The Beginners Guide to Tapping Away Your Problems With EFT

As far as healing and psychological techniques go, Emotion Freedom Techniques (EFT) is a relatively new and fast-evolving treatment – but that’s not to say it doesn’t have roots spreading far further back in history!

And it looks like knowledge of EFT is on the increase, with psychologists, spiritualists and healers alike turning their attention to this powerful new emotional healing treatment, with some experts calling on the NHS to start using this effective self-help technique.

In fact, EFT is even becoming popular with the stars! Celebrities like Lily Allen (who swears EFT helped her keep off the pounds), Madonna and even Michael Ball have spoken about the effectiveness of the practice... But hold up, what is EFT!?

If you’ve never heard of EFT before, then you’re not alone. I myself hadn’t even heard of it until a few months ago, when I was searching for alternative therapies!

So what is EFT and how can we use this incredible technique to better our mind, body and spirit?

EFT – The Fundamentals

It all boils down to tapping. Yes, you read that correctly. EFT is an effective tapping technique designed to cure mental as well as physical problems by tapping on your body’s invisible energy pathways.

EFT was originally based upon traditional Eastern energy medicine techniques, such as acupuncture, which focuses on our body’s energy pathways known as meridian points, but has also blended other features into the mix such as Thought Field Therapy (TFT) and neuro-linguistic programming (that’s a fancy term for positive affirmations).

Founder Gary Craig believes that by tapping on specific meridian points on the body, a person can release energy blockages that cause negative emotion as well as physical pain. Living with these blockages can lead to the inability to live life to its fullest – our weakened energy paths crippling us from the inside.

Symptoms which may occur are weakened immune systems, depression and anxiety, and lack of self confidence. And as I’m sure some of you are aware, an unhappy mind leads to an unhappy body.

So what do you do?

Unlike acupuncture, EFT doesn’t stick needles into your skin to realign your energy. Instead, a simple tap with your fingers on certain, crucial meridian points is all you need. What makes this simple method so great? Once you know the basic recipe of EFT, you can become your own personal therapist! So how can you master this incredible self-help tool?

The EFT tapping points

There are 10 points in total, which need to be tapped in the following order:

When tapping, it is best to use two-three fingers at a time. This ensures that you're hitting the right place!

The Basic EFT Recipe

#1 Identify the issue:

It all starts with a concept. In order to heal ourselves, we have to first know what’s wrong – right?

EFT aims to dissolve all the imbalances we have within us, both mentally and physically, and the first step towards this is actively focusing on the thing that’s creating negative energy.

For example, I have a terrible back. I’m always suffering with back pain and complaining about it to anyone who’ll listen (sorry Mum!) but does this fix my problem? Of course not.

The first step of EFT therefore is to make a mental note of what ails you. This will become your target for the EFT session.

#2 What’s the intensity:

Before we can begin the session, we need to make a mental note on the before intensity of the issue we’re focusing on. Assign the issue a number on a scale of 0-10. 0 being no problem at all while 10 is the worst possible thing that can happen.

By agreeing on a before intensity score, we can evaluate how well the session has gone and how much more we can improve.

#3 The initial setup phrase

Before we start each round of tapping, we must first create “the setup” phrase. We use this phrase and continuously repeat it while tapping the KC point – this will pump your system into action and let your body know what issue needs to be addressed.

The way we word the setup phrase is important. It needs to both address the issue while accepting ourselves regardless.

Use this base phrase:

“Even though I have this ______________, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

Now fill in the blank with whatever is bothering you. So for me and my bad back, it would read: “Even though I have this bad back, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

#4 The reminder phrase and the sequence

Onto the main event! We now go onto tap the specific energy pathways (shown above) in the dedicated sequence while saying our reminder phrase to make sure that we’re focused on the issue.

So for me, my reminder phrase is “This sore back.”

#5 Re-test your intensity

After all that tapping I bet you’re worn out! But it’s also time to re-test your intensity. Focus on the issue, like before, and make note of how you feel – rate it on a scale of 0-10 like before. Are you feeling better, or worse? It is dramatically different or not so much? Depending on your answer, you may wish to try once more. Failing that, you might need to change your technique or phrases.

It may take days or even weeks for you to perfect your tapping technique, but there is plenty of anecdotal evidence out there to suggest that EFT is a great alternative self-help practice for dealing with our issues. So give it a try today (just make sure you’re in a suitable environment!).