Balance

EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUE how tapping can change your life Written by Jennifer Miller

We’ve all felt that feeling of flight or fight. Your heart starts racing, your palms sweat, your stomach turns over and you can only focus on the problem or situation at hand. That feeling can be immobilizing and sometimes uncontrollable. Panic or anxiety attacks can sometimes hit out of nowhere. Triggered by something so small, a moment, a word, a glance, can send you reeling. Even if you have some control over your anxiety either by medication or alternative therapies, it’s not always fool proof. Anxiety is a silent thief taking not only your sanity for a moment but also sometimes your ability to reason.

In the midst of it though, it can be easy to forget coping mechanisms. There is one so simple, that even in a full blown panic attack, you can manage to fight off the flight or fight the urge. Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT was created in the 1970’s by doctors who began stimulating pressure points to help patients deal with stress, fear and phobias. It was simplified in 1995 and published by Gary Craig in 1995. EFT, like yoga and meditation, is mind body connection centered. Similar to acupuncture without the needles, it relies on the body’s energetic pathways. Simply put, tapping gently with 2 fingers on certain points on the body results in improved energetic flow.

Sounds hokey right? What sets EFT apart from other self help techniques is that it asks you to focus solely on the anxiety causing issue while doing it. Tapping sends a calming signal to your brain letting you know you are safe and can relax. If your physical body feels relaxed while thinking about

something causing stress or fear, you won’t feel hijacked by those anxious emotions. EFT has been documented in lowering heart rates, blood pressure and cortisol levels. And is used across the board to help treat multiple issues such as anxiety, depression, phobias and PTSD.

When you feel that fight or flight feeling start to rear its ugly and persistent head, sit with the feeling. EFT encourages you to be honest with yourself and asks you to come up with a “set up statement”. The set up statement is you acknowledging your emotions or the problem at hand. As you tap through the pressure points, use your set up statement as a reminder of the issue to help you stay focused and present.

Let’s try it out! To start, take your pointer and middle finger and start gently tapping on the web space between your thumb and index finger of the opposite hand. After 10 or so taps, move to the other hand. From your hands, you’ll move to your brow bone, under eye, bridge of your nose, underneath your cheekbones and down to your collarbone. You’ll repeat this process as long as you need.

Next time the anxious feelings tighten their grip, try EFT. You truly have nothing to lose. Below you will find the most effective tapping points.