About Emotional Freedom Technique

Emotional Freedom Technique (also known as "EFT", "tapping" or "EFT Tapping") is a stress-reduction technique that works with the body and mind to heal the physical and emotional wounds that keep us from living our best lives. It's often described as emotional acupuncture - but without the needles!  

EFT tapping works, in part, with the subtle but powerful energy circuits (known as meridians) that run through our body. These energy pathways are at the heart of many Eastern healing practices including acupuncture and acupressure. But where acupuncture and acupressure focus primarily on healing physical issues (by balancing disturbances in the flow of energy throughout the body), Emotional Freedom Technique seeks to heal the emotional issues that keep us from achieving optimal health and well-being.

During your EFT coaching session you'll be guided to gently tap (using your fingertips) on certain acupressure points (acupoints) of your body while "tuning into" a particular challenge or concern and your emotions around it. The primary goal of tapping is to calm the body and facilitate healing and personal growth by: (i) reducing or eliminating the emotional charge around upsetting events and situations, and (ii)  identifying and transforming limiting beliefs and unhelpful patterns of thought and behavior.    

When emotional issues are confronted and cleared, the body is better able to heal itself. And when we reduce stress and get negative thought patterns and beliefs out of our way: personal performance can reach new heights, relationships can take on greater depth, meaning and purpose; we can make more conscious and empowered decisions; find new ways of moving forward; and meet life's challenges with greater clarity and peace. 

When you're stressed or experiencing any other "negative" emotional state, a small cluster of cells (called the amygdala) nestled in your mid-brain and forming part of your limbic system is triggered, setting off an "alarm bell" that activates your body's fight, flight or freeze response. Once this stress response is activated a whole host of changes are initiated in your body. Your immune system is suppressed, your adrenaline begins to surge, your muscles tense, your heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar all begin to rise...and blood begins to flow away from your brain (making it more difficult to think and see things clearly) and out to your limbs and peripheral muscles, in case you need to run or fight. 

While this is all good in situations where there is a real threat to your physical safety, unfortunately neither your mind or body have evolved to the point where they can distinguish between "actual" threats and "perceived" threats. This means that even the most benign of daily stressors (like your husband taking the last cup of coffee or you being late for work) can cause the amygdala to sound the alarm. And while the resulting stress response may not feel as noticeable as it might if you were being chased by a tiger through the jungle, its still there... and its cumulative ill-effect on the body should not be underestimated.

When done correctly, Emotional Freedom Technique (and in particular "tapping" on acupoints while recalling an upsetting thought or experience) sends a calming signal to the body and allows the amygdala and other parts of the limbic system associated with fear to recognize it's safe. The stress response is then deactivated, even though the upsetting thought or experience may still be present.  What's even more fascinating is that through repetition, tapping appears to reprogram our brain and retrain our limbic response so that thoughts or situations that were once filed away as "dangerous" are no longer seen as a threat. This means we can tune into a previously upsetting thought (or even re-experience a "trigger" tied to a prior trauma - such as a smell, taste, sound, or visual cue) with less emotional distress.   

Approximately 85% of all illness is believed to have a root in emotional stress. Stress negatively impacts our health and periods of prolonged stress can have a devastating effect on our body. Not only does stress impact how we think and feel, it suppresses the functioning of our immune system. What's more, if stress hormones (such as cortisol and adrenaline) remain elevated for too long they become toxins - damaging cells, interfering with memory and learning, decreasing skin elasticity, muscle mass and bone density, increasing fat deposits around our bellies and waist, and even promoting the growth of tumors.  Needless to say, incorporating practices that help reduce stress and improve our emotional state can have a dramatic effect on our happiness and longevity. 

While EFT tapping may still be considered experimental in nature and questions remain as to the exact mechanism(s) through which it works, its effectiveness is supported by a large and ever-expanding body of scientific research. To date, over 100 scientific papers about EFT have been published in peer-reviewed psychology and medical journals and the research (which encompasses dozens of randomized control trials along with pre and post outcome studies, meta-analyses and systematic reviews) continues to grow. In fact, in just the past few years the first fMRI study documenting the occurrence of neural/brain changes with EFT was concluded, along with two important studies showing significant drops in cortisol (our main stress hormone) with the use of Emotional Freedom Technique. 

As EFT continues to become more widely practiced and studied, there's little doubt that the evidence base to support it will continue to grow. Still curious? Click the button below to find additional resources on Emotional Freedom Technique and the science behind it.