EFT Tapping: a self-help tool for restoring balance quickly

EFT tapping is a remarkably effective self-help technique for reducing anxiety and worry quickly.

It can take just 5 minutes to feel calmer. It’s a great tool to use when travelling because it’s easy to do and you can do it anywhere.

The first time I tried it, I didn’t expect it to work, but it did. My anxiety quickly subsided and I felt significantly calmer. I thought that it might be just a coincidence, but sure enough when I tried it again during another episode of anxiety it worked again. Now I use it, whenever I need a quick fix for restoring balance.

The Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT tapping involves tapping on specific acupressure points on the head and body, in a particular sequence whilst speaking statements about how you’re feeling.

How does Tapping work?

Tapping is based on the Chinese meridian system, used in acupuncture and acupressure. Meridians are pathways where energy flows throughout the body. Acupuncture uses needles, EFT tapping uses fingertip pressure. Tapping on these meridian points with the fingertips restores the balance of energy to help with both physical and emotional pain.

It also helps with steadying the breath and drawing your attention into the present moment.

Tapping has been shown to influence physiology by decreasing cortisol (the stress hormone) in the body and releasing anti-stress hormones. It enables you to move into a state where you feel less overwhelmed so that you can access more supportive thoughts.

Research

There’s been a lot of research into the effectiveness of tapping for various different conditions including anxiety, PTSD, phobias and depression.

An incredibly comprehensive book called ‘Tapping – Self-healing with the Transformative Power of Energy Psychology‘ is backed by 20 years of research and real life stories. It’s a fascinating book and when I say comprehensive, I mean comprehensive! When it arrived, I thought wow I’m never going to read all that! And, actually, what I found was that although the information and case studies are fascinating, I quickly realised that I already had my evidence that it worked – me! I know it works because I use it regularly.

However, the book written by Donna Eden, one of the world’s most sought after spokesperson’s on energy medicine and David Feinstein, Psychologist offers a deep understanding of the transformative power of tapping. If you’re interested in really understanding tapping, this is your book.

Tapping is currently used by psychotherapists, teachers, nurses, life coaches and disaster relief workers globally (Feinstein 2023).

How to do tapping

Identify the issue – what is it you would like to resolve? You should only choose one issue at a time. If there’s another issue then do another cycle of tapping after the first.

Test the initial intensity – rank on a scale from 0 – 10 and how you are feeling, with 10 being the worst it’s ever been. Ranking allows you to assess the effectiveness of the treatment. You can then rank again after a cycle of tapping.

The set-up – It doesn’t matter what you are using tapping for, the formula is the same. It starts with three set up statements, while you tap on the karate chop point of one hand with the finger tips of the other hand (see diagram below).

The set-up statements should acknowledge the issue and convey self-acceptance despite the issue. For example:

‘Even though I have [the issue], I deeply and completely love and accept myself anyway.

Then you continue to tap on all the meridian points, stating negative statements about a situation and then moving to positive statements. In the end you alternate between negative and positive, but always end on a positive.

I use a tapping script for this as it helps me to focus on the tapping, whilst moving my statements from negative to positive. if you google tapping scripts, there are lots of examples out there. I personally use one that I adapted from a book called the ‘Higher Help Method’ by Tammy Mastroberte and it works really well for me.

You can download the tapping script I use below. Its fully customisable and has space for you to fill in your own details about what you are thinking and feeling.

I have the tapping script printed off and use it whenever I need to.

The tapping sequence

The order of tapping points are as follows:

side of hand/karate chop point
top of head
eyebrow
side of the eye
under the eye
under the nose
chin
beginning of the collarbone
just under the armpit on the side of your body

You tap each point a minimum of three times.

When you have finished one round, you then move back to the top of the head and repeat. You only use the karate chop point at the start. You continue to tap until you feel calmer.

After I have competed the tapping cycle. I sit and just relax and enjoy the feeling of spaciousness tapping can bring about. I often find it takes a while for thoughts to start trickling in.

If you are still feeling anxious/worried, you can repeat the cycle again.

EFT tapping doesn’t replace conventional treatments

Tapping is a very useful self-help stress management tool for restoring balance and if you use it regularly you may get a lot of benefit. It’s great for using along side other therapies and/or medical treatments, but it doesn’t replace them.

For ongoing emotional difficulties, it’s recommended that you work with a therapist for in-depth support. There are also trained Emotional Freedom Technique practitioners who are trained to use tapping to support the underlying emotional issues associated with physical and psychological symptoms. You can access a list of international EFT specialists here.