“To experience peace does not mean that your life is always blissful. It means that you are capable of tapping into a blissful state of mind amidst the normal chaos of a hectic life“~Jill Botte Talylor
What is EFT?
EFT / Emotional Freedom Technique / Tapping / Energy Psychology – whichever you choose to call it – is a powerful holistic technique, developed by Gary Craig in the 1990s, that can be used as a stress-relieving tool. It is based on the understanding that negative emotions arise from blockages in your body’s energy systems. By tapping on acupressure points, together with talk therapy (CBT), EFT stimulates the flow of positive energy, thereby reducing the intensity of or releasing the negative emotion.
EFT is performed by applying pressure (tapping with your fingertips) at specific points on the body known as meridians. These points are located along our bodies’ major energy pathways. Experiencing negative emotions can cause these pathways to become blocked. Through tapping, we can balance and restore the energy of the body and unblock these pathways, allowing the natural healing process to take place. By doing this we can reduce negative thoughts and emotions in the moment, as well as on a deeper level.
Once you learn how to use Tapping, you can practice it on your own whenever you need to and achieve incredible results. For complicated issues it is best to work one-on-one with an experienced practitioner who will help you to remain focused and offer guidance where you become stuck.
A little bit on the more technical side of it
When we become stressed or anxious, the amydala(the part of your brain that contributes to emotional processing) sends out a distress signal to our sympathetic nervous system(best known for responding to dangerous or stressful situations.
This activates our bodies’ fight-or-flight response – and our bodies start producing higher levels of cortisol(the stress hormone).
Tapping on the acupressure points sends a message to our brains to calm down.
By doing this while we think about what is causing us the stress, it helps our brains understand that we are not in physical danger.
Our brains then know it’s safe to relax, thereby interrupting the flight-or-flight response and causing our central nervous system to switch over to the parasympathetic side(the part of the brain that drives ‘freezing’ and regulates our rest function).
The result is a reduction in cortisol levels, which then means less stress.
The Benefits of EFT
Tapping has been shown to relieve negative feelings. These include stress, overwhelm, anxiety, worry, fear, sadness and anger, amongst many others.
It has been proven to lower cortisol levels, improve sleep, increase productivity, and provide relief from traumatic memories or negative emotions.
Even physical pain and discomfort can be alleviated.
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another”~William James
Don’t allow negative feelings or thoughts to control you.
EFT teaches you to say goodbye to worry, overwhelm, stress, and troublesome thoughts.
Do you find it difficult to handle life’s challenges, struggling to keep up?
Have you been feeling increasingly frustrated, taking your frustrations out on others?
Do you have difficulty sleeping or wake up exhausted?
Have you lost interest in your work or no longer enjoy your hobbies?
Do you feel overwhelmed, tearful or irritable?
Have you been plagued by negative thoughts you can’t seem to get under control?
Do you simply feel like you’ve been hit by a train and you just want to run away?
Do you struggle with health issues, such as eczema, headaches, shoulder tension, which seem to get worse when you’re stressed
Do you long to feel like yourself again?
Do you want to feel calmer, more confident and in control?
Do daydream that all your problems will simply disappear?
Do you crave freedom from feelings of stress and anxiety?
Do you yearn to be content with your life, and to enjoy the present moment?
Do you covet being able to concentrate and have clarity of thought?
Do you dream of quieting your racing mind?
If you found yourself nodding along to any of the above, then my friend, it’s a good indication that your stress levels are too high. Each and every one of us experiences and reacts differently to stress. For all of us though, when stress becomes overwhelming and prolonged, it can affect all areas of our personal and professional life.
EFT can help reduce the impact of stress
Stress is nothing new to the average professional. It affects us all. We face so many demands on a daily basis – between our careers, kids, cleaning schedules, finances, friendships, and family relationships, the list goes on. It’s easy to understand how our lives can become quite overwhelming when we take on too much and forget to look after ourselves.
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A little stress is okay and can even be beneficial. It’s when this stress becomes more than occasional but rather a constant in our daily lives, that it can have detrimental effects on our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health.
Stress puts us into our fight-or-flight response which, if it persists, results in imbalances that block our body’s ability to heal itself. Only when stress levels come down, can the body rebalance and restore it’s ability to heal itself. EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) can help to release the fight, flight or freeze response so that the negative impact of stress is reduced.
The problem, however, is that recognising stress can be more difficult than you might think. Most of us have become so accustomed to feeling stressed we don’t realise we’re stressed until we’ve reached depression, anxiety and/or burnout.
Long-term stress
Long-term stress can increase your risk of mental health concerns such as anxiety or depression, and your risk of physical health concerns including IBS, skin conditions, muscle tension or frequent headaches.
If you’re finding it increasingly difficult to cope with all of life’s demands, feeling anxious, or suffering from unexplained physical ailments, there is a very good chance that you could be stressed.
The harsh reality is that it cannot be ignored and the longer you leave it, the more helpless and desperate you may find yourself feeling.
By confronting and dealing with the issues sooner rather than later, with the assistance of a professional, you can set yourself up to overcome those life triggers, so the little things don’t compound and escalate into bigger problems. Then you can manage your life more easily, enjoy the present moment and take pleasure in your everyday life.
EFT for Stress, Anxiety and Pain Relief
Stress: By choosing Emotional Freedom Technique for stress management, you can overcome stress more easily. Tapping helps reduce levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) and can provide an almost immediate feeling of being more calm, relaxed, and in control.
Anxiety: Anxiety is closely related to stress. Stress can cause anxiety and conversely having anxiety can cause stress. Tapping can help calm the mind and body during an anxiety attack. It can also be used to treat anxiety disorders.
Pain relief: Stress often manifests in the body as pain and consequently pain has an emotional component to it. Tapping helps unblock the body’s natural energy pathways which allows for the release of endorphins (natural painkillers), leading to increased energy and a decrease in pain.
“It always seems impossible until it’s done“~Nelson Mandela
Help is available to you
As a certified EFT Practitioner, I combine tapping and mindfulness mediation to help you on your healing journey.
I will work with you to
- uncover the causes of your stress,
- help you identify triggers or warning signs, and
- develop new skills and tools to manage your daily life with ease and grace.
I will also teach you how to use this simple and effective tool to help yourself in between sessions or we have finished our work together.
Using tapping will help you connect with yourself, release negative emotions and clear out unhelpful thoughts. You will experience greater confidence, be able to think more clearly, feel more in control and be more energised and focused.
I can help you not only to survive the storm but also to thrive with calm and composure.
EFT Packages
Allow me to take you by the hand and guide you on your journey of healing.
I promise to treat you with care.
All EFT Packages include the following:
- All packages include a free 45-minute introductory call
- The first 30 minutes of the introductory call is dedicated to discussing why you have reached out to me, what it is that you are hoping to achieve through working with me, what your current situation is and to ensure that I am able to help you
- The last 15 minutes of this call will allow for a mini-tapping session for you to experience the beauty of EFT, get an idea of how I work and what you can expect during our sessions
- This call is also a great opportunity for us to get to know each other and decide whether we are a good fit to work together
- Each further 1-hour session of your chosen package will start with me asking you some questions about the issue you want to work on so that I can help to guide you and suggest how to word your tapping statements and affirmations, I will work with you to release blocked energy surrounding your issue
- In addition to the sessions, you will receive an audio-recorded guided EFT visualisation which you can listen to at home to help you manage your stress and overwhelm
- A printable journal, including journal prompts, will be emailed to you after our introductory call. This will make it easy for you to journal in one place and keep a record of everything that comes up during and between our sessions. This is all part of the process
- You will learn how to effectively use EFT on your own so you will be able to tap through difficult or stressful situations, on your own, as and when they arise
*Please note I do not offer individual sessions.
Allow me to take you by the hand and guide you on your journey of healing.
I promise to treat you with care.
You can select from any the following Packages:
- 3 sessions @ 1 hour/session: £357.00
- 6 sessions @ 1 hour/session: £697.00
- 9 sessions @ 1 hour/session: £1 027.00
“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it“~Albert Einstein
The Tapping Points
You will move through each of the following meridian points, tapping on each point 5 to 7 times, for a number of rounds.
- Side of the Hand: ‘Karate Chop point”: Tap on the outer side of the palm below the little finger
- Top of the Head: Tap on the crown (centre) of your head
- Eyebrow: Tap on the inside edge of the eyebrow/s, where the eyebrow/s begin, closest to the bridge of the nose
- Side of the Eye: Tap on the bone along the outside edge of the eyes
- Under the Eye: Tap on the bone directly under the eyes
- Under the Nose: Tap on the area between the nose and the upper lip
- Chin: Tap on the crease between your lower lip and your chin
- Collarbone: Tap just beneath the inside edges of the collarbones – where the collarbones meet in the center.
- Under the Arm: Tap on the side of the body, about four inches below the armpit
The Steps
- Think of an issue you want to focus on
- Measure and rate the intensity of the issue
- Whilst tapping on the side of your hand, craft and repeat the set-up statement to describe your issue
- Move to the rest of the tapping points – first describing the issue and then followed by positive statements
- Stop, breathe and measure the intensity again
Think of an issue you want to focus on
What problem do you want to work on alleviating? This could be any issue, for example pain, stress, sadness, or perhaps fear.
Take a moment to connect with your body, focus on your breath and tune-in to the feeling/pain you’ve identified and notice where in your body you feel that sensation. Try to be specific.
Measure and rate the intensity of the issue
Notice the problem. How strong is it? Rate the severity of how you feel on a scale from 0 to 10. A rating of 0 being the least intense and a rating of 10 being the most. Note down this number.
Craft a ‘setup’ statement to describe your issue & then tap on the side of your palm and repeat the setup statement
This involves kindly and gently recognising the problem ad honouring yourself.
Your setup statement should acknowledge the problem you have identified, followed by a phrase of self-acceptance. The intention is to neutralise any judgments you may have around how you feel. An example of a setup statement would be “Even though I am feeling anxious about … right now, I truly and completely love and accept myself.”
Whilst tapping on the outer side of your palm (below the little finger), repeat the set-up statement to yourself 3 times.
Now move on to the rest of the tapping points(see below), one at a time: First describing the issue, and then followed by positive statements
first describe the issue for 1 or 2 rounds, then say some positive statements for the next 2 – 3 rounds
Tap on each point 5 to 7 times and, as you tap on each, say a simple statement about the problem, such as “this pain in my body” / “this fear in my heart” / “this anxiety in my stomach”, etc. Continue tapping through the tapping points while repeating the statement for 1 or 2 rounds
For the next 2 or 3 rounds, as you tap on each point, repeat a positive statement, such as “what if I can release this pain?” / “I no longer need to be afraid” / “I choose to let go of this anxiety”, etc. Notice your thoughts as you tap and if anything comes up for you, feel free to tap on that thought.
Stop, take a deep breath, and measure the intensity of how you are feeling about the issue now
Notice the level of the feeling/pain now, compared to when you started. Has there been a change? Has the pain subsided/Has your anxiety or other emotion come down? Give it a new rating on a scale of 0 to 10.
If the rating has come down below 2 or 3 you can carry on with your day, or, if you’d like to, keep tapping down to a 0. If you’re still feeling like your level is more than 2 or 3, I would recommend that you do another few rounds and keep checking in on the problem after every 2 or 3 rounds to see where you’re at. Keep tapping until you can give your problem a lower rating, or until you feel better.
If you feel like you’re struggling and are unable to move your level on your own, contact an EFT practitioner, whether that be me or someone else, to help guide you to your healing.
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart”~Helen Keller
