Almost 20% of adults in the U.S. have an anxiety disorder.
While you might think anxiety is not a big deal, it can be a very debilitating condition that impacts a person’s everyday life.
With anxiety, you might find that worrisome or fearful thoughts disrupt your daily activities. These thoughts can paralyze you or distract you from enjoying and fully participating in your life.
Luckily, today, there are various ways to manage anxiety. You might have heard about EFT tapping techniques that can help reduce anxiety symptoms.
What is it exactly, and how does it work? Is this technique effective for managing anxiety?
This article will explore how EFT tapping for anxiety can help you cope and manage your anxious thoughts and feelings. That way, you can begin enjoying your life without anxiety holding you back.
You will learn:
- What EFT tapping is
- How tapping for anxiety works
- The benefits of EFT tapping
- How to start tapping to eliminate and manage your anxiety
What is EFT Tapping?
EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Technique. It is a tapping method that can help alleviate physical and emotional distress or pain.
Created in 1995 by psychotherapist Gary Craig, EFT has roots in cognitive therapy and exposure therapy.
Essentially, this type of tapping therapy involves tapping the fingers repeatedly on specific points throughout the body.
While performing these actions, you recite short phrases, or mantras, that involve the physical or emotional symptom.
For example, these phrases might involve sayings like “I am in control of my anxiety,” “It is safe to feel this anxiety,” or the most common one, “Even though I have this anxiety, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
Consequently, EFT therapy helps re-balance your energy and improve your emotional and mental well-being.
EFT Tapping for Anxiety
By now, you may be wondering, “Does EFT tapping really work?”, “How effective is it for anxiety?”
In short, it has worked for a variety of individuals when it comes to managing their physical and emotional pain, including anxiety.
EFT tapping works in a similar way to acupuncture. It uses the same meridian points to help re-align the energy within the body. This energy flows through the meridian points. Yet, imbalances along these points may result in energetic blocks or negative feelings.
By restoring this energy flow, you can find relief from your anxious thoughts and feelings. However, instead of using needles like acupuncture, you use your fingertip to gently tap on these points.
It is thought that by tapping on these energy hotspots, signals are sent to the area of the brain involved in stress and anxiety.
Interestingly, researchers found that EFT reduced the brainwaves and their frequency in the area of the brain that manages stress. Further, EFT increased brainwaves associated with the relaxation response. Thus, EFT tapping therapy can help reduce stressful and anxious emotions.
EFT tapping is also not limited to anxiety. It has also been shown to help treat depression, chronic pain, and more.
Benefits of tapping for anxiety
Since tapping therapy accesses the area of the brain that controls stress, it can help reduce a range of anxiety symptoms, including:
- Excessive worry
- Sleep issues
- Irritability
- Trouble focusing or concentrating
A 2013 study indicated that tapping therapy may be a viable method to treat veterans with PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder.
PTSD is an anxiety disorder that may develop after witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event. In this particular study, 90% of the EFT group no longer meet the criteria for PTSD after just one month of tapping therapy.
A 2016 scientific review had similar findings when it came to EFT tapping. Researchers noted that when EFT therapy was used, there was a significant decrease in anxiety scores and symptoms.
These scientific studies and research give way to tapping therapy’s benefits and its use in treating anxiety symptoms and disorders.
What are the tapping points for anxiety?
- The eyebrow
- The side of your eyes
- Under the eyes
- Under the nose
- The chin point (under the lip)
- The collarbone point
- Underarm (about three inches below your armpit)
- Top of the head
When tapping for anxiety, you recite specific phrases while tapping through these nine points. Usually, you repeat the tapping sequence and phrases a few times until you feel your anxiety subside.
Getting Started with EFT Tapping for Anxiety
Now that you understand how EFT tapping works, you might be thinking, “How do I start tapping?” We have got an exact step-by-step process you can follow below. Repeat the sequence a few times until the concern, issue, or emotion has dissipated.
Step 1: Identify the issue or concern
This step involves identifying your fear or issue. Anxiety in itself may be one issue or concern. It is important to only focus on one concern at a time since this will improve your tapping session’s success.
Step 2: Rate the intensity
Rating the intensity of this issue is critical to assess whether or not EFT tapping works for you. Rate your anxiety on a scale from 1 to 10, where 10 is the worst feeling of anxiety.
For instance, if you rate your anxiety at an 8 out of 10 right now but a 4 out of 10 after tapping therapy, you will know that this technique works for you. From there, you can use it throughout your life to help you cope and manage your anxiety and its symptoms.
Step 3: Set-up
This is where you determine what your specific phrase throughout the process will be. You can also use a few different phrases during one session of tapping.
The phrases you choose are meant to help you acknowledge the problem, feel the emotions in your body, and name these emotions. It should help you choose to relax and accept these emotions, as well as yourself. From there, you can let these emotions go.
You can work with phrases such as “I am feeling anxiety in my body,” “It is so difficult to relax,” “I am choosing to let go of these anxious feelings and sensations in my body,” “I am choosing to relax and feel calm and peaceful.”
If you are unsure as to what the phrases should be, use this one: “Even though I have this [issue or concern], I deeply and completely accept me.”
This statement will help you tune into your feelings and emotions as you perform the tapping technique. It will also help you stay present in the moment, which is necessary to help reduce your anxious feelings.
Step 4: The tapping sequence
Now, it is time to start tapping. This involves going through all of the nine EFT tapping meridians. You want to tap each tapping point between five to seven times.
As you tap, repeat your specific phrase or phrases you created in step 3. This allows you to focus on the problem at hand as you re-align your energy and release your anxiety.
Begin your tapping sequence by doing the following:
- Start by tapping the karate chop point (on the side of your hand) with four fingers. You may choose to switch hands or stick to one hand. Do what feels best for you.
- As you tap this point, repeat your specific phrase at least three times.
- Continue to go through the tapping points while still repeating this phrase. Tap each point at least five to seven times.
- After the karate chop point, perform your tapping in this order: the eyebrows, the side of the eyes, under the eyes, under the nose, chin (under the lip), at the collarbone, under the arm, and on top of your head.
- Repeat the entire sequence at least three times.
Step 5: Check the Intensity
Again, rate the intensity of your anxiety on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst.
If you are not back to a baseline of 0, continue to repeat the sequence until you are.
What Else Can You Do?
EFT tapping offers an excellent technique to help you manage your anxiety. Using this technique can help you effectively reduce your anxiety, allowing you to enjoy your life. However, it is not the only option available.
Oftentimes, the root cause of anxiety lies in the subconscious mind and past trauma.
Rapid Transformational Therapy® (RTT®) uses the most powerful tools from hypnosis, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and psychotherapy to help you access the root cause of your anxiety, release it and rewire your mind, freeing you from these issues once and for all.
It is entirely possible to overcome anxiety and lead a happy, healthy, and fulfilling life. Usually, it comes down to finding a method or technique that works for you to help manage and eliminate it.
Created by renowned celebrity therapist, best-selling author, and speaker Marisa Peer, RTT® can access your subconscious mind and help reset any limiting beliefs, allowing you to move forward with your life.
If you are interested in trying the self-hypnosis portion of RTT®, Marisa Peer’s pre-recorded hypnosis for anxiety can guide you toward confidence and free you from worries and fears.
You can also choose to work with an RTT® therapist to help eliminate any inner blocks that might be holding you back and causing anxiety.
When you break through the chains of anxiety, you can live a happy, fulfilling, and full life. You can begin taking these steps today. Your future self will thank you.
