What is EFT?
What Is Emotional Freedom Technique?
Emotional Freedom Technique is a form of energy healing. It is often referred to as a psychological form of acupuncture without the needles. Energy healing techniques work via the body’s energy system.
EFT developed from Thought Field Therapy (TFT). An American psychologist, Dr Roger Callahan in the 1970s, studied kinesiology and Eastern health practices. He applied his knowledge to a patient called Mary.
Mary had a severe phobia of water for which conventional psychological interventions had no effect. One day, Mary complained of nausea when she went near to water so Dr Callahan asked her to tap under the eye. This point under the eye is the Chinese acupuncture meridian for the stomach. Her nausea and her phobia both cleared up. From this discovery Dr Callahan developed TFT.
Gary Craig, an early student of Dr Callahan, thought TFT was complex to use. He thought it would be more beneficial to tap on all the meridians as there were only 14 in total. This cut out the need for diagnosis. Tapping on all the points made it easier to learn and so it could be practiced at home in between sessions with a pracitioner. The number of points for tapping has now been reduced to just eight.
What Can EFT be Used For?
EFT helps a broad range of issues. The foundations of EFT are based in positive psychology. It gradually improves emotional and physical wellbeing.
Stress, anxiety, fear, depression, phobias, emotional and physical pain, PTSD, grief, weight loss and food cravings - all of these have seen improvement with EFT.
EFT is the tapping on acupressure points located on the main meridians, or energy channels, that run through the body. It targets the energetic disturbance which is the foundation of all issues.
It works by balancing and/or eliminating the energy disruption in the body’s energy system. These disruptions in energy are associated with negative emotions.
Scientific Evidence
Many scientific studies show the effectiveness of EFT.
Studies have shown that EFT:
reduces anxiety and depression on average by 45%
increases relationship satisfaction by an average of 26%
reduces the symptoms of emotional exhaustion and burnout
significantly increases positive emotions like hope and enjoyment
significantly reduce negative emotions such as anger and shame
How To Use EFT
There are nine points in total including the Side of the Hand point. The collarbone points are classed as one point.
We begin by tapping on the Side of the Hand point using a set-up statement. A set up statement is used to identify the issue followed, by an affirmation. For example, a set-up statement would be "Even though I have this problem, I deeply and completely love and accept myself". The words "this problem" are substituted for the issue you identified.
After tapping on the Side of the Hand point and saying the set-up statement we start tapping on the eyebrow point. As we tap, we repeat the words we used to identify the problem.
The points are tapped in the order of:
Eyebrow point
Side of the eye point
Under the eye point
Under the nose point
The chin point
The collarbone points
Under the arm point
On top of the head point
After tapping on each of the points, take a deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth. You've just completed a round of tapping.
How Do I Know It's Working?
When working with energy healing, it's sometimes difficult to determine whether it's working or not.
Ask yourself before you start tapping, how intense is this problem on a scale of 0 - 10. Zero means it doesn't bother you at all. Ten means it's as intense as it can get!
Do a round of tapping.
At the end of the round, ask yourself, where you are now on the scale of 0-10. You will get one of three results. Either it helped, in which case the score has gone down. It stayed the same or it got worse and the score went up.
Either way, you're shifting energy. Repeat the process until the score reduces to zero - or as close to zero as you can get.
Why Do I Need An EFT Practitioner?
Working by yourself is fantastic and the more you can tap, the better. But what if you don't feel confident to try it yourself? What if you're tapping by yourself and it's not helping? Or what if you're tapping to videos on YouTube and they're not working either? Does this mean it's not working?
Not at all. The emotional freedom technique works at a cellular level and can be working without you knowing it. You might not feel anything immediately but a couple of days later you may have an 'aha' moment. Or want to burst into tears for no apparent reason. This is energy shifting within you.
Sometimes, you can tap but not connect with the emotions or physical feelings experienced. In this case it is better to work with a practitioner who can help you uncover the root of an issue.
Watching YouTube videos, whilst they do have benefits, are not personalised. If the words don't resonate with you, they will not have the same impact.
This is why working with a practitioner is much more successful. A practitioner helps you to identify your issue and personalise a session to your needs. By using questioning and your words and phrases, tapping with a practitioner gets to the root of an issue and reduces or clears it much faster.
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