Tapping Stress Away

by Alexandria Barker
(Brighton, On)

My favorite method for reducing stress is using the Emotional Freedom Technique. You can learn all about EFT by clicking the link on my Nav Bar on the left side of this page.

I heard about EFT last summer when I subscribed to an audio series compiled by Nicolas Ortner, producer of the DVD Try It On Everything.

I was instantly drawn to this tapping technique because of the simplicity. I love the quick results I receive, and the fact I can easily teach others to use it also.

I tap daily for specific issues in my life I'm working on. I also tap anytime I feel stressed for any reason. Basically it works like this:

EFT tapping is like emotional acupuncture, but without the needles! It involves tapping on specific points on the meridian lines of the body while repeating phrases about what’s bothering you.

When addressing stress, I start by taking an Intensity Rating to determine how stressed I really feel on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 being 'no problem' and 10 being 'very upsetting'.

Then I create a tapping ‘set-up statement’, such as “Even though I’m so worried about this issue, I deeply and completely accept myself.” which I repeat 3x while tapping on the Karate chop point (edge of hand).

Next, I use use a ‘reminder phrase’ , such as “this worry” to hold my focus, repeating it once for each of the series of EFT tapping points.

Then I check the intensity rating to see if it's gone down.

Let's say I'm really stressed about something, judging it to be a 9 when I start, and the first round brings the anxiety down to, say, 4.

I'd repeat the process again, changing the set-up statement to "Even though I have this remaining worry, I deeply and completely accept myself."

My reminder phrase would become “this remaining worry”, which I'd repeat for each point, going through the entire series of points. Then I'd check in again with the intensity rating, continuing with this process till I rated the discomfort a 0.

The great thing about EFT tapping is you can do it anywhere, once you become familiar with the points you can even visualize yourself tapping and get great results! Try it and see for yourself!

Important note: Though EFT has produced remarkable clinical results, it is still considered to be in the experimental stage. Practitioners and the public must take complete responsibility for their use of it and their own physical and emotional well-being.