There are many positive aspects to having stress. It keeps us alert, motivated to take action, and prepares us for danger. It’s a normal function of daily life and our bodies are designed to release it naturally.
Unfortunately, when the body doesn’t experience periods of relief and relaxation, stress becomes a problem, even a chronic one.
In today’s world, finding and maintaining a healthy relationship with stress can be challenging. It’s not always obvious how much is too much.
We are adaptable creatures and it’s possible to live years in an elevated adaptive state without realizing it. A person may not know there’s a problem until physical, emotional, or behavioral symptoms appear.
Common physical symptoms are aches and pains like headaches, stomachaches, and chest pains. However, it’s the emotional and mental symptoms like anxiety, depression, and panic attacks that seem to get the most attention.
The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), nicknamed tapping, is an easy self-help tool that gives quick relief. It’s designed to help calm the nervous system and release negative emotions so stress doesn’t become a problem.
It wasn’t until I was introduced to tapping that I realized how much I suffered from anxiety. My coping mechanism for dealing with my emotions was to ignore them by staying busy with my kids, work, and exercise. It’s how I coped with daily life. My routine rarely allowed for periods of rest. But, once I started to calm my nervous system, I liked how peaceful and calm I felt and I wanted to feel that way all the time.
Simply tapping on a meridian end point while focusing on a thought can loosen the emotional charge from an old wound that’s been buried for years.
EFT, or “tapping,” is a self-administered treatment using the fingertips on specific meridian endpoints of the body, while focusing on negative emotions or physical sensations. It combines the principles of ancient Chinese acupuncture, conventional psychology, and cognitive/exposure therapy.
The vibrating energy that tapping produces helps to calm the nervous system, rewire the brain, and reduce the intensity of the thoughts that cause distress.
Tap therapy can treat a variety of issues, even chronic pain. It’s becoming more widely accepted that our emotional issues can cause physical symptoms and tapping can treat both.
Our body is made up of layers of vibrating energy connecting our cells, organs, and tissues. When we experience negative emotions, they become trapped and stored in the body, leading to imbalances.
When we feel anxious about our circumstances, it is often what’s going on under the surface (our subconscious mind) rather than the situation at hand.
When overwhelmed with stress, our bodies react as if we’re in danger, triggering the release of chemicals into our bloodstream to prepare us to fight, flee, or freeze.
The brain’s limbic system is involved in both processing emotion and memory. This system encodes negative experiences with an emotional charge, a psychological energy block that alerts us of potential danger.
Our attention heightens whenever our subconscious mind senses this energy block.
For example, a child gets bitten by a neighborhood dog, suffering pain and fear from the event. The child’s system encodes an energy block of the event.
Fast forward 40 years and the adult may feel a surge of emotional intensity or experience pain within the body when a large dog is present, even though the adult may have forgotten the childhood trauma. The body still remembers and responds.
The same goes for many situations in our lives. We may not remember any traumatic events, but our brains can still perceive certain conditions as threatening.
So, when the boss is rude or your partner is in a bad mood, the subconscious mind detects danger, and stress hormones are released throughout the body.
By tapping on meridian endpoints, the stimulation signals to the subconscious mind that it’s safe — the brain shifts from a distressed state to a calm state. This allows the body to produce feel-good chemicals and quickly stops the brain from reinforcing troubling thoughts.
EFT can be as simple as tapping on one meridian endpoint for quick calming relief, or a more extended session with a trained practitioner for more complex issues like addiction or PTSD. There are hundreds of testimonials available on websites like EFT Universe and Tapping Solutions.
The speed with which tapping can drain the emotional intensity of even long-held memories is often surprising to those who have not experienced it before.
How to Tap
To tap, you need to identify the meridian endpoints that correspond to each side of the body and the corresponding internal organ. The most commonly used points are:
- the karate chop point (small intestine meridian)
- the eyebrow point (bladder meridian)
- the side of the eye point (gallbladder meridian)
- the under the eye point (stomach meridian)
- the under the nose point (governing vessel)
- the chin point (central vessel)
- the beginning of the collarbone point (kidney meridian)
- the under the arm point (spleen meridian)
To learn more about tapping, there are free sources online. You can read more detailed articles and videos on websites like EFT Universe and Tapping Solutions.
Why I love tapping
- It’s Simple –The steps are easy. Just focus on the issue that needs attention while tapping on the specific points on your body.
- It’s Accessible — It’s a do-it-yourself tool. You don’t need a licensed practitioner to try it. It can be practiced anytime and anywhere.
- It Works Fast — The calming effects are felt in minutes. The problem that felt intense or upsetting can quickly shift to a feeling of relief. The vibrating energy calms the energy body.
- It’s Cost-Effective –You can practice on your own without the help of an expert.
If you’re looking for a quick and natural way to release negative energy to feel better fast, I highly recommend that you give tapping a try. You may be surprised by how quickly and effectively it works for you.
Thanks for reading!
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