EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Technique, it’s a breakthrough technology in the field of counselling. EFT Tapping is a fast and easy process that can help you get freedom from negative emotions. EFT practitioners consider it so versatile that they recommend trying it on everything.
EFT has been used with phenomenal success by millions of people around the world with a vast range of symptoms. What is truly wonderful about tapping is that it often works in minutes with long-lasting results that usually create a domino effect of positive changes in our lives. Tapping is extremely easy to learn and once you have this tool, you'll have it for life.
EFT Tapping has been described as a combination of ancient Ayurvedic marma therapy, acupressure , cognitive behavioural therapy and modern psychology. By using our fingertips to tap on certain points on the face and the body, while talking out loud about the particular issue we are focusing on, we are re-wiring the brain to feel safe and detached around the issue. The memory remains but the emotional charge is gone. You can't undo a past event but you can change the way you feel about it.
One of the greatest aspects of Tapping, which makes it a well-rounded and complete technique, is that it allows you to release the old and reprogram in the new. When we first begin tapping, we start with what you are currently experiencing (the negative) and once you feel that the issue is cleared, we move onto tapping on what you do want to experience as its replacement (the positive).
By Tapping on the negative and the positive, we are effectively re-programming the brain to respond differently to the same circumstances. This has a cascade effect on the rest of our lives and ultimately has the potential to create what we truly desire for our selves. This gentle, but powerful, results-orientated approach often produces a phenomenal outcome.
EFT is a complete game changer in the world of health and wellness and psychology. Tapping is a complete and comprehensive, self-help healing tool that can work for everyone, putting the power of healing back into our own hands-or should I say fingertips!
How does EFT Tapping Work ?
EFT tapping calms the down the limbic system, the part of the brain associated with making decisions, memory and emotions. The limbic system is home of the 'fight or flight response' and is linked with post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, worry, depression and other negative emotional states.
The Benefits of Tapping
Tapping can be used on any and all problems that you may be facing. From physical pain to emotional trauma and even something as seemingly small as hiccups, EFT has the potential to change your current circumstances in minutes.
- Anxiety and Panic attacks
- Stress
- Depression
- Insecurity and self-esteem issues
- Fears, like heights, flying, public speaking
- Phobias such as water, spiders, small and enclosed spaces
- Physical pain
- Trauma
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Weight issues
- Relationship issues with romantic partners and family members
- Workplace stress and problems
- Illness
- Addictions like smoking, drinking, food
- Insomnia
- Patterns, such as constantly being late, chronic injuries, attracting bad circumstances
- Negative state of mind
- Childhood issues
- Anger
- Concentration and motivation
- Fertility, childhood and parenting
The Origins of Tapping
Dr. Roger Callahan was a psychologist who had been treating a patient named Mary for over a year, with little result. Mary suffered from an extreme phobia of water that had developed in childhood. Water in all forms, including bathing, seeing water on television terrified Mary. Now a woman in her 40's with two children, Mary decided to seek help, as her fear was effecting her life drastically as well as her ability to parent effectively.
Mary had gained a deep understanding of her fear of water through Dr. Callahan's talk therapy sessions, yet her consuming fear had yet to improve, a situation frustrating to both client and therapist.
One day, during a session Mary revealed that she felt this phobia of water in the pit of her stomach. Around the same time Dr. Callahan had been researching meridian points on the body. Meridians form the foundation of Chinese medicine and are defined as channels of energy through which flow the life force or 'Qi' to the organs and systems throughout the body. When a meridian is blocked or disrupted, it causes imbalances in the body. By inserting needles (acupuncture) or applying pressure (acupressure) to the meridian points, it allows the normal flow of Qi to be restored and the body becomes rebalanced.
When Mary mentioned this pit in her stomach sensation, it gave Dr. Callahan an idea based on his new found knowledge of meridians. He instructed Mary to tap, using her fingertips, on the point that connects to the stomach, located just below the eye.
After a few minutes of this tapping Mary exclaimed "Its gone! That horrible feeling I get in the pit of my stomach when I think about water is completely gone!" To their shared surprise, Dr Callahan's suggestion had worked. Mary then went to the swimming pool at Dr. Callahan's house and felt no anxiety what so ever. She even felt calm enough to splash with the water. From that day on, Mary never experienced fear of water again. Even now, 30 years after this experience Mary still feels safe and calm around water.
Dr. Callahan was astounded by the results and went on to study, experiment and create the first system of Tapping. One of his students, a man named Gary Craig, furthered Callahan's research and created a simplified, but ultimately more powerful tool that he branded EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique).