EFT Tapping: Emotional Freedom Techniques

Does EFT tapping really work? . EFT tapping works because it balances activity between the sympathetic and parasympathetic regions of your brain, producing “a neutral emotional state”, Dr. Freinstein, a clinical psychologist who uses EFT in his own practice, says that EFT is an “unusually precise, rapid, and direct for shifting the neurological underpinnings of a range of psychological problems.”

What is EFT – Emotional Freedom Techniques?

EFT , also called EFT Tapping or Emotional Freedom Technique, because a central practice of EFT is to use your fingertips to tap lightly on points on your body. This points are described in the ancient Oriental technique of acupuncture. Acupuncture points are spots on energy meridians that flow through your body. While you tap, you think about events or beliefs that bother you. Perhaps one day when you were six years old your brother called you “fattie” in front of your friends. So you felt humiliated. EFT trains you to tap on each of these formative experiences. Tapping send soothing signals through your body, When you tap while remembering bad events, the emotional intensity of that bad events evaporates. You still remember them, but they are no longer filled with an emotional charge.

EFT also has you say words of comfort and self-affirmations, like ” I deeply and completely accept myself”. Remembering a paintfull memory, tapping and saying self-affirmations is the secret of EFT tapping. Tapping and self-affirmation remove the sting from the memory. After EFT, you might occasionally recall the memory, but it’s no longer loaded with emotional baggage. Your past has not changed, but the lens through which you see it is neutral, instead of being overlaid with anger, shame, blame and guilt.

Who invented emotional freedom technique?

Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT Taping was developed by Gary Craig. He was and American engineer. In 1990, Gary Craig heard that people were relieving long standing mental and emotional problems just by tapping on acupressure points. He then interview Dr. Roger Callahan, the developer of what is now called Thought Field Therapy and questioned him about his methods. Although it seemed too good to be true, Craig decided to attend one of Callahan’s training seminars. He attended basic and advanced training and realized that here was the key to one of mankind’s oldest problems on how to rapidly and effectively relieve emotional pain. EFT is a simplified, more user friendly version of TFT.

Gary Craig is the founder of the Emotional Freedom Techniques. EFT is an emotional version of acupuncture, except needles aren’t necessary. Instead, you stimulate energy meridian points on your body by tapping on them with your fingertips. The process is easy to memorize and simple.

Emotional Freedom Techniques is based on the idea that :”The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system.”

Most of our physical pains and diseases often appear to be connected with our emotions , therefore , this technique allow people to release the emotions that are blocking them.

I have successfully used this techniques since more than 7 years ago. I have been able to overcome a lot of negative beliefs and release negative emotions.

How to do EFT

The first step is to estimate the severity of the problem. For example , if you are suffering anger you measure your level of anger on a scale of of 0 to 10. 10 being serious distress , and 0 none. This is important because later one while you are tapping you will be able to reach the level 0.

Dr. Wople called this rating SUD or Subjective Units of discomfort. It is also sometimes called Subjective Units of Distress. You feel your problem and give it a number on the SUD scale.It is vital to rate your SUD level as it is right now, not imagine what is might have been at the time in the past when the traumatic event occurred. If you can’t quickly identify a number, just take your best guess, and go from there. It is best to write down the number and also noticing where in your body the information is coming from. For example, if you are working with a head ache, where in your head is the ache centered?. If you are working on a traumatic event, perhaps a car accident, where in your body is your reference point for your emotional distress?

The Setup Statement

The setup statement , sets up the problem you want to work on. The setup statement has its roots in two schools of psychology. One is called cognitive therapy, and the other is called exposure therapy. Cognitive therapy considers the large realm of your cognitions , your thoughts, beliefs, ways of relating to others, and the mental frame thought which you perceive the world and your experiences.

Psychological Reversal

The term psychological reversal is taken from energy therapy.It refers to the concept that when you energies are blocked or reversed, you develop symptoms. If you put the batteries into a flashlight backward, with the positive end where the negative should lies, the light will not shine. The human both also has a polarity. A reversal of normal polarity will block the flow of energy through the body. In acupuncture , the goal is treatment is to remove obstruction and to allow the flow of energy throughout the twelve meridians.

The way Psychological Reversal shows up in EFT and other energy therapies is as a failure to make progress in resolving the problem. It is especially prevalent in chronic diseases, addictions, and conditions that resist healing. One of the first steps of the basic recipe is to correct for Psychological Reversal. The EFT setup includes starting an affirmation with those elements drawn from cognitive and exposure therapies , while at the same time correcting for Psychological Reversal.

Emotional Freedom Technique Tapping Points

The tapping points are explained below.

TH = Top of Head
EB = Eye Brow
SE = Side of the Eye

UE = Under the Eye
UN = Under the Nose
Ch = Chin

CB = Collar Bone
UA = Under the Arm
TOH = Top of the Head

The tapping points, in sequence, are as follows:

top of the head (TOH) — directly in the center of the top of the head
beginning of the eyebrow (EB) — just above and to the side of the nose

side of the eye (SE) — on the bone at the outside corner of the eye
under the eye (UE) — on the bone under the eye
under the nose (UN) — the point between the nose and upper lip

chin point (CH) — halfway between the underside of the lower lip and the bottom of the chin
beginning of the collarbone (CB) — the point where the breastbone (
under the arm (UA) — at the side of the body

The EFT setup statement is :

Even though I have ( name the problem), I deeply and completely accept myself.

For example:

Even though I have this pain in my knees, I deeply and completely accept myself.

Even though I have this urge to east another cookie, I deeply and completely accept myself

Even though I have this fear of spiders, I deeply and completely accept myself.

EFT does not try to induce you to positive thinking. You are not telling yourself that things will be different, improve or go better. Instead, you express the intention of accepting yourself just the way you are. Positive thinking goes in the way of healing, while acceptance provides us with the reality based starting point congruent with our experience, as Carl Rogers says: The paradox of transformation is that change begins by accepting conditions exactly the way they are.

What about if your problem is self-acceptance? What if you believe you are unacceptable? What if you have low self -esteem and when you say: I deeply and completely accept myself” , it sounds like a lie?

What EFT suggest you do in such a case is say the words anyway, even if you do not believe them. They will usually have some effect, even if at first you have difficulty with them. As you correct for psychological reversal, you will soon find yourself shifting from unbelief to belief.

The first tapping point we use in EFT is called the Karate Chop point. To get started you will have to tap the Karate Chop

You choose a phrase or affirmation to tap in the karate chop. Let’s say you have anger because your boss criticized you about a project. Try to be specific. The phrase would be : “Even though yesterday at the meeting my boss criticized my project, I completely love and accept myself”. You tap this phrase 3 times.

The EFT Basic Recipe by Founder Gary Craig

If your level does not go down to cero in the first round, let’s say that when you started your SUD were 9, you did one round of tapping and the SUD whent down to 4. In this case , you do another round with a reminder “Still”. For example: Tapping on the karate chop you will start the new round saying: Even thought I still have some of this anger, I deeply and completely accept myself. You tap 3 times repeating the phrase. Then you do the sequence and in each point you repeat:

EB = This remaining anger
SE = This remaining anger
UE = This remaining anger
UN = This remaining anger
Ch = This remaining anger
CB = This remaining anger
UA = This remaining anger
TOH = This remaining anger

Other Tapping Points demonstrated by EFT Tapping Founder Gary Craig

Some tips:

Some of the Tapping points have twin points on each side of the body. For example, the “eyebrow” point on the right side of the body has a twin point on the left side of the body. You can tap in both points at the same time

You can also switch sides when you tap these points.

The Tapping is done with two or more fingertips and while you can tap with the fingertips of either hand, most people use their dominant hand.

You tap approximately 5 times on each point.

Some times people say: I tried EFT tapping and it did not work. The chances are that they were too general while doing the tapping. For example: Low self esteem, depression, etc

For example some one might have low self esteem because he/she was ashamed in front of the class when she was 7 years old. Or may be her mother kept criticizing her, and so on. You do not have to use EFT on every single event that contributed to the global theme, in this case: low self esteem.Usually, once a few of the most disturbing memories have lost their emotional impact, the whole pattern disappears. Therefore, tapping on global issues (low self esteem) is the single most common mistake newcomers make with EFT.

Example 1 : EFT tapping I am in debt

Say out loud: I am in debt and I have non idea how to get out of debt. Write down your SUD . Star with the karate chop point and repeat:

Even though I am in debt, I love and accept myself.

Even though I have so many debts and I have no idea how to get out of debt, I deeply love and honor myself.

Even though thinking about money scares me because of my debt, I accept myself fully.

Eyebrow: This debt.

Side of eye: I feel scared and trapped.

Under eye: This debt.

Under nose: This debt

Under mouth: I hate being in debt.

Collarbone: I have a limitation mindset.

Under arm: I’ve so many emotions surrounding lack of abundance.

Top of head: I find it hard to believe I deserve money like everyone else.

EB: I’m afraid I’m blocking financial abundance

Example 2: I am not good enough

Tap on the Karate Chop whilst repeating three times:

Even though I think I’m not good enough, I deeply and completely love and accept myself

Even though I was told that I am not enough, I deeply and completely accept myself
Even though I will always be not good enough, I deeply and completely accept myself and all my feelings

Eyebrow: I’m not good enough
Side of Eye: I’m not good enough
Under Eye: I’m not good enough
Under Nose: I was told that I am not good enough
Under Chin: I’m just not good enough
Collarbone: I hate feeling like this
Under Arm: I worry I’ll make a fool of myself
Top of Head: I’m not good enough for them

Eyebrow: I was told many years ago
Side of Eye: I’m not good enough
Under Eye: I just can’t do it
Under Nose: I’m not good enough
Under Chin: I wish I could believe in myself
Collarbone: I’m worried I’ll fail
Under Arm: I wish I didn’t feel like this
Top of Head: I’m not good enough

Eyebrow: What if I could do it
Side of Eye: Maybe I won’t fail
Under Eye: What if I just tried
Under Nose: Maybe I won’t disappoint people
Under Chin: What if I did succeed
Collarbone: Maybe I can believe in myself
Under Arm: What if I am good enough
Top of Head: May be I am good enough

Repeat out loud: I am not good enough, if you are in cero you can do the positive tapping as follow:

Eyebrow: I am good enough
Side of Eye: I accept I am good enough in the present
Under Eye: I will always be good enough
Under Nose: I am good enough
Under Chin: I believe I am good enough
Collarbone: I can believe in myself
Under Arm: I am good enough and
Top of Head: I will always be good enough

As you can see there are many different ways you can do the tapping. Always remember that the first step is to acknowledge the problem and keep tapping until you SUD levels to down to cero. Then you can do the positive tapping.

How to learn EFT tapping

You can learn EFT tapping by reading books, the following books will help you started:

The EFT Manual

This manual will teach you step by step, the “evidence-based” form of EFT used in this research. You’ll discover how you can identify the hidden roots of emotional problems, and how to alleviate them using EFTs “Basic Recipe” . You will also learn to use EFT tapping for common conditions, including pain, fears, addictions and cravings, weight issues, insomnia, and guilt. This is a new updated edition that now contains a new chapter on research showing how EFT affects the brain, as well as the results of meta-analyses demonstrating that EFT quickly alleviates depression, anxiety and PTSD. You will also learn advance techniques to use EFT and how to apply EFT effectively for sports performance, addictions, serious diseases, love relationships, and with children.

Clear, concise and comprehensive, it includes over 100 case histories showing how people have found rapid and immediate healing with EFT, and how they’ve applied it for love relationships, health, money problems, career challenges, and spiritual obstacles. This is the definitive book on how to get the most out of EFT and apply it effectively in your own life.

EFT tapping books that will show you how to apply EFT with specific issues

Tapping Into Wellness: Using EFT to Clear Emotional & Physical Pain & Illness
This book will show you how to work through physical or emotional problems and challenges. You will learn how to do the EFT tapping with physical issues, weight loss and grief.

EFT for Weight Loss

In this book you’ll learn how eft tapping reduces cortisol, your main stress hormone, while lowering anxiety, depression, and pain, leading to long-term weight loss.