A little history behind EFT
Roger Callahan first discovered tapping in 1980 with his client Mary who had a severe phobia to water. Dr. Callahan put together his existing knowledge based on the principles of psychology combined with what he was studying in eastern medicine, after months of working with Mary and very little progress.
Mary had told Dr. Callahan about the uncomfortable feelings she would get in her stomach when she would think about water, and during one session, he had Mary start tapping under her eye (the specific pressure point connected to the stomach meridian). This tapping resulted in a sudden resolution of Mary’s phobia.
Callahan’s technique was known as TFT, Thought Field Therapy, and was a much more involved process than what resulted in EFT, Emotional Freedom Technique that is widely used by so many today. Gary Craig, a civil engineer from Stanford, who trained under Dr. Callahan, simplified Callahan’s technique and brought EFT to the USA in the early 1990s.
So how can we use EFT to help release anxiety?
Like what we see with Mary, our fears, phobias, and emotions can manifest themselves physically! For me and my work with clients, it is this acknowledgment of this mind-body connection that creates the perfect foundation for EFT tapping.
There are pressure points all over the body, but like many other EFT practitioners, I use 9 specific points to do the release work.
Like acupuncture, EFT focuses on the meridian points (or energy hot spots) to restore the body’s energy balance, but with our fingertips instead of needles. Meridians are like energetic highways that run through the body to help support and balance energy flow. So, by tapping on the 9 pressure points over and over, we can change the current emotional state. It is fascinating how quickly we can shift our emotions using the tapping sequence below:
You can see the main EFT tapping points here:
Each meridian point mirrors each side of the body, so you can tap on either or both sides. Each point corresponds to an internal organ along with specific emotions to release:
- karate chop (KC): small intestine meridian, releases worry and obsession
- inner eyebrow (EB): bladder meridian, releases trauma and sadness
- side of the eye (SE): gallbladder meridian, releases rage and resentment
- under the eye (UE): stomach meridian, releases fear and anxiety
- under the nose (UN): governing vessel, releases shame and guilt
- chin (Ch): central vessel, releases confusion and embarrassment
- collarbone (CB): kidney meridian, releases indecision and stress
- under the arm (UA): spleen meridian, releases slow self-esteem and hopelessness
- top of the head (TH): governing vessel, releases inner critic and lack of focus
Putting it all together in 7 easy steps to releasing any negative emotion:
- Acknowledge the Issue:
You must identify the problem or fear and work on one at a time. Choose the one that feels the strongest.
- Rate the emotion:
Rate the intensity of the emotion on a scale of 0-10. “0” means it has no current negative charge and a “10” is the worst it could be at that moment.
- Formulate your “Even though….” setup phrase:
- karate chop (KC): “Even though (insert current emotion here), I completely love myself, accept myself and forgive myself”
Example: Even though I am feeling anxious today, I completely love myself, accept myself and forgive myself.
Repeat this 3 times on the karate chop point.
- Tap through each point honoring the negative emotion
One each point, tap 5-7 times while talking through the emotion. We are allowing our brain to feel the emotion here so that ultimately it can let it go.
Some examples of phrases that work well here are things like:
- inner eyebrow (EB): “I am not sure I am ready to let this go”
- side of the eye (SE): “I do not know who I would be without this ‘anxiety’”
- under the eye (UE): “I am not good enough without this ‘anxiety’”
- under the nose (UN): “This ‘anxiety’ keeps me safe”
- chin (Ch): “This emotion gets results in my life and I do not know who I would be without it.”
- collarbone (CB): “This anxiety has protected me for so long”
- under the arm (UA): “I need this anxiety in my life”
- top of the head (TH): “I am not sure I am ready to let this ‘anxiety’ go”
- Repeat setup phrase three times
After going through all the points, on the karate chop, repeat three times the setup phrase from step #3. If it feels like the phrase has shifted on its own, that is fine. Trust your intuition and use what comes to your mind first!
- Tap through each point with the intent of releasing the emotion
One each point above, tap 5-7 times while focusing on releasing the current emotion.
Some examples of phrases that work well here are things like:
- inner eyebrow (EB): “I am ready to let this go”
- side of the eye (SE): “I love myself and my life without this ‘anxiety’”
- under the eye (UE): “I am more than enough without this ‘anxiety’”
- under the nose (UN): “This ‘anxiety’ keeps me safe”
- chin (Ch): “I choose to release this emotion now so I can move forward.”
- collarbone (CB): “This ‘anxiety’ no longer keeps me safe and protects me”
- under the arm (UA): “This emotion no longer serves me, and I am ready to let this go”
- top of the head (TH): “I am confident releasing this ‘anxiety’ now
- Check the intensity level
After tapping through all the points, check on the intensity scale of 0-10 and see how your current emotion has changed. You want to get this as low as possible. I always suggest a minimum of 3 rounds of tapping (steps #3-#6) until you have lowered it as much as possible. The entire sequence can happen in a matter of a few minutes!
Once you have worked on the emotion you started with, you can go on to another the same way!
Don’t hesitate to reach out and ask my questions and/or let me know how it is working for you.
You can head to the home page: huntresscoaching.com and sign up for my FREE mini tapping course to get a copy of the PDF above along with my Every Day Tapping Script for you to practice.
Happy Tapping!
Xoxo,
Leanna
