Many of you have heard about Tapping but wonder “what the heck is it?” Or maybe you dismissed it because it looked too simple to possibly work.
I have used Tapping on occasion in my therapy practice for many years. When I first learned it in the 90’s, it was called Thought Field Therapy, created by Roger Callahan and was very complicated. I used to sit with a client with the book in my lap so I could refer to it often during the session. I just could not remember all of the tapping sequences he used. Fortunately, one of Callahan’s students, Gary Craig redesigned it, knowing that really only one sequence was needed for everything. It was then named Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and is often just called Tapping.
Tapping or Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a simple tool that really anybody can use; even kids. But it can also be more complicated when a person wants to use it for deeper emotional issues and then a therapist or coach is a better choice. Tapping is actually tapping on the points (or meridians) of your body as an acupuncturist would do. But no needles – I’m not into pain!
Tapping is being used successfully around the world for various issues such as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), fears, phobias, weight loss, food cravings, chronic pain (focus is on the emotion around it), financial success, and many others.
When we experience a trauma or something that triggers a negative emotion, we create neural pathways that allow those negative emotions to get triggered. So, let’s say that you believe you are stupid; you will look for evidence to support that and ignore other evidence. Did you know that we can double the neural connections for a given thought pattern in only ONE hour? Tapping interrupts the process of building and reinforcing more neural pathways of negative emotion or limiting beliefs. Tapping sends signals to the brain to react calmly and not with fear or anxiety. It has been proven to significantly reduce cortisol (the stress hormone) levels which reduces stress. High cortisol levels have been linked to weight gain which is why Tapping is so effective in weight loss.
To see how Tapping works, go to this video.
And the best thing is: Tapping will work even if you don’t believe in it! 😉
