Personal Growth Coach
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Tapping
EFT the ultimate in Stress Management Strategies
Affectionately known as Psychological acupuncture, Emotional Freedom Techniques, (EFT) is also known as Tapping. EFT is a gentle technique that calms the nervous system. It involves tapping with the fingertips on meridian energy points on the face and torso, while tuning into a thought/feeling of discomfort in the body. (yes it looks & feels weird!)
The somatic tapping on these points calms the amygdala (brain's smoke alarm) and signals that the thought/feeling is safe.
The Emotional Freedom Technique process also appears to clear the brain fog that comes with being in the stress response, so that solutions and wisdom are available.
The great thing about Emotional Freedom Techniques, is that it can be taught so that the user can self administer the somatic tapping on the body.
I love that YOU the client are in charge at all times. Only you know what your experience of discomfort is like in your body,
As the practitioner, I don't need to know the details about the painful event or situation.
I simply facilitate the process of clearing the thought/feeling state by using your feedback to me about how you are experiencing it in your body.
I also love that this is a natural process backed now by very compelling scientific research, that shows that how you hold onto the past can be changed and released. This results in inner peace, AND its permanent.
There may be many aspects to the issue or event that need to be identified and tapped on. Symptoms, beliefs, emotions may be important aspects.
We can use gentle ways of skirting around painful memories to take the intensity out of them before fully clearing them.
The advice of scientific community is to use it on anything that bothers you. There is nothing to lose and so much emotional freedom to be gained.
My personal experience with Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Tapping
I came across Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Tapping when angry again by being consumed by an habitual chocolate craving. A convincing individual on the internet was showing the technique which I tried and found it gave me instant relief. I couldn't believe such a weird thing could have such a profound impact!
The more I looked into the techniques and saw the extensive research confirming it's effectiveness, on a range of issues, I knew I wanted to know more. I became a practitioner and set about clearing several childhood traumatic events (for me) and patterns, that explained many of my adult fears and habits.
Some of this clearing I did on my own ( I love the self empowering nature of EFT) and other issues I cleared with the assistance of EFT colleagues and other Emotional Freedom Techniques practitioners.
The biggest realisation was that memories can be changed, they are not permanent or solid.
I also realised that all of my problems come from my own thinking about them. Habits and events are only kept alive by conditioned repetitive thinking. That I was actually scaring myself by continuing to think about the past. The brain can't tell what's real or on the movie screen of my mind and I innocently misunderstood that my thinking was real as if it was still happening - because it felt real in my body.
It was such a relief to permanently desensitise these old patterns with EFT, AND as my learning increased, to understand how our human experience actually works. I have a choice whether to be present in each new and ever changing moment or to identify, believe and engage in the patterns or movies playing in my head.
Summary of some of the research data
What to expect
The Clinical Emotional Freedom Technique somatic tapping points are shown in the diagram.
Start by identifying the feeling of discomfort in the body and rating it on a scale of 1-10. This is so we have an indication after each round of tapping, whether we are in the right place and whether the intensity of feeling is increasing or decreasing.
We start by tapping on the side of the hand while expressing the truth of why we are here - what is the issue we have come to release. Be as negative as possible, to give a voice to the discomfort. We say this 3 times before starting on the tapping points of the start of the eyebrow and saying a short summary phrase of the set up statement, to remind us.
I like to take a breath in and release it at the end of the round. Pause and check in with the body to see what has changed.
The feeling may have moved, increased or declined. Re-score.
Another round with the new information/thoughts/insights, then proceeds.
