Why You Should Try EFT Tapping – Even If You Think It’s a Bit Weird

I’d be the first to admit that EFT can look a bit strange.

You’re feeling stressed, anxious, overwhelmed or stuck, and someone suggests you tap on your face and body while talking about how you feel…

Yeah, ok!

But sometimes the things that look or sound a bit unusual can be surprisingly effective. And EFT – Emotional Freedom Techniques, or Tapping – is one of those things.

So, if you’ve been curious but haven’t got round to actually trying it, here are a few reasons why I think you should.

As a bit of a cynic, this is one of my favourite things about EFT.

You don’t have to believe in it.

You don’t need to sit cross-legged, light a candle or burn incense (though you can if you want!). You can be sceptical. You can think it looks ridiculous. You can even spend the first few minutes wondering what on earth you are doing.

EFT combines talking about what you’re experiencing with gentle tapping on specific acupressure points on the face and upper body. The idea is to help calm the body’s stress response while you focus on whatever is bothering you.

You don’t have to force yourself to relax.

Just notice what’s going on and start tapping.

We’re often very good at knowing that we’re stressed.

We may be slightly less good at knowing what to do about it.

“Try not to overthink” and “Just relax” are excellent tips, apart from the minor problem that nobody tells you how.

Telling yourself to relax isn’t always particularly helpful  when your mind is racing at 2am, you’re replaying a conversation for the 47th time or your shoulders seem to have taken up permanent residence somewhere around your ears.

EFT gives you something practical to do.

You can tap while acknowledging exactly what is happening:

I’m really overwhelmed.

I can’t stop thinking about this.

I’m absolutely furious about what she said.

You might be surprised at what happens.

“EFT is easy, effective and produces amazing results. I think it should be taught in elementary schools.”
Donna Eden

Don’t assume you need to have a major emotional issue or be at crisis point before working with an EFT practitioner.

That’s absolutely not the case.

EFT can be used for the everyday things that make life harder than it needs to be: stress, overthinking, procrastination, nerves about a meeting, worrying about what someone thinks of you or feeling ridiculously irritated by something that really shouldn’t be bothering you that much.

And yes, EFT can also be used to explore deeper patterns, such as the beliefs, memories and emotional reactions that may have been hanging around for years.

Sometimes the thing you think you’re tapping on turns out not to be the real issue at all.

That can often be where things start to get interesting.

This can be a huge relief for some people.

There’s no need to explain every detail of something difficult to work with it using EFT.

A skilled practitioner can work sensitively and at your pace. If there’s something you don’t want to describe in detail, you don’t have to.

You can even keep the details private. As long as you know what you’re focusing on, we can work with the feelings, physical sensations or beliefs connected to it instead.

EFT is not about pushing you into something you’re not ready for.

Have you ever said, “I’m fine” while your stomach is churning, your jaw is clenched and your heart is pounding?

Our bodies can have a rather different opinion about how fine we are.

Stress and difficult emotions aren’t things we only experience in our thoughts. We feel them physically too, whether that’s in a tight chest, a knot in the stomach, a lump in the throat, that wired feeling when you desperately want to sleep, or some other signal your body is using.

EFT gives us a way of paying attention to those physical responses rather than simply trying to think our way out of them.

One thing I love about EFT is how it can help us become curious about ourselves rather than critical.

Instead of saying Why am I like this? you may start to wonder Why does this feel so difficult for me? Or When have I felt like this before?

Perhaps you keep putting yourself last.

Perhaps you struggle to say no.

Maybe being visible feels strangely uncomfortable.

Or maybe you know what you want to do but somehow keep procrastinating.

Perhaps a relatively small situation triggers a surprisingly big emotional reaction.

There’s usually a real reason lying behind this.

EFT can help us explore what might be underneath the reaction, without judging ourselves for having it in the first place.

You don’t need an EFT practitioner every time life throws something annoying in your direction.

Once you know the tapping points and understand the basics, EFT becomes a tool you can use yourself in all sorts of situations: before a difficult conversation, after a stressful day, when you can’t switch your brain off, when you’re feeling overwhelmed, when you’re about to do something outside your comfort zone.

For more complex or deeply rooted issues, working with a qualified practitioner can be really valuable. For the stresses and wobbles of everyday life, tapping can become a really useful tool to have at your fingertips.

Obviously, I’m going to say yes.

It’s not a miracle cure, and one round of tapping won’t suddenly make every problem in your life disappear.

But it is gentle, and it is practical.

Try it because you’re feeling curious.

The things you’ve tried so far maybe haven’t quite shifted what you wanted them to. And you’ve got nothing to lose by seeing how it feels.

And you might just be surprised by how much it helps.

Even if you do feel a bit self-conscious the first time you tap on your face.

I work primarily with women in midlife and beyond who are dealing with stress, emotional overload, overthinking, self-sabotage and those patterns that they know they’d like to change but haven’t quite managed to shift on their own – women who might not be where they expected to be at this stage of life.

If you’d like to experience EFT for yourself, you can book a free initial chat with me to find out more.

No pressure, no obligation and no requirement whatsoever to believe it’s going to work!