Tapping Therapy

Are you dealing with stress or anxiety? Do you want to eliminate fear, change bad habits and achieve your goals? 

Since stress has been identified as the health epidemic of the 21st century, you’re definitely not alone.

While going to therapy might sound like a good idea, how about trying another alternative that’s easy, effective and most importantly cost-free?

This new method is called Tapping.

Tapping, also known as EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), is a powerful healing technique that has been proven to reduce your stress by 40% in under 10 minutes. Who doesn’t want that?

It came to prominence in the 1990s and it’s based on the combined principles of ancient Chinese acupressure and modern psychology. 

This treatment referred to as Energy Psychology focusses on a person's wellness and not just their illness or physical pain. It helps with anxiety, stress, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other conditions.

So, how does this technique work?

As its name implies, you need to “tap” to get the work done. 

Tapping on different parts of the body helps balance energy and reduce physical and emotional pain.

But can tapping your fingertips on your head and face really relieve stress and anxiety? 

Its developer, Gary Craig, says: “The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system.”

Therefore, this method works on the meridian points to restore balance to your body’s energy.

You might be wondering what the meridian points are.

They are energy hot spots or paths through which the life-energy flows. 

Tapping on the energy meridian points sends signals to the amygdala (the ‘fight or flight’ part of the brain) to calm down and relax. These meridians help preserve your wellbeing by balancing energy transfer.

Dr. Dawson Church believes that “EFT gives you the best of both worlds – body and mind – like getting a massage during a psychotherapy session.”

So here are 5 simple steps to follow:

1. Close your eyes and focus on the problem you wish to solve.

2. On a scale from 0 to10, rate the intensity of the issue. For eg, suppose you're nervous about giving a public speech, the feelings are so intense that you give it a 9 out of 10.

3. Have a good understanding of what is happening and decide on a simple reminder phrase to repeat while tapping. For instance: Even though I’m scared and anxious about the speech, I truly love and accept myself no matter what.

4. While repeating the phrase, you need to bring up your emotions and negative feelings and start tapping. As you tap on each part, you need to bring up what bothers you so that when you tap you are tapping to release these emotions that you are struggling with.

Start by tapping on the "karate chop" point (the outer edge of the hand, just below the pinky) and identify your feelings, then move to the: 

• Top of the head
• Beginning of the eyebrow 
• Side of the eye
• Under the eye
• Under the nose 
• Chin point 
• Beginning of the collarbone
• Under the arm 

Tap lightly, but firmly while using two or more fingertips and repeat the tap approximately five times on each point.

5. Finally, test the intensity again on a scale of 0–10. Repeat the process until the intensity reaches 0 or plateaus.

Studies showed that tapping:

So, how do you maximize these benefits? 

You need to apply the tapping strategy regularly and make it a crucial part in your daily routine.

1. Tap everyday around the same time.
2. Create for yourself a relaxing, calm and safe space where you complete your tapping cycle in.
3. Start with short sessions of 10 mins and increase the duration as you move on.
4. If you miss a few sessions just pick it up where you left off.

Tapping is an effective way to free yourself from the stored anxiety, stress, depression, and emotional hurt, while focusing on bringing positivity and good energy into your life.

And now? Have you started tapping yet?