What Is Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)? A Powerful Mind-Body Tool For Managing Your Emotional Health

What is Emotional Freedom Technique?

At its core, EFT is based on the premise that unresolved emotional issues contribute to physical and psychological discomfort. EFT is also sometimes referred to as tapping because you tap on specific acupressure points on your body. By doing this, EFT is believed to help release various energetic blockages in order to manage your emotions and alleviate anxiety and stress.

Emotional Freedom Technique can be traced back to traditional Chinese medicine and the concept of energy meridians that run through the body. In this ancient practice, physical and emotional health is believed to be intricately linked to the flow of energy within these meridians. EFT was developed by Gary Craig in the 1990s, who simplified these concepts into a practical method that anyone can use at any time.

How to practice EFT

Overall, EFT is a pretty straightforward process. Just follow these 6 steps to get started:

1. Identify the issue

Begin by pinpointing the specific emotion you want to address. Whether it is fear, anxiety, pain, or stress, identifying what emotion you want to get rid of is the first step in actually overcoming it. 

2. Assign a rating to your emotion

Rate the intensity of the emotion you want to overcome on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 being no emotional distress and 10 being the most intense. Write down whatever number you gave your emotion so you can reference back to it at the end of the process.

3. Recite an affirmation

Recite an affirmation related to your issue, starting with an acknowledgement of the issue itself, followed by a statement of self-love. For example, "Even though I am anxious about public speaking, I am confident in my abilities and accept who I am."

4. Start tapping 

After setting up your affirmation, you’ll then start tapping on the specific acupressure points on your body while repeating your affirmation 3 times. The primary points are on the head, face, upper body, and hands. The sequence goes as follows:

• Your palms
• Top of your head
• Inside of your eyebrow
• Outer side of your eye
• Under your eye
• Under your nose
• Your chin
• Your collarbone
• Under your armpit

5. Assess

At the end of the tapping process, reevaluate the intensity of your emotion on the 0 to 10 scale. The goal is to reduce the intensity of your emotion as close to 0 as possible.

6. Repeat

If no change was made in your number or you want to continue getting closer to 0, repeat the tapping process from the beginning.

What does science say about EFT?

Although EFT may seem unconventional, it has started to gain some attention from the medical community as more and more studies come out that further prove the anecdotal evidence that has been around for a while. In fact, Emotional Freedom Technique has been found to be beneficial in multiple areas of your physical and emotional health.

1. Chronic pain

Not only does chronic pain impact your daily life, it has also been linked to emotional distress. Studies have found (1) that EFT was able to decrease the connectivity between the medial profrontal cortex and grey matter areas in your thalamus - two pain modulating areas of your brain. This contributed to a 21% reduction in chronic pain levels, a 37% decrease in anxiety, and a 17% increase in overall happiness in those struggling with chronic pain. 

2. Anxiety

EFT shines when it comes to its ability to lower anxiety. When compared to traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), studies found (2) that EFT was able to improve anxiety levels in 90% of patients compared to only 63% of patients who only participated in CBT. Plus, EFT was able to start reducing anxiety levels after just three sessions whereas CBT took at least 15 sessions to see a difference.

3. Stress

Research has shown that EFT is able to significantly reduce (3) levels of your body’s stress hormone, cortisol by up to 24% after a single session.

4. Trauma and PTSD

EFT has shown promise (4) in helping people process and release traumatic experiences, specifically those with PTSD, without the risk of any side effects. 

5. Weight Management

For those struggling with weight problems due to emotional eating, EFT has been linked to helping people break free from unhealthy eating habits and cravings by addressing the emotional triggers behind them. In fact, EFT has been shown to maintain improvements (5) in these factors for at least a 2-year period.

The Takeaway

Even though more research needs to be done to fully understand the mechanisms behind EFT, there’s no denying that this therapy can be a powerful healing tool to have in your toolbox. As a functional medicine practitioner, my job is to identify the root cause behind your ongoing health problems, so while EFT can be a beneficial tool for overcoming negative emotions, I always suggest seeking out professional guidance from a counselor and functional medicine expert who can walk with you to uncover any underlying problems contributing to your physical health problems and emotional distress.

As one of the first functional medicine telehealth clinics in the world, we provide webcam health consultations for people around the globe.

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