What are Emotional Freedom Techniques - AKA Tapping?
Often called tapping, Emotional Freedom Techniques is an easy-to-learn healing technique that clears emotional distress and reregulates the body's energy system.
Emotional Freedom Techniques or Tapping are a combination of ancient Chinese acupressure and modern energy psychology that works to physically alter your brain, energy system and body simultaneously. The practice consists of gently tapping with your fingertips on specific meridian points on your head and upper body while talking through traumatic memories and emotions attached to an event or situation. The techniques are powerful yet easy to learn and apply.
The act of tapping on the acupressure points sends a direct signal to the stress centers of the mid-brain where the amygdala resides. This area is commonly known as the “fight or flight” response and is the part of the brain system that initiates your body’s negative reaction to fear. The fear is reduced when a traumatic memory is recalled, and the fingertip tapping on acupressure points sends a message of safety to the body that neutralizes the emotionally arousing memory and reduces the stress hormone cortisol. Tapping creates an electric charge that travels through the body’s connective tissues and soothes the body’s stress response. Painful memories are neutralized and new neural pathways are created. This process can often result in rapid desensitization of psychological distress accompanied by beneficial cognitive shifts.
Once the distress is gone, the body knows how to rebalance itself and accelerate healing. Studies have demonstrated the effective and quick ability of EFT to alleviate emotional imbalance, post traumatic stress disorder, physical pain, and illness.
