dealing with pain management, pain is the body’s indication that something is wrong. EFT tapping won’t get rid of physical pain entirely, but it will remove the psychological aspects of pain such as the fear of the pain worsening, spreading, resulting in chronic disability or death. We know that pain with a positive outcome is felt differently in the body to pain with a negative outcome. When tapping to reduce pain, try and focus on the psychological elements that affect the pain as well as the pain itself.

DIY tapping

EFT tapping is a simple, effective and fast-acting strategy to use and is ideal if you want to try and overcome problems yourself. Sometimes you may have a problem which requires professional assistance, but why not give EFT tapping a try first and see how you get on? EFT is safe to use and is an easy and accessible self-help tool.

Using weight loss as an example, tapping deals with the emotional issues behind the eating. It can help to diffuse the emotional pull of food cravings. It can help realign your sense of self-worth, improve your body image, encourage exercise and help you quickly and easily achieve your goals to safely and permanently achieve your ideal weight.

The fight and flight response

When we think of something stressful, we feel the tension in our body. When that happens, we initiate the fight or flight response. These tensions can build up in our bodies because we’re not doing something with the response. Often, we don’t go running away from the danger, or towards our prey anymore. It is more likely that we stay seated at a desk while we ruminate over the injustice that has just happened to us. The hormones that are designed to help us survive stay trapped within our bodies and create an acidic environment which can lead to long-term physical and emotional health problems.

When we use EFT tapping, we reprogramme the flight and fight response by focusing on the issue, doing the tapping and diffusing the emotion that is being held in our body.

The steps to EFT tapping freedom

Identify the problem – cravings, fear of failure, financial stress, anxiety, addiction, phobia, self-sabotaging beliefs …
Write down the negative and positive versions of your problem.
How does it feel in your body, where do you feel it? The more specific you can be the better. Give it a number between 0-10. 0 means it has no effect on you, 10 means it has a strongly negative impact on you.
Feel the stress and ask yourself, what is this really about?
You will start tapping on the issue that holds the highest value for you first. If they all have the same values just pick the first one as they will all need working through.
Start by tapping on the karate chop point of one of your hands while saying your set up phrase: “Even though I [state your problem here] I love and accept myself.”
Repeat this phrase 3 times while tapping continuously on the karate chop point.
Next tap the area just above the middle of one of your eyebrows: “Even though I [state your problem] I love and accept myself.”
Next tap on each of the following points saying a shortened version of your statement: “I could try harder”, “I think I’m lazy”, “I don’t like how I look”, “I get angry quickly” etc.
You can vary the phrase slightly saying something like “I could make more effort”, “I want to tone up and slim down”, “I’m not as calm as I’d like to be” etc.
Remember to stay focused on the memory or feeling while you are doing the tapping. This is the most important aspect of EFT tapping. You absolutely need to associate to your internal experience of the memory while you are tapping.

The remaining tapping points:

Outside side of the eye: Statement
Under the eye (in the middle just under the curve of the lower eyelid): Statement
Under the nose (tap in the philrum / groove): Statement
On the bottom of the chin: Statement
Just below the knobs of the collarbone: Statement
Under the arm (on a man it is in line with the nipple, on a woman it is in line with the bra strap: Statement
Top of the head: Statement

Take a deep breath in through your nose, hold it a few seconds, then release gently through your mouth.

Do a second round of tapping, similar to how you did the first.

Review your progress

After the second round of tapping say the full statement again which was causing you pain. Score the strength you feel it has now between 0 and 10. Has it gone down? Has it gone up? If the number goes up after a round of tapping instead of down, just stick with it. It means you’ve honed in to something that is probably deeper than you originally thought. Did anything else come to mind while you were tapping? If so, you might want to add that to your list to treat with EFT.

After each round of tapping, reassess how you’re feeling. Ideally you will have brought the intensity of the memory down to below 5. If you still rate the intensity above 5, go ahead and do another round of tapping. If you continue to feel stuck above a 5, you may need to re-word the memory or focus more on the negative experience that is causing you unease to make it more effective.

Once you have brought the intensity down to between 0 and 5 you can reinforce the tapping with a positive statement.

“I choose to believe I can achieve XYZ, because I am worthy.”
“XYZ is what I deserve, because I do my best.”
“I will achieve my ideal weight, because I now release the emotional pain I was holding onto.”
“I allow myself to believe I can achieve XYZ.”

Second round

Once you have completed one round of positive statements, take a long slow deep breath in through your nose. Hold it for a few seconds then release it through the mouth.

Do a second round of positive statements, similar to how you just did them.

Repeat the original statement that was causing you the problem. If the tapping has worked, you will be scoring between 0-3 on the arousal the phrase now causes you.

Begin to work through the remaining phrases in the same manner that are causing you problems in your life.

It’s good practice to review this exercise after a few days, just to make sure that the negative emotion really has been removed for good. Repeat the entire process with your highest scoring phrase just to check that it’s still within the 0-3 mark.

“Our beliefs control our bodies, our minds, and thus our lives…” Bruce Lipton

Where and how to tap

It’s important to tap on the areas as shown in the image above, but don’t be concerned about being super precise. By using several fingers, you can ensure that the right spot is treated. I tend to use all four finger tips on larger areas and then my index and middle fingertips for smaller areas such as on the face.

Unless you have long nails, tap with your fingertips as we have acupressure meridians on the fingertips themselves. If you have long nails just use the flats of the top of the fingers.

When you’re tapping, use a firm, but not heavy tap and you want to tap continuously while you are saying each phrase on each point. You’ll tap between 7-10 times on each point during each round.

You can tap on either side of the body or on both sides simultaneously if you so choose.

“Physicists abandoned their belief in a Newtonian, material universe because they had come to realize that the universe is not made of matter suspended in empty space but energy.” Bruce Lipton

What happens when we tap

Essentially when we remember something that causes us distress, it fires up the amygdala which is a small area of the brain associated with the fight and flight response. When we tap on the acupressure points, the taps serve to decrease the arousal in the amygdala that was associated with the traumatic memory by disrupting the energy surrounding the negative memory. Afterwards, the traumatic memory can be accessed without the negative emotions.

When you think about it, everything in our existence is made up of energy. We are a swirling mass of energy, the wind is energy, light is energy, sound is energy. That’s why it’s important to put out positive thoughts instead of negative thoughts when we go about our daily lives, as our thoughts are also energy. And the laws of physics state that like attracts like. If we want positivity to come back to us, we need to be sending it out there in the first place. EFT tapping helps to disrupt negative energy which means we can replace it with positive energy. That’s why it’s important to tap on positive statements once the negative elements of the memory have been diluted sufficiently.

“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” Nikola Tesla

There is further scientific research that needs to be done to demonstrate clearly why the tapping clears the distress to convince the traditional medical community. But there is no denying the tremendous work which has already taken place.

Simply put, EFT tapping works. It’s been used on myriad emotional and physical issues. EFT tapping is fast, effective and long-lasting.

My personal tapping story

Personally I was sceptical about EFT tapping when I first qualified as a psychotherapist. However, I am now convinced that all of us who run therapeutic practices should be using this tremendous tool. I believe in it so wholeheartedly that if we were to teach self-care with EFT tapping in schools, we would probably put ourselves out of business as therapists.

The first time I used EFT tapping I had developed joint pain around my body. I think it was in response to an emotionally traumatic experience I went through. The day after the event I woke up with terrible pain in my hips. Over the course of the day the pain spread up into my neck and into one of my ankles. A week or two later, when the pain hadn’t subsided despite stretching and light exercising I decided to try EFT tapping. I completed three rounds of tapping, focussing on the pain and the memory that I believe was attached to me developing the pain.

I was so engrossed in my EFT tapping rounds that I suddenly realised I was going to be late to collect my children from school. It was while I was driving that I realised that the pain in my neck was no longer there! What’s more, when I stepped out of the car my hips were moving freely without any of the previous pain I was suffering. I was amazed and relieved that in such a short space of time I had almost magically cured my aching joints.

My set-up statements

While I was tapping I was focussing on the pain in my joints as well as the emotions I experienced during the traumatic event. My set up phrases were something along the lines of:

“Even though I have this pain in my joints, I love and accept myself.”
“I may feel hurt and disappointed, but I love and accept myself.”
“Even though my trust was broken, I love and accept myself.”
“I feel inflammation in my joints and my psyche, yet I wholeheartedly love and accept myself.”
“Even though I was shocked and afraid, I love and accept myself.”

“She also realized that there must be something to this tapping since today was the first day in a long time that she felt hopeful and flooded with new ideas. “With love, light, laughter, and with ease.” Tessa Cason

EFT Tapping Works

There is no denying that EFT tapping works. What’s more it works quickly and effectively and it’s effects are long-lasting. It’s easy to learn and to use at home as a DIY treatment. There will be some occasions when you will need the help of a qualified therapist. So, for any issue that you know brings up a lot of trauma and emotion for you approach an EFT practitioner to get help with resolving your problems.

For less problematic issues, give it a try. You have nothing to lose. Apart from the very small risk of possibly poking yourself in the eye while you are tapping around it, there is no harm that you can do to yourself. I am continuously amazed at the success stories I hear of EFT tapping and can wholeheartedly recommend it.

Do you have any experiences of EFT tapping which you could share with me?

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