What is EFT Tapping?
Have you been wondering, “What is this strange-looking therapeutic method where you tap on your face and body and talk to yourself?”
EFT, which stands for Emotional Freedom Techniques and is commonly known as Tapping, involves gently tapping on specific acupuncture points while focusing on and talking through specific emotions or a difficult story.
You are creating space to face the painful and uncomfortable feelings you’ve been avoiding, so you can safely process them, which can lead to greatly reduced emotional intensity.
EFT helps you stay present with a problem while learning to respond to it differently.
EFT Tapping is based on the principles of:
Traditonal Chinese Medicine
The tapping points used in EFT are the same points traditionally used in acupuncture. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, these points are located along pathways called meridians, which are believed to carry energy throughout the body. EFT incorporates these points by using gentle tapping rather than needles.
They were first mapped over 2000 years ago., and today, The Primo Vascular System has been proposed by some researchers as a possible anatomical basis for acupuncture meridians, and there are interesting studies on it.
Proven Psychological Methods
EFT uses the principles of modern psychology; specifically, the well-established therapies like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and exposure therapy.
Like CBT, EFT works with the thoughts, beliefs and interpretations we have about ourselves and our experiences.
Like exposure therapy, EFT involves gently bringing up a difficult memory, emotion or trigger while staying present and creating a sense of safety. This can help reduce the emotional intensity connected to that experience.
Science of
Neuroplasticity
The third piece behind EFT is neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to change and adapt based on our experiences.
Our brains are not fixed. Every thought we repeat, every emotion we practise, and every behaviour we do strengthens certain neural pathways.
When we create new responses to our past experiences, the brain can build new pathways and learn how to respond differently in the future.
Less emotional overwhelm. More freedom to choose.
Research and applications:
Over the past 30 years, EFT has helped hundreds of thousands of people resolve emotional issues, release trauma and negative beliefs, and even overcome health issues.
More than 200 clinical studies have been conducted that demonstrate the effectiveness of EFT.
Most of this research focuses on how Tapping helps reduce stress & anxiety, depression, and PTSD, while also supporting the finding that EFT can be highly effective for weight loss, yielding long-lasting results. However, EFT can help with a wide range of issues, including:
• Weight struggles, emotional eating, eating disorders, and lack of body acceptance
• Low self-esteem
• Anxiety and phobias
• Trauma and PTSD
• Addictions
• Tendency towards toxic relationships
• Limiting beliefs
• Panic attacks
• Depression and sadness
• Anger management
• Insomnia
• Pain management
• Serious illnesses
• Sports and other performance goals
• Relationship difficulties
Gary Craig, who developed the modern EFT approach, encouraged people to explore how the method could be applied to a wide range of personal concerns. Practitioners around the world continue to use EFT in many different contexts and report a variety of personal and client experiences.
One of the advantages of EFT is that the basic technique is relatively easy to learn. Once familiar with it, many people use it independently, but that does not mean you have to work through everything alone.
Although I have used EFT almost daily since 2015, my biggest breakthroughs usually came from working with another practitioner. Having someone guide the process can help you notice patterns, ask useful questions and stay with issues that may be difficult to approach on your own.