What is EFT and how could it help me?

By Claire Gibbs - EFT Level 2 Certified Practitioner accredited by EFT International. NLP Practitioner accredited by ABNLP

What is EFT?

You may have heard of EFT or Emotional Freedom Technique and been wondering what it’s all about.  It’s becoming increasingly talked about in the wellbeing sector as an effective method for reducing anxiety and trauma.  It’s also a powerful technique to challenge old patterns and beliefs that are holding us back. 

EFT utilises the same meridian pathways as acupuncture and involves stimulating specific points on the face and upper body.  Unlike acupuncture, no needles are required, we just tap on the acupressure points with our fingers – this is why another name for EFT is ‘tapping’. Tapping on the points sends a calming signal to the amygdala (best known for it's role in fear and threat detection) in the brain. 

Using these acupressure points is something that we already do unconsciously when we’re stressed.  For example, have you ever found yourself rubbing your temples or squeezing the bridge of your nose when stressed, placing your hands on chest when trying to process emotion or tapping your chin while thinking?

EFT utilises these acupressure points to send a calming signal to your brain at the same time as using two very well-researched psychological techniques:

• exposure (remembering a trauma or uncomfortable memory) and

• cognitive restructuring (self-acceptance and changing unhelpful patterns and beliefs that we set up at that time). 

 

How it helped me

I trained in EFT because of the massive impact that it, along with other techniques such as NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) had on my life.  I always thought that I was just ‘an anxious person’.  Anxiety was something that I just accepted in my life and tried to deal with – but it was robbing me of experiencing the full joy of life.  Eventually, I believe it led to me developing Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  That was the point at which I had no choice but to address the way I was living my life and make some massive changes.  Using EFT to get to the bottom of what was causing me to feel anxious, to process and lessen the impact of some key past memories and change some of my core negative beliefs has changed the way I move through the world forever.  I am no longer an ‘anxious person’, although I do of course still have brief times of anxiety.  I no longer believe some of those negative beliefs about myself that had been hiding in my unconscious and that helps me to show up in the world in a completely different way. 

 

Is this just ‘woo woo’ or is there science behind it?

I am a scientist by training, and one of the reasons that EFT appealed to me is that it is backed by robust scientific research.  I could easily write a whole blog just on the research but for now here’s a few key points and examples:

• Of 115 clinical trials of tapping, 113 showed a statistical significant benefit. 

• There have been three meta-analysis studies (which basically collate data from lots of other studies) and all three showed a high statistically significant benefit.

• A 2012 study (published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease) showed that a single one hour EFT session reduced cortisol levels by an average of 24%.

• A 2019 study (published in the Journal of Evidence-based Integrative Medicine) found that Clinical EFT participants experienced reductions in anxiety (40%), depression (35%), PTSD (32%), pain (57%) and cravings (74%).  Additionally, happiness increased by 31%!

 

How could EFT benefit your life?

There are so many ways that EFT can help create a more peaceful, fulfilled and healthy life.  It can help to reduce emotional stress allowing you to respond to challenges with greater calm, clarity and confidence.  Here are just some examples of what EFT can do:

• Help reduce anxiety and stress

• Help you process difficult emotions (e.g. fear, guilt, sadness)

• Help you let go of emotional baggage from the past

• Help you become less reactive in conversations or arguments

• Help overcome negative self-beliefs such as ‘I’m not good enough’

• Build self-acceptance and self-esteem

• Reduce fears and phobias

• and by calming the nervous system, it can help reduce insomnia and support healing

When to seek guidance from a practitioner

The basics of EFT are actually very simple and anyone can learn to do it.  There are some really useful websites around such as The EFT Centre  (https://theeftcentre.com/) which provides a free EFT mini course and The Tapping Solution (https://www.thetappingsolution.com/)  which has free tapping meditations.  There are also many you tube videos with tapping meditations you can follow along with. 

Whilst you can obtain noticeable benefits by using EFT as a self-help technique, working with a trained practitioner can turbo-charge the process.  Qualified practitioners have been taught many more techniques than the basic steps listed above and have been trained in how to get the most from the techniques for a client.  A practitioner can guide the client safely through difficult feelings and memories so that the client doesn’t get overwhelmed.  They can also spot unconscious patterns that the client may have without even realising and help them change and re-frame beliefs.  Above all, working with a practitioner is a way of obtaining support and coaching as you work through sometimes challenging issues and make positive changes in your life.  I know that working with a skilled practitioner was a game changer to me in making the changes that I did.

If you think you might like to work with a practitioner, just get in touch with me at clairelucygibbs@yahoo.co.uk and we can arrange a free no-obligation chat to see if what I offer is a good fit for you.