Tap it out
Today, I’m talking about EFT, which is short for Emotional Freedom Technique. It’s often called “tapping” because you literally tap on specific acupressure points on your head, face, and body as a means of interrupting negative emotional patterns.
This particular “fix” can sound a bit “woo-woo”, but there is strong science behind it. Dozens of clinical, scientific trials have shown that EFT Tapping is able to rapidly reduce emotional distress. Numerous clinical trials have proven that tapping is effective at treating anxiety, depression, and more.
A lot of what we experience as anxiety is a freaked-out amygdala, that is releasing fight-or-flight hormones into your system. Tapping on the acupressure spots on the head and body with two fingers disrupts the stress response. In addition, it basically triggers your body’s relaxation responses, almost like flipping an on/off switch.
EFT tapping is done as a combination of physical tapping and speaking aloud the issues you are having. The standard construction of the statements goes something like this: “Even though . . . [fill in with what is wrong] . . ., I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
Throughout a tapping exercise, you state the things that you are worried about, and then choose to accept and love yourself anyway. There are additional versions of tapping where you state positive aspirations, but for the purposes of busting anxiety, the traditional construction is probably best.
The places that you tap are:
the side of your hand (the “karate chop” spot)
the crown of your head
the inside of your eyebrow
the temple
below the center of the eye (bottom of the eye socket)
the center of your upper lip, below your nose (mustache spot)
just under the center of your bottom lip
on your collarbone toward the center
under your arm, roughly where your bra strap would sit
Tapping can be used for a variety of purposes, but we are going to stick with lessening anxiety.
One of the best ways to get started is to follow along with someone who knows what they are doing. I recommend Brad Yates, who is a recognized leader in the field. Here is a brief tapping session he did about fear during coronavirus:
Or try my friend, Heidi Behr, a certified social worker and psychotherapist in Florida who uses tapping as part of her regular practice. She has posted quite a few videos on common fears during the pandemic, including financial fears, guilt over feeling okay, and more. You can find her channel here.
It’s okay if you feel a little silly when you first start. Just hang in there and you will find that there is power in acknowledging what you are feeling, and loving yourself anyway.
I’d love to hear if you give this try, and how it works for you.
For other techniques and tactics to help reduce your feelings of anxiousness or dis-ease, you can page through the (many) posts here about lowering your anxiety. I have also collected up these blog posts in book form if you prefer to read from paper. You can purchase the e-book here.
