Stress Relief: Use the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)

Can't see how you're going to make that deadline? Go too much to do and not enough time? Do you feel a constant tension in your muscles? Not able to relax? Can't sleep? Do you feel unable to make decisions; you feel frozen and stuck? These can all be signs of stress.

Learn how to relieve your stress and anxiety with a simple technique that has gained attention from medical professionals and laypersons all over the world. The technique is called the Emotional Freedom Techinques (EFT).

The most successful health innovation in the last 100 years!

The Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) have taken Einstein's discoveries (that everything is energy, including the human body) and married them with the ancient tradition of acupuncture.

The success of EFT lies in the balancing of the body's subtle energies that flow through the body, in much the same way as blood flows through veins. This balancing is done with an elegant sort of emotional acupuncture. Instead of using needles, specific points on the body are stimulated by tapping with the fingertips.

EFT is so simple that it can be easily learned by anyone and self-applied. Some cases are more complex, however, and may require assistance from an experienced EFT Practitioner.

EFT is done by using your fingertips to tap on easily found acupressure points on the body. These points are shown below and are described in detail here. The points are the same on both sides of the face and body.

Please note that the points used here are considered a 'shortcut' method to the original Basic Recipe described in the free EFT Manual.

The tapping is done with the same firmness as you might drum your fingers on the desk. Use the middle three fingers of either hand when tapping so that you don't need to be worried about the exact location of the points. Use both hands and tap on both sides at the same time is preferable.

The tapping is combined with a focusing phrase that keeps your mind on the problem, in this case, the stress/anxiety. When we focus on the problem and tap on the acupressure points, the energy system in our body is balanced giving emotional relief.

In this case we will use a focusing phrase for your stress/anxiety such as: "Too much to do at work" or "This job interview anxiety" or "This need to strangle so-and-so". The more specific you are about the reason for the stress/anxiety the better.

Before starting the procedure, take a reading of how stressed/anxious you feel so that you can tell if there is any change. We do this by picking a number on a scale from 0 - 10, where 0 is relaxed and 10 is the worst the stress/anxiety has ever been. If you are unsure of the number then guess, as this will usually be the correct number. Write the number down so that you can compare it after applying the procedure.

1. On a scale of 0-10, where 10 is the worst, how intense is the feeling? Write down this number.
2. Start and continue tapping on the Karate Chop point while saying the following:

   "Even though I feel stressed and anxious, I accept how I feel right now."

   "Even though I feel stressed and anxious about this, I choose to take this moment to relax"

   "Even though I feel stressed and anxious, with too much to do and not enough hours in the day, I completely accept myself as human."

3. Continue tapping on the remaining points, from the head down, tap a few times while saying the focusing phrase. So, for example, start tapping on the top of the head and say "Too much to do" Then move to the eyebrow point, start tapping, and say "Too much to do". Continue until you have tapped on each of the illustrated tapping points. Remember to use a phrase that describes your particular circumstances.
4. Take another reading of the stress/anxiety on a scale of 0-10 and compare this to the questions (a), (b), and (c) below:

5. Is the new number lower than the one you wrote down in Step 1 i.e. has the stress/anxiety reduced? Great! Repeat the steps 1-4 until the number is at zero or doesn't go any lower.
6. Is the number the same but the feeling has now moved or changed in some way? Awesome! You're making progress. Make up a new focusing phrase to describe the new feeling and repeat steps 1-4.
7. Is the new number the same or higher than the number you wrote down in Step 1 i.e. has the feeling intensified in some way? STAY CALM. While you might think you have done something wrong, you have not. You are actually getting closer to the resolving the real issue behind the feeling. Please read the Advanced Notes below before repeating the procedure.

Questions to explore the core issues

If, after a round of tapping, the feeling has not changed or has even intensified then its time to put on your Detective's hat and delve deeper into the problem. It is very likely there is a deeper emotional issue related to the feeling that you need to find. To identify the emotional issue behind the stress/anxiety, ask yourself the following questions:

• When did the stress/anxiety first start?
• What was happening in your life at that time?
• What is the earliest time in your life that you remember having this feeling?
• Who does the feeling remind you of?
• Do you experience this stress/anxiety in a certain region of your body?

If you have trouble coming up with something, try guessing what this could be about as this will usually be the right memory.

Now that you have some answers, make up a new focusing phrase to describe this memory e.g. "this car accident anxiety", or "this divorce stress", or "this public speaking anxiety". The more specific to you and your situation the better. Let common sense guide you. Repeat the tapping steps 1-4 with this new focusing phrase.

Again, evaluate your results at the end of the round of tapping and proceed from there. Using this procedure will often achieve lasting results when nothing else has worked!

EFT is the most successful health innovation in the last 100 years and works for every emotional and physical issue you can name including:

trauma or abuse, stress or anxiety, PTSD, fears or phobias, depression, addiction, allergies, ADD/ADHD, anger management, headaches, back pains, or breathing difficulties

Even though EFT appears simple, correctly and artfully applied EFT often gets results when nothing else has worked.

Find out more about EFT and Tap4Health.

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