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How To Conduct EFT Tapping Sessions On Yourself

Private: How to conduct EFT sessions on yourself.

Conducting EFT Tapping sessions on yourself

What are the steps for EFT Tapping technique? How can you conduct EFT sessions on yourself and what is the EFT Tapping sequence? What is the best way to sketch a personal development plan for yourself?

If you are here reading this blog, then you very well know about the effectiveness of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) in overcoming almost all emotional and mental issues. 

To know how to conduct EFT sessions on yourself, let's first look at the basic EFT Tapping sequence that you can use for any issue that you want to resolve.

Below is a step-by-step guide to direct you through easily integrating EFT as a part of your daily routine.

1.

Identify the problem that you want to overcome

It can be anything that is bothering you in your life, or something that you want to change: for emotional reactions such as "to overcome my resentment towards my father" or "to stay calm and relaxed even when my son is behaving notoriously."

Or for physical reactions such as "to stop these recurring headaches" or "to keep my heart from pounding so hard when I am about to speak in front of so many people."

For habits of thought, such as "to focus more on my strengths rather than my shortcomings" or "to stop overthinking every little thing if a friend doesn't respond to my text."

For patterns of behavior, such as "to talk more politely" or "to stop scrolling through my mobile phone every few minutes."

It can even be something much deeper than this. If you are unsure about what issue you are facing, then ask yourself these questions with a calm mind:

  • What am I stressed about? What is upsetting me? Who is upsetting me?
  • How does that make me feel? How does that really make me feel?
  • Where in my body do I feel this stress or upset?
  • What kind of a sensation is it? How does that make me feel?

New to EFT? Learn how Emotional Freedom Technique Tapping heals.

Emotional Freedom Techniques (tapping) is clinically proven to lower stress, tension, anxiety, past-trauma to enable health, happiness and vitality.

2.

Measure the intensity of the problem

Once you have identified the issue you want to work on, the next step is to rate it on a scale of 1-10, where 1= low severity & 10 = high severity, based on the discomfort you experience when you think about the issue.

3.

Start tapping by saying the statement along

Tap on the Karate Chop (side of the hand) of one hand gently with the middle three fingers of the other hand and say the following quote three times: “Even though I am faced with… (state specific, detailed problem – what/who, how/what you feel, the severity number), I deeply and completely accept myself.” 

Example: “Even though I am really stressed because I have too much work and it makes me feel anxious and it’s a 10/10, I deeply and completely accept myself."

4.

Tap each point seven times as you say a phrase from each problem’s statement. Repeat key phrases out loud while tapping on the following points.

Repeat key phrases out loud from the problem, for example the emotion of specifics about the problem, while tapping on the points shown below.

  • Eyebrow – at the edge of the eyebrow just above the nose
  • Beside the eye – on the bone bordering the outer corner of the eye
  • Under the eye – on the bone just under the eye
  • Under the nose – between the bottom of the nose and the upper lip
  • Chin – midway between the point of the chin and the middle of the lower lip
  • Shoulder – at the junction where the collarbone and first rib meet
  • Under arm – under the arm about 10cm from the armpit
  • Thumb – on the outside of the thumb, level with the base of the nail
  • Index finger – on the side of the index finger closest to the thumb, level with the base of the nail (refrain if pregnant)
  • Middle finger – on the side of the middle finger closest to the index finger, in line with the base of the nail
  • Little finger – on the side of the little finger closest to the ring finger

5.

To begin the final clearing stage, repeat step 3.

6.

relax

Inhale gently, then exhale gently. Take a sip of water. It is important to drink water to flush out the toxins that this treatment will release.

7.

Test the results

Measure the problem again from 1 to 10. Notice how the problem and associated emotions have been altered in severity. If any emotional charge persists, repeat all steps until you feel liberated.

Conducting EFT Tapping technique on myself

We received a few questions related to applying EFT on yourself. They are listed below to give you a clarity on how can you conduct EFT sessions on yourself.

1. CONDUCTING EFT TAPPING sessionS ON mySELF

How can I conduct an hour-long EFT session on myself? When I work on myself, I found that I can only complete 10 minutes and not an hour-long session.

So here are some of the strategies you can adopt while working on yourself as a part of a case study or a personal peace procedure:

  • Fill in an intake form for a series of 6 self-help sessions and then book an appointment with yourself in the diary.
  • Make it an hour-long appointment and treat it like a professional appointment as if you were working with a client.
  • Set your private space up as if a client is coming, for example, clean the space, have a glass of water, tissues, spray the room with aroma oils to have the same smell, or light some incense.
  • Meditate prior to the beginning of a session, just like you would with a client.
  • As the session begins, review the intake form and then ask yourself, “What do you want to work on today?”
  • Role play both roles - What you can do is have 2 chairs available in the room where you sit in one position when you are the Practitioner and then sit in the other position when you are the client, as if you are working with a client. This approach causes you to physically stand up and move between the 2 different positions and allows you to come in a Practitioner/Giver/Observer and come in as Receiver/Client.
  • When you answer the question, then focus on that as the place to begin the session.
  • You can also open your Skype or Zoom account, look at yourself on the screen and ask yourself the question and wait for a response. The same approach is possible while looking at a mirror.

If you are unsure how to get started, follow these steps:

  1. Scan the body, mind, emotions and ask yourself, “How am I feeling today?”, “What do I want to work on today?”, “How is my body feeling?"," What does my body want from me?”, “Who or what situation needs some attention?”, “What do I want to explore, such that if I explored it, it would make a real difference to my life?”.
  2. Ask yourself, “What number is this issue, goal, or challenge that I want to explore today?”
  3. You can replace 'I' with 'you' as if you are the Practitioner asking yourself the question.
  • Write down the answers to the questions at any intensity levels (SUD’s and VOC’s). This will help you to stay on track with the different aspects being explored.
  • If you get stuck ask yourself, “If you were working with a client, what would you do right now?”
  • If the mind checks in, just notice the mind checking in. You might wander off for a bit and then you will find you will come back to yourself.
  • You can also record the sessions to remember what happened to be able to write up the case study.
  •  Role Play 2: Chair method, when working with self
    1. Have 2 chairs placed out side by side or diagonally opposite each other. Do not lace the chairs directly opposite each other as it can be too confronting, or you can anchor the client directly to yourself. Sit in the Practitioner chair first and look at the other empty chair and imagine yourself as the client sitting there. Ask yourself, “How are you feeling today? What would you like to work on?
    2. Then move places and sit in the client’s chair and respond.
    3. Then move back to the Practitioner’s chair and ask any clarification questions or play back to the client what they want to work on and get started.
    4. If the client wants to respond, sit back in the client’s chair.
    5. Then come back as the Practitioner, start tapping and imagine yourself as the client who is tapping along with you.
    6. You can also come and sit in the client’s chair and lead the tapping.
    7. After each or at least a couple of rounds later, come back in the Practitioner chair and ask, “What happened?”, “How are you feeling?”, “What do you want to explore next?” Review what was written down from time to time.
    8. At the end of 3 sessions review progress versus the Intake form and at the end of 6 sessions review progress again. In the event, you want to continue an additional 6 sessions, update the Intake form.
  • While you are tapping on yourself what can happen is that the tapping begins, and it keeps going, without anyone holding space for you. There is no one present to get you to pause, review progress, or test where things are at. By using the role-play 2-chair method where you play each role and write down what unfolds it can keep you on track with the session.
  • At times we are not able to give ourselves the session. It might be a more traumatic incident or an issue that is causing overwhelm. It will be wiser to have another person support in the role of a practitioner.


2. WHAT IF YOUR MIND CHECKS IN WHILE TAPPING?

What to do if your mind is checking in a lot while you are tapping with yourself?

  1. So you can have a conversation with yourself and ask yourself, “I am noticing the mind is checking in, what will work for you now to continue tapping?"
  2. You can also engage the mind and ask, “What’s the reason you are checking in? What is it that you want?”
  3. In many cases, the mind checks in because it wants to feel safe. So you can ask, “What are you feeling now?", "What are you thinking now?", "How does that make you feel?", "What do you need to feel safe?”
  4. It is okay to pause and give the mind the full attention and tap on, “Even though my mind wants to check in and it makes me feel XXXX, I deeply and completely love and accept myself."
  5. Likewise, you can tap on "How does it make you feel, knowing that your mind is checking in?", “Even though my mind checks in and it really irritates me, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
  6. Give the mind a job. Ask the mind about the colour, texture, size, and shape of the thoughts and feelings. You can also ask the mind to describe the colour, texture, size, and shape of the act of checking in. For example, “What is the colour of checking in? What is the size of checking in? What is the shape of checking in?
  7. Focus on body sensations. Bring attention to your body. As the body never lies but the nature of the mind is fear, doubt, judgments, and anger. You can ask, “Where in the body are you feeling these emotions/thoughts?”, “How does it make you feel?” You can also breathe into the body and ask the body, “If this part of the body could communicate, what would it say?”

"Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction."

john c. crosby


3. INNER CHILD MATRIX

If you are trained in Inner Child Matrix how can you tap on yourself?

  1. Invite the inner children one-by-one or together as a collective consciousness.
  2. If you are working with the Inner Child, close your eyes just like you would do with a client.
  3. Then you can ask your inner child, “What are you feeling?”
  4. Then ask yourself, “If you were working with a client what would be the next step?”
  5. Then ask yourself, “What resources they would need?”
  6. Keep connecting with the Inner Child in the Matrix.
  7. If you get stuck, bring a mentor and ask them for help.

In summary, the tips you can use while working on yourself:

  1. Jot down some bullet points/notes while working with self, making a note of what wants to be explored, the SUDs level, what happened, and what wants to get explored next. Keep it brief so you can look back at it from time to time.
  2. Whenever stuck, ask yourself, “If you were to be giving the session, what questions would you ask the client?
  3. Role play with 2 chairs. Play out the role of a Practitioner and Client, physically getting up and sitting on each chair, facing, and speaking as if you were speaking to the other person.
  4. Have a note on the wall as a visual cue, “If you were working with a client, what would you do next?”
  5. Be aware when you need professional help and have another person present for you, giving yourself the sessions.

How To Self-Heal & Become An EFT Practitioner

Discover how EFT Tapping can help you to self-heal or to become professionally qualified as a Certified EFT Practitioner. Emotional Freedom Techniques (Tapping) is clinically proven to lower stress, tension, anxiety, past trauma to enable health, happiness and vitality.

4. EFT TAPPING SEQUENCE

Do I do the EFT Tapping set up sequence 3 times or once?

So, at EFT Foundational & Practitioner Level, it is recommended to tap 3 times on the side of the hand or Karate Chop as part of the setup. This is to:

  • Cover all bases when starting off
  • Neutralise any psychological reversal when working with the foundational skills

As you gain more experience and start becoming proficient with the Practitioner skills you can reduce it to once while remaining flexible to tap 3 times if needed. Certain situations work better when the set-up is 3 times versus once.

If unsure or working with clients who are new to EFT, at EFT Foundational & Practitioner level, it’s best to stick to 3 times. If your client has familiarity with EFT or has attended the same training as you, you can ask them their preference, but be mindful of adjusting as needed.

With Inner Child Matrix and EFT Advanced Practitioner once tends to be sufficient as there are many more skills to uncover reversals, secondary gain, limitations, resistances, and being stuck.

In the end, use your experience and intuition to decide when to complete 3 rounds versus once or twice.

Conducting EFT Tapping technique on myself

5. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

What are the key questions to ask while developing a personal development plan?

After completing the EFT self-assessment, ask yourself:

  • What do I continue doing?
  • What do I do more of?
  • What do I stop doing?
  • What do I start doing?
  • What are my overall learnings and reflections?
  • What support do I need?

 What do I continue doing?

  • Great rapport with my clients
  • Learn great questioning skills
  • Review what was great, what could be better and my overall learnings after each session.

 What do I do more of?

  • Take brief notes as per the format in the code of conduct
  • Attracting higher fee-paying clients.

 What do I stop doing?

  • Overthinking
  • Striving for perfectionism

 What do I start doing?

  • Trusting myself
  • Giving up attachment to the outcome and let it flow
  • Self-tapping EFT sessions
  • Read the EFT Definitions

What are my overall learnings and reflections?

  • I am good with rapport and connection
  • I want to be better at questioning
  • I need to attract more higher fee-paying clients

Where is it that I need support?

  • How to ask better questions?
  • What to do when the client brings up more than one aspect at a time?

New to EFT? Learn how Emotional Freedom Technique Tapping heals.

Emotional Freedom Techniques (tapping) is clinically proven to lower stress, tension, anxiety, past-trauma to enable health, happiness and vitality.

6. PROFESSIONAL EFT TAPPING SESSION

What do I do if my client brings up 4-5 aspects at once? How to decide where to begin? My client can have different physical sensations and aspects all at once.

Here are some approaches to consider, bearing in mind to flow with where the client wants to go:

1.
Identify the aspects

Acknowledge all the different aspects or physical sensations and ask them where they want to begin.

2.
Confirm where to begin

Get the client to give a SUD’s level for each aspect and ask them where they want to begin. At times you can suggest beginning with the one that appears most pressing, with the highest charge or the safest to begin with. Calibrate the client and judge the way forward.

3.
Ask your client

Cross-check against what the client wants to explore from the Intake form and which aspect needs to be explored first.

4.
Let them reflect their emotions

Let the client know what you notice so that they can reflect, “I notice there are many different aspects that you want to explore, do you have a sense or knowledge of what you are really feeling at a much deeper level or the reason that so many different aspects are coming up at the same time?”

5.
Get to the deeper cause

Ask your client to bring all the different aspects of their heart and how it is really making them feel. In many cases, there can be fear. You have to discern if the number of different aspects is being driven from avoiding a deeper emotion or genuinely the client is confused and has many aspects all at once.

6.
Understand the underlying fear

In the event fear is an underlying driver to there being many different aspects, ask the client:

  1. “Where in the body is the fear?”
  2. “If the fear could communicate, what would it say?”
  3. “What does the fear want?”
  4. “If the fear/body part where fear has had a voice what would they say?
  5. For those who are trained in Inner Child Matrix, bring the fear into the Matrix and have a dialogue and explore the origin of the fear
  6. For those trained in EFT Advanced Practitioner imagine the fear on a chair and ask the fear questions. This allows the fear to be treated as a separate entity. Picture tapping from EFT Advanced Practitioner can also be used.
7.
Check with yourself

Enquire within yourself if the client bringing up multiple aspects' triggers anything in you. For example, a Practitioner might feel out of their depth, confused, or overwhelmed of where to begin the session or how to manage the session in manageable parts.

8.
Resolve yourself first

If you notice that more than one client is presenting with multiple aspects at once, enquire within yourself as if there is a mirror. If you also have multiple aspects that emerge at once. Complete self-tapping on yourself first.

EFT Tapping technique sessions on myself

7. How can I ask better questions?

So, at EFT Foundation & Practitioner (level 1 & 2) the best questions are:

  • What do you want to work on? Want do you want to explore?
  • Where shall we begin?
  • Where do you want to focus today?
  • How is this connected to what you want to explore overall/ from your Intake form?
  • What does it remind you of?
  • When have you felt like that before?
  • What prevents you from what you want?
  • What is the upside?
  • What is the downside?
  • What’s the real reason you are feeling that way?
  • If there was something deeper, I wonder what that is.

At this level keep the questions simple. The secret to amazing questions is to be:

  • Be present for your client
  • Get yourself out of the way
  • Listen deeply

When you get yourself out of the way both the client and practitioner step into theta waves. This is the highest waveform where there is a direct link between both parties and the Practitioner can sense intuitively the best questions to ask.

If you find yourself overthinking the questions, then it can be clumsy and artificial. Meditation and surrendering the outcome is a great way to get yourself out of the way.

To develop mastery of questions, Breakthrough NLP & EFT Advanced Practitioner is recommended. In Breakthrough NLP the focus is on how to construct questions and the different kinds of questions.

At EFT Advanced Practitioner, the focus is on deep questions to uncover the root cause.

A tip to uncover what might be really going on, is to use the word "BECAUSE".

This is a great word asked with a infection and it uncovers what might be at cause. Because means to be at cause. The cause is considered to be the root cause versus what might be at the surface.

In closing, conducting EFT sessions on yourself will require you to be present and compassionate with yourself throughout. Allow yourself that space and be gentle.

With more practice, the awareness will increase, and you will see how well you are able to work on yourself. 

Continue to learn and explore!

Love,

Dr Rangana Rupavi Choudhuri (PhD)

P.S. Want to discover if EFT Tapping is right for you? Book a Complimentary Discovery Call. 

How To Self-Heal & Become An EFT Practitioner

Discover how EFT Tapping can help you to self-heal or to become professionally qualified as a Certified EFT Practitioner. Emotional Freedom Techniques (Tapping) is clinically proven to lower stress, tension, anxiety, past trauma to enable health, happiness and vitality.

In summary, EFT is a very powerful tool to deal with scenarios that diminish your sense of peace and calmness. EFT Tapping helps to reduce tension, promote a deeper mind-body connection, and manage symptoms of anxiety, depression or stress.


Disclaimer: The information on this website is purely for educational purposes and does not in any way replace the requirement for medical and psychological diagnosis and treatment. Please seek professional medical and psychological diagnosis and advice for all medical and mental health conditions. It is advised to always book any consultations with qualified professionals.


Learn Emotional Freedom Techniques for self-healing or to become professionally qualified - More

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