EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Technique and it’s often called Tapping because it involves tapping on a series of points around the face and upper body.
I refer to EFT as an emotional first aid technique. If we’re in the midst of a challenging experience or emotion around an event, EFT is an extremely simple and powerful method to use to release a stuck emotional pattern and allow our emotional energies to flow freely again.
It’s an empowering method because anyone can try it on their own without extensive training. It’s also very powerful when you work on it with an EFT practitioner. There are also training opportunities that can help you learn more about it and increase your confidence in applying it for yourself and then for others.
In others’ words
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.
Source: What Is EFT Tapping?