We find many are anxious right now. This is not surprising given all that is going on in the world, creating unknowns. (We will not elaborate on the goings on in the world here as this is a post about healing anxiety.) Since Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT (also known as Tapping or EFT Tapping), can be a very effective healing technique for many issues, including anxiety, we thought we would provide this overview and links to the primary source for much more information.
About Anxiety
Anxiety is a negative emotion it is caused by a disruption in the body’s energy system. In clinical psychology, anxiety refers to an intense fear or dread lacking an unambiguous cause or a specific threat. EFT expands the definition to include a general state of uneasiness.
About EFT
EFT is an extension of ancient Eastern health practices based on complex system of energy circuits that run throughout the body. It is a healing tool that can provide impressive results for any part of your life that needs improvement. This includes physical, emotional, and performance issues. EFT appears to balance disturbances in the meridian system and thus is often in minutes or hours.
The premise is that unresolved emotional issues are at the core what might need improving. For physical issues, relief can be found without exploring emotional contributors. However, for the most powerful results, emotional issues would generally be included. It does not require one to relive the memory, but instead heals the bodies response. Things do not get to you as easily, you smile, your health and life seem easier.
EFT uses a simple process wherein one (1) mentally “tunes in” to specific issues while (2) stimulating certain meridian points on the body by tapping on them with our fingertips. The basic process is easy to learn, can be done anywhere, and can be used to provide impressive do-it-yourself results.
Tapping Points: the Basic tapping points:
Steps of The EFT Tapping Basic Recipe
- Identify the Issue: make a mental note of what ails you. Target one issue at a time.
- Test the Initial Intensity: establish a before level of the issue’s intensity by assigning a number to it on a 0-10 scale where 10 is the worst the issue has ever been and 0 is no problem whatsoever. This provides a benchmark to compare progress after each round.
- The Setup: design a simple phrase that you will say while continuously Tapping the KC point; this lets your system know what you’re trying to address. To create the phrase:
- Acknowledge the problem and accept yourself in spite of it
- For example, “Even though I have this _______________, I deeply and completely accept myself”.
- You can adjust the phrase as not all issues will not fit neatly into it. And always aim EFT at our part of the problem rather than trying to fix someone else’s problem.
- Use language that aims at the negative. This is essential because it is the negative that creates the energy disruptions that you are clearing and neutralizing.
- Acknowledge the problem and accept yourself in spite of it
- The Sequence: This is what stimulates/balances the body’s energy pathways. Tap each of the points shown in the Sequence Points diagram (see above) while saying a Reminder Phrase that keeps your system tuned into the issue. The Points:
- Top of the Head (TOH)
- Beginning of the Eyebrow (EB)
- Side of the Eye (SE)
- Under the Eye (UE)
- Under the Nose (UN)
- Chin Point (CH)
- Beginning of the Collarbone (CB)
- Under the Arm (UA)
- While not part of the Basic Recipe, we finish with the Karate Chop point on the hand (KC)
- Reminder Phrase: You need only identify the issue with some brief wording. Depending on your issue, you might say the following at each tapping point….
- “I do not understand what is going on in the world,”
- “I am worried about what the world will be like for my grandchildren,”
- “I am worried that AI will negatively affect my work opportunities.”
- Test the Intensity Again: Establish an “after” level of the issue’s intensity by assigning a number to it on a 0-10 scale and compare it with the before level to see how much progress you have made. If you are not down to zero then repeat the process until you either achieve zero or plateau at some level. You can also include some additional Tapping points that are introduced here on the emofree.com site. And there are additional suggestions on the site.
Gary Craig, the founder of Emofree.com, demonstrates The EFT Tapping Basic Recipe on this nearly nine minute youtube. It assumes you have familiarized yourself with the above.
Frequency of Use. If the anxiety is due to something in the past it might be cleared in one session or over a period of time. Since EFT does not do away with any ongoing circumstances that create anxiety If the something causing anxiety appears daily or regularly, you might use EFT daily. And the site offers options beyond The Basic Recipe.
Source: Most of the information we have provided is shortened from Gary Craig’s emofree.com website. If you are interested there is a lot of additional information about uses, the process, additional processes and scientific validation on the site. The sixth addition of his full manual is available for download on archive.org.
Photo credit: Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay