Source: What Is EFT Tapping?
Highlights
Like breathwork techniques, EFT tapping is relatively easy to learn and perform, and you can do it just about anywhere — meaning that if you’re in the midst of a busy or stressful day, all you need to do is duck out for five to 15 minutes of solitude. It’s also:
- Free.
- Noninvasive.
- Nonpharmaceutical.
- No known negative side effects.
In fact, a 2022 review of more than 50 research studies found that EFT tapping is moderately to largely effective in managing a variety of conditions, including anxiety, phobias, depression, PTSD, insomnia, pain and athletic performance.
“I like to think of it as a blend of modern psychology and acupressure points to lower stress and help with issues like anxiety, mood and even pain,” Dr. Young says. “It’s a nice blend of connecting the mind and body to help calm stress.”
“Another study showed that it can lead to up to a 43% decrease in cortisol levels, which is one of the body’s primary stress hormones,” Dr. Young points out, “so that’s pretty impressive.”
Anxiety: “We see the most evidence for its capacity for lowering anxiety,” Dr. Young says. Studies on EFT tapping found that it leads to a significant decrease in anxiety, though more research is needed to see how well it works compared to standard treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy.
In fact, the more often you practice EFT tapping, the more helpful it may be. That’s not because practice makes perfect (what is “perfect,” anyway?!), but because your body starts to get used to it and welcome it as a means of calming down.
“Being consistent in your practice helps your nervous system to better shift out of fight-or-flight mode (aka sympathetic mode) and into rest-and-digest mode (aka parasympathetic mode),” Dr. Young explains.