What is EFT Tapping?
EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)
What is Tapping?
Tapping is a technique based on the combining principles of ancient Chinese medicine and modern psychology. EFT focuses on meridian points in the body to help restore balance and energy. According to the American Psychological Association, almost one-third of kids suffer from stress. The trends of stress in children seem to be worsening. Tapping can address a long list of specific concerns. (performance, social emotional development, physical health and well-being (anxiety, anger, trauma, ADD, etc.)
Recent studies have shown that EFT Tapping reduces cortisol (stress hormone) levels in the body. It is also shown to reduce anxiety under 10 minutes.
Tapping Points (Sequence)
1. KC: The Karate Chop point (abbreviated KC) is located at the center of the fleshy part of the outside of your hand (either hand) between the top of the wrist and the base of the baby finger or....stated differently....the part of your hand you would use to deliver a karate chop.
2. EB: At the beginning of the eyebrow, just above and to one side of the nose. This point is abbreviated EB for beginning of the Eyebrow.
3. SE: Side of eye. On the bone bordering the outside corner of the eye.
4. UE: On the bone under an eye about 1 inch below your pupil. This point is abbreviated UE for Under the Eye.
5. UN: On the small area between the bottom of your nose and the top of your upper lip. This point is abbreviated UN for Under the Nose.
6. Ch: Midway between the point of your chin and the bottom of your lower lip. Even though it is not directly on the point of the chin, we call it the chin point because it is descriptive enough for people to understand easily. This point is abbreviated Ch for Chin.
7. CB: The junction where the sternum (breastbone), collarbone and the first rib meet. To locate it, first place your forefinger on the U-shaped notch at the top of the breastbone (about where a man would knot his tie). From the bottom of the U, move your forefinger down toward the navel 1 inch and then go to the left (or right) 1 inch. This point is abbreviated CB for CollarBone even though it is not on the collarbone (or clavicle) per se. It is at the beginning of the collarbone and we call it the collarbone point because that is a lot easier to say than "the junction where the sternum (breastbone), collarbone and the first rib meet."
8. UA: On the side of the body, at a point even with the nipple (for men) or in the middle of the bra strap (for women). It is about 4 inches below the armpit. This point is abbreviated UA for Under the Arm.
9. TOH: On the top of the head. If you were to draw a line from one ear, over the head, to the other ear, and another line from your nose to the back of your neck, the TOH point is where those two lines would intersect.
Steps to Tapping
Step 1: IDENTIFY
Identify the problem you want to work on. (this can be general anxiety or something more specific like the fear of getting sick or fear of a future event). Rate the intensity of these feels from 0-10. Measuring the intensity will serve as a benchmark as you monitor progress with tapping.
Step 2: CREATE A SET-UP STATEMENT
A phrase is what you will use to explain the issues you are trying to address. The phrase should acknowledge the issue and focus on accepting yourself, despite the problem.
Examples:
“Even though I feel this anxiety, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
“Even though I panic when I think about ______, I deeply and completely accept myself. ”
“Even though I feel like I’m never good/smart, etc for my teacher, I’m still awesome and okay.”
“Even though I feel all this stress around my child’s relationship challenges with me, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
TAP: Say the statement out loud 3 times while TAPPING on the Karate Chop.
STEP 3: CHOOSE A REMINDER PHRASE
This will be a few short words that describe your issue. You will speak this phrase out loud at each of the additional eight points in the tapping sequence. You are repeating the reminder phrase to remind yourself of the issue at each point. When starting out, keep it simple and say the same statement at each tapping point.
Example reminder phrases: “All this anxiety about my work deadline”
TAP: Say your reminder phrase through tapping points 2-9.
STEP 4: TAP THROUGH POINTS
Now that you have created your setup statement and your reminder phrase, you’re ready to start Tapping. Start by repeating your statement 3 times while tapping the Karate Chop point. Use whichever hand feels most comfortable. Tap at a pace and force that feel right for you. After you’ve said your setup statement 3 times, you’ll move on to Tapping through the eight points above while repeating your reminder phrase. Tap 4-7 times at each point as you work through the sequence. There is no exact number, if 20 or 50 times feels better to you, then do that!
STEP 5: CHECK-IN
Once you have completed your round of tapping, take a DEEP BREATH. Feel your body and notice what’s happening. Do you feel a shift of any kind in your emotions? How intense does your pressing issue feel on a scale of 0-10 now? If your intensity went from a 9 to an 8, that means tapping is beginning to relieve your stress! It is common for people to need more than one round of tapping to feel relief. When you tap, make a point of noticing how your body responds. (yawning, sighing, etc.)
Ask yourself:
What sensations did I experience in my body while tapping?
What emotions came up while I was tapping?
What “random” memories or thoughts came up?
Before moving onto the positive, it is best to get the intensity down on the negative issues to a 5 out of 10. From here, you can tap the positive and then keep tapping the positive until the negative emotional charge has decreased to a 3 or lower.
As you tap, remember to rune in to any shifts you experience with your body and emotions - large or small. It may be helpful to write these down. Continue to test your progress and notice how your intensity is decreasing the more you tap.
As always, if you need us we’re here to help.