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Tapping Away Worries: EFT Tapping for Anxiety Relief

EFT Tapping for Anxiety with complete EFT sequence

In this article, you will learn about anxiety, and how to overcome it with the help of the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). The EFT Tapping technique has proven to be an effective alternative therapy to help individuals cope with symptoms of anxiety and heal the root cause. 

I still remember that one particular night when I had my first anxiety attack. It was terrifying. I was struggling to breathe. My heart was racing, and my chest was hurting. It felt like I was having a heart attack.

Frantically, I banged on my neighbour's door and asked for help.

Anxiety disorders are a group of mental health conditions that involve excessive and irrational worry or fear, often leading to distress and impairment in a person's daily functioning.

Learn to reduce stress and emotional distress with EFT Tapping technique

WHAT IS ANXIETY?

Anxiety is a natural human emotion characterised by feelings of unease, worry, or fear, typically about future events or uncertain situations.

It is a normal response to stress and can actually be beneficial in some situations, as it can help individuals stay alert, focused, and prepared to deal with potential threats or challenges.

However, when anxiety becomes excessive, prolonged, or disruptive to daily life, it can be classified as an anxiety disorder.

CAUSES OF ANXIETY

Anxiety can occur for a variety of reasons, for example:

  • Worrying about the future

  • Thinking too much or over-analysing situations

  • Over-whelmed at work

  • Scared about your child's health

  • Chemical imbalances in the body

  • Fear of what might happen

  • Corresponding negative emotions

  • Sometimes even physical pain can cause it.


"We live in a society bloated with data yet starved for wisdom. We’re connected 24/7, yet anxiety, fear, depression, and loneliness are at an all-time high. We must course-correct."

Elizabeth Kapu'uwailani Lindsey


Perhaps underlying the surface emotions is a feeling of being scared, insecure, or uncertain.

Having experienced anxiety and healed from it, I can share it – it can be a very scary and lonely place where you can feel helpless and isolated.

In the most intense moments, I have found a technique similar yet different from Traditional Chinese Medicine called Emotional Freedom Techniques to be most beneficial to myself.

HOW TO DEAL WITH ANXIETY?

According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 13 individuals suffer from anxiety in the world. The study also shows that women are more affected by anxiety than men (1).

Identifying the nature of your anxiety and learning to manage it requires a lot of strength.

All anxiety-related disorders are characterised by negative emotions like worry, nervousness, fear, excessive and ongoing to the extent that it disables the person from functioning properly.

It is important to get it diagnosed as per clinical guidelines by a licensed medical and mental health professional.

Treat posttraumatic stress disorder and reduce anxiety with clinical EFT
EFT Tapping for mental focus, Anxiety and other negative emotion

Society has generalised anxiety as a fault or a weakness, considering it a taboo, neglecting its severity which is as dangerous as any physical disease. However, research studies have found certain altered brain functioning to be linked with anxiety disorders (2).

Here are some coping techniques that can help you overcome anxiety with EFT Tapping and shift to experiencing emotional balance and calm. 

1.

Setting small daily goals

Focus can be an issue for those suffering from anxiety, as is productivity and motivation due to changes in mood.

Setting up small goals on a daily basis can help individuals to differentiate between their expectations and reality.

In Tapping solution - app to be used to set up small goals

2.

Meditate for mental and physical pain

Importance of Meditation in a tapping session

Consistent meditation has wonderful effects on your brain.  A meditation practice can involve the following steps:

Begin by closing your eyes and sitting in a comfortable position. Take a conscious breath in and out. As you breathe in and out, let the body relax and the mind wind down. 

Once the toes are relaxed move to all the other body parts from the toes to the ankles and calves, the knees, the legs, the thighs, the groin, the belly (you can tighten and loosen each of the organs inside the body), the check, the heart, the neck, the shoulders, the back, and the head.

With meditation, the challenge is to still the mind. What you can do is complete the 6-count breathing, daily morning and evening.

It will help to create a calmer state of mind and deep and complete acceptance of your surroundings.

3.

Seek help

Anxiety is something that prevents the sufferer from reaching out to others for support. 

They are often in chronic pain (may not necessarily be physical pain), feeling alone and misunderstood.

People may not understand that asking an anxious person to “take it easy” or “let it go” won't really help them and may only prevent them from looking for help. Learn to convey your thoughts to your loved ones. 

If you have anyone suffering from anxiety around you, be compassionate and make them feel that they are not alone.

We are also here to help as we have experienced psychologists and counseling professionals who have become Certified as EFT Practitioners according to International Standards and are skilled at working with and resolving anxiety. 

They also are skilled at working with DepressionWeight Loss, Serious Illness, Nervousness, Freeing Anger, Fears and Phobias, Food Cravings, Stress, Addictions like giving up smoking, Confidence, and Workplace Stress. 

To know more, you need to fill in an Intake form and have a no-obligation conversation with your Practitioner. Just book a complimentary discovery call to find out if EFT One to One Sessions or EFT Practitioner Training is for you.

4.

Yoga

The practice of yoga calms the mind and stills the body's alignment with the spirit. 

In the practice of yoga (asanas), it's the way in which one approaches the practice that helps to process emotions. The overall transformative power of yoga asanas lies in the mindful exploration of each pose, irrespective of how basic or complex the pose may seem.” shares Yoga teacher & EFT Practitioner, Saatvika Mangalaram.

Yoga sets for tapping solution foundation

5.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

A treatment used to manage anxiety and depression. It is a type of talk therapy, where negative thoughts are reworked with positive ones. It also helps to treat post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

6.

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) 

Over my years of experience, I have developed a protocol known as the Anxiety Relief Protocol with the EFT Tapping Points. 

HOW TO OVERCOME ANXIETY WITH  EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUE (EFT)

The main steps of the Anxiety Relief Protocol to lower anxiety with EFT Tapping are as follows:

Step 1:

Identify physical sensations:

Explore the physical sensations in the body associated with anxiety and use the physical tension tapping sequence to reduce the sensations.

1.

Investigate the physical nature of anxiety

Connect with the anxiety and notice where you feel it in the body.  

Anxiety is often felt in a specific location like the heart or chest. The symptoms could be heart racing, general restlessness, and shaking legs and hands. 

Briefly, you can begin by asking the following questions to explore further:

  • Where in the body do you experience the anxiety?

  • What is the colour, texture, size, and shape of the anxiety in the body?

  • What are the sensations like? For example rough or smooth.

The important thing is to use specific words to describe your anxiety. 

2.

Measure the level of anxiety 

Measure the level of your anxiety by asking, "What number is the anxiety at, where 10 is really high and 1 is not high at all." 

Go with whatever comes up spontaneously. Do not think too much about it.

3.

Tap on the Karate Chop point

Begin tapping on the Karate Chop point by saying,

"Even though I feel anxiety in my chest, it's at a number 6 and it's red in colour and it feels rough, I deeply and completely accept myself (Repeat 3 times)."

4.

Tap on the facial and upper body meridian points

Use the following phrases while tapping,

  • Eyebrow: This anxiety...

  • Side of the eye: So anxious...

  • Under the eye: Anxiousness in my chest...

  • Under the nose: It's a red colour...

  • Chin: At a number 6...

  • Collarbone: So rough...

  • Under the arm: This anxiety...

  • Thumb: I feel it in my chest...

  • Index Finger: So anxious...

  • Middle Finger: Really anxious...

  • Little Finger: The colour red...

5.

Close the sequence

It's time to close the sequence using EFT Karate Chop Tapping Points by saying, 

"Even though I feel anxiety in my chest, it's at a number 6 and it's red in colour and it feels rough, I deeply and completely love and accept myself."

6.

Relax

Take a gentle breath in and out and take a sip of water.

7.

Test

At the end of the Tapping process for Anxiety symptoms, you can ask yourself the following questions:

  • What number is the anxiety at now?

  • What happened?

  • How does it make you feel?

You can repeat this process by going back to Step 1 if you feel like the number could come down a little more.

Step 2:

Clear past memories:

Explore past memories related to the anxiety.

To uncover the past memories linked to the symptoms of anxiety, you can ask questions like:

  • When did the sensations start? What happened?

  • What do these sensations remind you of?

  • What can trigger and bring on the symptoms?

Step 3:

Identify past events linked to Anxiety:

Use tapping therapy to identify past events linked to the feeling of anxiety and resolve it.

You can ask the following questions:

  • When have you felt anxious before?

  • What happens to trigger the anxiety?

  • Who or what triggers the anxiety?

These questions will identify your past experiences associated with anxiety. 

Step 4:

Identify root memories and clear them with gentle techniques: 

Now, past experiences are most likely to be the root cause of your anxiety; in many cases traumatic and hurtful situations as well. For example:

  • Being scolded by a parent, guardian, or teacher - For a child, this is deeply traumatic, since someone they love is yelling at them. It can trigger the nervous system to be overwhelmed and release stress hormones like cortisol.

  • A car or motorbike accident - With an accident what can happen is every time you see a car or a motorbike it can trigger a stress response and cause anxiety. In my case, I had an accident when I was crossing the road and after that accident every time I had to cross the road I would hesitate and pause get anxious, and ask myself, "Is it safe to cross the road?"

  • Losing a loved one - Loss is never easy for anyone and losing someone close to us, is devastating. It can cause intense emotional pain. What can happen is that there can be fear of feeling emotional pain and to avoid or deny feeling the emotions anxiety can arise. 

  • Physical, verbal, or sexual abuse - Any form of abuse is traumatic; whether it's a teacher saying shut up, or a loved one shouting. I recall working with adults to relieve their anxiety. In many cases they had been abused as a child, for example, locked in a cupboard or told to shut up and not speak. These terrifying and unacceptable experiences make the child feel like, "The world is not safe" or "It's not safe." Anxiety then becomes a surface symptom when the thought, "It's not safe", is triggered, since it's like warning the person to remain vigilant as there could be danger ahead. Anxiety creates a state of hyperarousal. Being "on" all the time is a means of protection and survival. 

These types of memories can trigger Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), where anxiety is a surface symptom of a deeper root cause.  

Step 5:

Explore the Limiting Beliefs that trigger your Anxiety: 

Limiting beliefs are thoughts that limit health, relationships, wealth, career, or finances. 

With anxiety, first, uncover the limiting belief which can either be at the surface level or associated with the deeper root memories; then shift them from stressful to empowering. For example, 

  •  “Something bad is going to happen” to “Everything is going to be OK."

  • "It's not safe" to "I am safe now."

Step 6:

Close with positive tapping:

Identify positive reminder phrases to close the tapping sequence.

For example, "Even though I was anxious, that was then and this is now, I choose to be calm now.

You can also use the Jin Shin Jyutsu finger-hold process to gain relief from anxiety. 

DOES EFT TAPPING REALLY WORK FOR ANXIETY?

There has been clinical evidence of the use of EFT Tapping for Anxiety Relief, for instance:

1.

EFT Tapping for Public Speaking Anxiety

EFT was found to be very effective when a study was conducted on 36 individuals having Public Speaking Anxiety. Clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques were carried out and subjective self-assessment measures were taken before, after, and during the session. The scores of each participant for Public Speaking Anxiety significantly reduced, in terms of subjective as well as behavioural scales (3).

2.

EFT Tapping to Test Anxiety among Students

Another study showed how students who followed the EFT depicted a significant reduction in anxiety levels, than those who followed the Progressive Muscular Relaxation method. 70 students did the experiment and were asked to continue self-treatment at home. 2 months later, the same students were tested for test anxiety again; the scores demonstrated a drop in anxiety levels in students who were in the EFT group, than in the PMR group (4).

3.

EFT Tapping for Pre-surgery Preparation 

A study evaluated the effectiveness of EFT on 50 women undergoing surgeries. Participants in the EFT group received two 10-minute sessions a day before the surgery and on the day of the surgery. Just before the participants were taken for surgery, it was found that the women in the group where they practiced EFT, depicted a significant decline in anxiety levels (5).

4.

EFT Tapping for Veterans

EFT also helped a large number of military service personnel and families who suffered from PTSD. They used the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) for 5 days and after a year, none of them tested positive for PTSD. Their psychological distress also reduced significantly, after the continuous usage of this technique (6).

In fact, some successful clinical tests were conducted where EFT Tapping for Anxiety Relief profoundly helped individuals get over their issues. 

Additionally, even though Emotional Freedom Techniques can be administered on the self, it is recommended to consult a professional EFT Practitioner to get help for physical and/or emotional issues you may be facing.

Watch this video to learn how to overcome anxiety with EFT Tapping.


Anxiety is part of creativity, the need to get something out, the need to be rid of something, or to get in touch with something within."

DAVID DUCHOVNY


Anybody can feel anxious due to a variety of reasons. With EFT Tapping you can uncover and clear the root cause of anxiety.

It is clinically proven that EFT Tapping for anxiety not only lowers the feeling but also restores a sense of balance and calmness in our minds.

Love,

Dr Rangana Rupavi Choudhari (PhD)

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

In summary, anxiety can be really exhausting to deal with. You can overcome it by breaking down your tasks into small steps, practicing yoga and/or meditation, or even using a clinically proven method. EFT Tapping for Anxiety Relief will allow you to get rid of the distressing thoughts that you are going through; however, you don't need to rush the process. Take your own time and do what you feel is right for you, as and when you feel comfortable.

Disclaimer to consult with qualified professionals

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