5 reasons why you should try EFT or "tapping"
If you know anything about me, you probably know that I love "tapping" (Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT). It’s something that has surprised me more than any other technique I have learned about in my career. I discovered EFT after I had been working in my private practice for almost 10 years. I am a lifelong learner and I'm always on the lookout for something that can really help others.
I have to admit, I was hooked on tapping from the beginning because it helped me. It’s a great tool that I use when I’m feeling stressed, before going to the dentist, or if I’m having trouble sleeping – I have a busy mind too! I even use tapping before writing this Blog to feel inspired.
There's a wealth of information and research to back up the science and benefits of EFT. There's now tangible proof that it can literally re-wire the brain. There are countless stories of how it has helped people even if they don't understand how it works. They just know it was helpful even when they had almost given up hope that anything could.
After all that I've learned throughout my career, if I had to pick one technique that I could use to help my clients, I would pick EFT.
Here’s why:
ONE. Quick results!
You feel better within minutes. When I do tapping with clients, it usually takes about 10 or so minutes to go through the tapping process. Surprisingly, you can feel better and release stress after only a few minutes of tapping. It’s that simple!
TWO. The regular process of tapping reduces stress hormones and inflammation in your body.
Normally, when you feel stressed or have ongoing negative emotions, it increases the stress hormones in your body. These hormones are adrenaline and cortisol. These stress hormones are harmful and cause inflammation in the body which can then cause problematic physical and emotional symptoms. Chronic inflammation can eventually cause health concerns such as asthma, ulcers, rheumatoid arthritis, IBS, Crohn’s, colitis, and chronic pain symptoms – just to name a few.
When you tap on specific meridian points this generates the relaxation response throughout your body and calms the most primitive part of the brain. When the overactive part of your brain calms down, you begin to feel safe and the fight or flight response turns off. The stress hormones are no longer activated. Instead, the “feel good” hormones (endorphins) are now released and the energy in your brain and body shifts and results in a calmer mind and body. Then inflammation reduces and symptoms diminish. You can release negativity before you get sick or after you already have symptoms. You can start today.
THREE. Tapping releases negative emotions that are trapped in your body.
Let’s say you feel a lot of anxiety about something. We would tap and talk about what is causing your anxiety specifically, where you feel it in your body, and basically “telling the truth” about what is bothering you. Once this has been fully addressed and you start to feel calmer, we would “tap in” some reassuring statements. These statements will now be more believable when your anxiety no longer has a grip on you. The anxiety is released along with the anxious physical sensations that go along with it. You will have gained a new perspective on how you can cope with the stressful situation once your brain is in a calmer state. It’s best to keep tapping on a regular basis to keep your mind and body in this calm state. It’s like exercise, the more often you do it, the better you feel. 10 minutes of daily tapping can work wonders in being able to respond vs. react to whatever comes your way.
FOUR. Tapping gives you clarity that you never had before.
I have seen this happen over and over again. After someone taps on something that’s bothering them, they gain clarity on what they need to do next or what would be helpful for them or what they CAN do (vs. cannot do). It’s like they have “tapped into” their inner wisdom. Sometimes they realize the anxiety they’re having today reminds them of something that happened a long time ago. That’s the beauty of tapping. It gets to the root of the problem. Then we can tap on those earlier concerns to fully address the feelings and old beliefs. This gets to the root of the problem by releasing the charge around past events.
FIVE. Tapping has no side effects – only good ones.
The only side effects from tapping is a sense of calm and a release of negative emotions. I have experienced, and others have told me that they feel a tingling sensation in their body or yawning. These are signs that energy is moving – stuck emotions are being released from the body.
So tapping is an excellent way to manage anxiety and release negative emotions. Appropriate medications have their place, but they are not the solution, especially when it comes to anxiety. Most anti-anxiety medications are habit forming and clearly do not address the root of the problem. They are simply a way of masking or numbing the problematic symptoms. My concern is that if someone doesn’t have any other tools for coping, they will simply rely on medications for the long-term.
The beauty of tapping is that anyone can learn how to do it and it can be applied to anything that's stress related. All you need is an open mind and a willingness to try. What have you got to lose? Everyone is skeptical at first, and that’s okay. Once you experience the positive "side effects," I hope you become hooked like I did and so many of my clients have. Some clients have told me that tapping was a life saver for them. They wonder why more people don’t know about it. I agree with them 100%.
So this is my way of getting the good news out there.
Please share this message with someone you think will benefit from it. Let’s share the good energy! We all can gain from more of that…
If you've never tried EFT before, you can sign up for my Newsletter below and start tapping today. I'd love to hear about your experience with tapping - you can comment below or mail me here
Lastly, I highly recommend that you watch this video now that explains what EFT is and shows real life examples of so many ways that it has helped others.
To start tapping right now, sign up for my free monthly Newsletter here
Beth Matthews is a Registered Psychologist who is driven to help people feel better about themselves. She can help you if you are struggling in your life. You can learn easy-to-use strategies to help you cope with anything that comes your way.
matthews77@shaw.ca
780-721-9157
