If I had to pick one word to describe the daily flow of our modern-day world, fast-paced would be a perfect choice. American people are always on the go. At times it feels like our culture is literally based around a perpetually busy schedule. Between the long-work hours, constant contact via technology, home-based chores and limited time for self-care, there is a lot of room for stress in our lives. Over the years there has been an ever-increasing amount of evidence that stress has a negative impact on our physical health and mental well-being. So what can we possibly do to reduce our stress load? A particularly promising option is the emotional freedom technique (EFT) also known as tapping. The tapping technique combines traditional Chinese acupressure and modern psychology into one quick, yet highly effective practice. For over 2,500 years, traditional Chinese medicine has utilized the meridian (or Ching-lo) system to remedy various imbalances and diseases through the practices of acupuncture and acupressure. The benefits of acupuncture are so consistently high that by 1980 the World Health Organization (WHO) deemed it an effective alternative treatment for over 43 diseases (1). An interesting thing to note here is even with science backing up efficiency of the meridian system we still don’t totally understand how and why it works. This occurrence is surprisingly common with ancient healing practices, we know it works yet the mechanisms of how mind boggles us. Anyways, tapping takes the concepts of the meridian system and acupuncture/acupressure and applies it in the home setting, needle free so we can reap the benefits anywhere, anytime for free. EFT seems to be effective in reducing psychological distress as well as easing physiological (aka chemistry-based) stress responses in the body. Specifically, tapping seems to reduce cortisol levels (3, 7), a key stress hormone which can cause health deterioration in the chronically stressed and/or the chronically miss-fed. The application of EFT goes well past day-to-day stress though. Multiple studies including a study conducted by Church et al. (2013) have found significant improvements in psychological distress amongst individuals suffering from PTSD. More and more studies are being conducted and showing that EFT may be effective in reducing symptoms of depression (I am talking potentially more effective than antidepressant drugs, 6), anxiety, pain & physical symptoms, phobias, weight loss, food cravings and addiction (4). This is really just the tip of the iceberg in regards to clinical and home application of tapping. Tapping literally takes already effective practices found within cognitive therapy and elevates them with the time-tested practice of acupressure stimulation to create a recipe for wellness that literally has the power to re-wire our brains and genetics (5)! Okay, now let’s tone down the frantic excitement and get to talking about the stuff that will actually make it applicable to daily life
Before we really get into the nitty-gritty of how tapping is done we first need to consider the meridian system it is derived from. The Standard International Acupuncture Nomenclature proposed by the WHO proposes that there are 14 main meridians and 8 additional meridians. Yet the true anatomic structure of these meridians are still unknown. In the language of modern science, the meridians can be explained as “the complex network of neurovascular bundles and their smaller branches, which connect internally with the viscera, and externally with the limbs and sensory organs.” In other words they are lines (lines which relate to the nervous system and blood vessels) along the external body (aka skin, limbs and top layers of muscle/tissue) which connect the deep internal organs to the external body. In traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture the nervous system and circulatory system are nearly inseparable (1). There are specific points along these meridian lines which act as a sort of main connecting point for the internal and external body. These are known as acupressure points and they are the spots where thin needles are inserted into the skin during acupuncture. EFT stimulates some of these acupressure points by repeatedly tapping them with the fingers.
Practicing EFT involves focusing the mind on a negative emotion or experience you are either currently or has been coming up in your life in general. This could be a fear, physical pain or discomfort, a worry or an unresolved issue. Challenge yourself to be as mental focused on this occurrence as possible, allow yourself to feel through the sensations or emotions the issue produces with a gentle, loving acceptance. You can deepen your focus by verbally speaking out the pain, worry or issue aloud. You will then tap on nine of the acupressure points 5-7 times. You can tap one or both sides of the body at the same time, both methods are effective. The stimulation of these special acupressure points sends calming messages to the nervous system which in turn produces a restorative response within body systems. It may seem odd to directly focus on negative experiences, however, doing it in a gentle, accepting way while simultaneously creating calming effects within the nervous system allows you to acknowledge and move past them. The process allows you to overcome the negative and regain a cool and collected state of being. Comparatively, it is quite common to bottle up our stressors leaving us in a constant state of low-grade stress. The body treats all stress the same which means our system cannot decipher a non-life threatening stressor from a true emergency. Thus being in a constant state of low-grade stress is not ideal for health and wellness. Another way to think of tapping’s ability to relieve stress is that you are helping your mind realize that the stress is not placing you in any physical danger. This gives your body the go ahead to head back into a relaxation state. Tapping utilizes the following 9 acupressure points in the following order; karate chop point (on the outer portion of hand opposite the thumb), eyebrow point (where the bridge of nose and beginning of the eyebrow meets), side of eye (on the bone directly outside the eyes), under the eye (directly on the bone underneath the eyes), under the nose (in-between the nose and upper lip), chin point (in the crease below your lower lip and above the chin), collarbone (an inch blow where the collarbones meet in the center then an inch away from the center of your body), under the arm (on your side about 4 inches below the armpit) and finally, the top of head (directly on the crown). Before you even begin tapping experts suggest yo give the pain or issue a rating of 0-10 with 10 being the most severe. As you begin tapping the karate point on the outer hand with four fingers, consider the problem, pain, emotion or situation you’d like to focus on. Once you have determined your focus for the tapping session develop a set-up statement. I like to use the following format “Even though I feel *insert negative emotion or pain* I completely love and accept myself.” For example…
“Even though I feel anxious right now I completely love and accept myself”
“Even though I have this throbbing headache I completely love and accept myself”
“Even though I am stressed about speaking at this meeting I completely love and accept myself”
“Even though I feel angry at my partner I completely love and accept myself”
Repeat the set-up statement 2 or 3 times aloud (if possible). Try focusing on taking deep breaths as you proceed with the tapping session. As you tap 5-7 times on the remaining 8 points repeat a simple reminder phrase such as “this headache,” “this stress,” “this anger” or “this meeting” to get you deeply focused on the issue. This will conclude your first tapping sequence (8). As you begin the next sequence at the karate point on the outer hand, begin with the same set-up statement or challenge yourself to build on the issue as you move through the 9 points. You can also re-evaluate your 0-10 severity rating before beginning the next round. You can m
ix in some simple reminder statements as seems fit. Let’s say I started with “Even though I feel anxious right now I completely love and accept myself” my building statements might end up looking like this… “Even though I feel like I am not in control of my emotions I completely love and accept myself,” “Even though this feeling scares me I completely love and accept myself” or “Even though this anxiety makes me feel like a failure I completely love and accept myself.” This allows you to get to the core of your issue so you can begin to heal. At this point you have or are beginning to release what plagues you, so now it is important to begin sowing some positivity in place of the negative experience. For example…
“Even though I am feeling anxious I choose to focus on my breath and return to calm”
“Even though I am scared to speak in front of my peers I have faith in my knowledge and ability”
“Even though I am angry right now I still know and love the person I am”
Be honest with yourself here, insincere affirmations won’t do you much good. You may not be ready to declare this your last anxiety episode or completely negate your anger or fear BUT declaring self-trust and appreciating the good in yourself is quite possible. It is important to make positive affirmations that feel right and doable. I suggest doing at least 2-4 sequences during your tapping sessions. There is no perfect way to practice EFT. It is okay to feel a little odd or disconnected your first time. If this happens consider closing your eyes, taking a few deep breaths or counting to 10 before you begin the session.
Works Cited:
1. Chang, S. (2012). The meridian system and mechanism of acupuncture- A comparative review. Part 1: The Meridian System. Taiwanese Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 51(4), 506-514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjog.2012.09.004
2. Church, D. Hawk, C. Brooks, A. Toukolehto, O. Wren, M. Dinter, I. Stein, P. (2013). Psychological Trauma Symptom Improvement in Veterans Using Emotional Freedom Techniques: A Randomized Controlled Trial. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 201(2), 153-160. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0b013e31827f6351
3. Church, D. Yount, G. Brooks, A. (2011). The effect of emotional freedom techniques on stress biochemistry: A randomized controlled trial. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 200(10), 891-896.
4. EFT Universe. (2021). EFT tapping research. EFT Universe. EFT Research | Research and Studies | English (eftuniverse.com)
5. Feinstein D, Church D (2010) Modulating gene expression through psychotherapy: The contribution of non-invasive somatic interventions. Rev Gen Psychol. 14: 283–295.
6. Jerrod, N. A. Castel, L. (2016). A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized and nonrandomized trials of clinical emotional freedom techniques (EFT) for the treatment of depression. Elsevier, 12(6), 416-426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2016.08.001\
7. Stapleton, P., Crighton, G., Sabot, D., & O'Neill, H. M. (2020). Reexamining the effect of emotional freedom techniques on stress biochemistry: A randomized controlled trial. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 12(8), 869–877. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000563
8. The Tapping Solution. (2021). Tapping 101. The Tapping Solution. Tapping 101 – Learn the Basics of the Tapping Technique (thetappingsolution.com)