The Life-changing Science and Magic of EFT Tapping

Do you ever feel like something’s blocking you from achieving your goals, but can’t quite figure out what it is? Whether you want to curb sugar cravings, sleep better, or simply calm the f**k down, EFT can help.

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), also called tapping, is an evidence-based alternative healing method that combines elements of Chinese medicine, neuroscience, and psychology, to calm your central nervous system.

Similar to acupuncture, EFT tapping applies pressure to specific points along meridians. According to Chinese medicine, meridians are the pathways through which energy travels throughout your body.

Unlike acupuncture, EFT doesn’t involve needles. Instead, you tap on these energetic hotspots with your fingertips. The amount of pressure you apply is on par with how you would tap the shoulder of someone in front of you to get their attention.

Tapping stimulates the amygdala — a part of your brain that plays a key role in stress, anxiety, and fear. As a result, tapping reduces stress, releases negative emotions related to a particular issue, and restores your body’s natural energetic balance.

~ Read 29 Stress Management Techniques to Fit Your Busy Schedule ~

As you tap, you speak out loud about the feelings, thoughts, and emotions around a particular issue. Vocalizing your feelings allows them to diffuse and dissipate — like sweeping layers of dust from your subconscious. The result is an energetic clearing that sets the stage for major shifts.

Here’s a short video I made about what EFT tapping is and how to do it:

What are the steps of EFT tapping?

1. Identify the problem

Identify the problem or fear that’s causing distress. Focus on one issue at a time. If you have more than one concern — as many of us do — you can repeat the process as many times as needed.

2. Rate the problem.

Take a few deep breaths, and say the problem out loud. Rate the intensity of how uncomfortable the issue makes you feel on a scale from 0-10, with 10 being the most extreme physical and emotional pain and 0 being total freedom from discomfort. Establishing this baseline helps to measure progress after tapping.

3. Go through a setup

This phase helps your body and mind focus on the issue. The setup involves acknowledging the problem or fear you have and accepting yourself anyway. You begin speaking phrases or sentences out loud while tapping on the side of your hand, which is the small intestine meridian. For example, “Even though I’m terrified to speak at this conference next week, I deeply and completely love, honor, and accept myself.”

4. Tap

After your setup, the EFT tapping sequence cycles through eight meridian points, including the top of the head, inner corner of the eyebrow, outer side of the eye, under the eye, under the nose, the chin, beginning of the collarbone, and side of the ribs under the arm.

As you tap, talk through the problem and any emotions related to it. Recite one phrase or sentence while tapping on each point, then move to the next. Continue cycling through this sequence until you feel a physical or emotional release. Then, conclude by tapping the top of your head.

5. Rate the intensity again

Similar to step 2, assess how you feel physically and emotionally regarding the initial problem. Using my example of fear of giving a talk, you might say, “I’m terrified of speaking at this conference.” Then, see how true that feels in your body. If you started at a 9 and moved down to a 3, that’s a 60% improvement! You can repeat this tapping every day, or multiple times per day until you reach 0.

What can EFT treat?

The short answer is: pretty much anything! More than 100 research studies have proven EFT’s efficacy in treating many debilitating physical and psychological conditions.

Studies show EFT tapping is a safe and effective treatment for many common health problems, including:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Phobias
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Physical pain
• Sugar addiction

Research also shows that EFT increases feelings of happiness and well-being while reducing levels of cortisol — the stress hormone  — in your blood. EFT has helped people achieve and maintain a healthy weight, boost athletic performance, and overcome their greatest fears.

Outside of empirical research, there are endless stories of people using EFT to enhance their lives.

Gala Darling, one of my favorite tapping gurus, shares that tapping helped her get rid of asthma overnight. Then, she used it to heal her eating disorder and depression!

As a person who’s been through the traditional mental health treatment system more than once, I can assure you that tapping works! My mental health history includes depression, an unspecified mood disorder, anxiety, suicidality, self-harm, disordered eating, and addiction. 

While it’s essential to receive proper treatment for these conditions from a trained professional, EFT is an empowering way to facilitate healing on your own.

In addition to battling my mental health demons, I’ve used EFT to diffuse raging anger, improve my money mindset, and boost my creativity and self-confidence.

~ Read My Mental Health Story ~

Not every tapping session has to be heavy! Some of my favorite tapping scripts focus on attracting abundance and allowing myself to relax. Raise your hand if you’re a workaholic!

What are the advantages of EFT tapping?

EFT is a fast-acting, versatile technique that anyone can learn. It’s also more effective than traditional mental health interventions like talk therapy and medication. Even better — there’s no risk of side effects. As a person who used to wet the bed from being overmedicated, I’d say this is a pretty effing awesome benefit!

Studies show that people suffering from anxiety and depression experience a greater degree of symptom relief in less time when using EFT compared with those using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and medication. The EFT group also showed a significant reduction in depressive symptoms at 3- and 6-month follow-ups, while the CBT group failed to maintain symptom improvement over time.

Who can benefit from EFT tapping?

People of all ages, from all over the world, use EFT. Research papers from a broad spectrum of peer-reviewed journals show the benefits of EFT in a variety of groups, including:

• Athletes
• Pain patients
• Chemotherapy patients
• Hospital patients
• Veterans
• Gifted students
• College students
• Healthcare workers
• People who suffer from phobias

Even if you don’t fit into any of these groups, I’m willing to bet a burrito you can experience improvement in some area of your life from EFT!

In conclusion, EFT tapping is an all-around excellent way to make yourself feel better about anything, anytime, no matter where you are.

How can I get started with EFT?

I’m so passionate about sharing the benefits of EFT I made it an integral part of my Excavate and Activate program! Combining EFT with a tarot reading opens your subconscious to next-level energetic shifts.

Book a complimentary tarot + tapping session to discover how EFT and tarot can help you!