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Learn the inherent power in this research-backed technique that can instantly reduce stress, alleviate fears, and conquer anxiety.

If you have heard or seen Tapping or Emotional Freedom Technique before, you might have thought that it looks funny and wonder how this could possibly work. This is a normal reaction and one that I had, but what you might not know is this accessible technique is a powerhouse for helping you tap into your potential. Whether you are about to present in front of a big crowd or just want to elevate your mood instantly — tapping works. Have you ever been in a situation where you were nervous, but you try to tell yourself to “not be nervous”, or you try to pump yourself up and tell yourself, “I’ll do great”, but somehow none of that works? This is where tapping actually comes in.

What is tapping?

Tapping, also known as Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), is an easy to use tool for emotional distress. It blends modern psychology and Chinese acupressure. The practice consists of using your fingers while tapping on acupressure points or meridians (similar to those in acupuncture) while talking through the emotional stress (anxiety, worry, stress, rejection, fear, etc).

Think of Tapping as a channel that bypasses your conscious and logical mind to get straight to the subconscious mind to help you process emotions. As Dawson Church once said:

 “Acupoint tapping sends signals directly to the stress centers of the mid-brain, not mediated by the frontal lobes (the thinking part, active in talk therapy).”

Dr. Dawson Church, an award-winning author and a proponent of EFT.

Why does it work?

Tapping on acupressure points has been shown to decrease the arousal of the Amygdala, the center that produces stress responses.[1] When you are in a state of stress, your Amygdala sends signals to your adrenal glands to start releasing hormones like epinephrine and eventually triggers a release of cortisol which then turns on your fight or flight response [2]. Tapping works to help your body lower its stress response to these emotional triggers thereby lessening the physiological impact of a negative emotion on your body.

When you tap:

  1. You are talking through your stress (ie. recreating the stress in your body)
  2. This causes you to FEEL stress in your body (in a good way — feeling is PART of processing vs. numbing/ignoring).
  3. Tapping on the acupressure points while talking through this sends signals to your amygdala to calm down (instead of turn on fight or flight) thereby reducing the physiological threat of this stress.

Because tapping reduces your physiological response to these stressors, over time your body doesn’t respond to the stressors as much, if at all. Imagine that you are afraid of public speaking. If you tap every time before you are about to go speak or you visualize you are about to go speak (which will cause you to get anxiety) and then tap on this anxiety, you will train your body to respond less and less physiologically to this trigger. At some point, you’ll think of public speaking, and your body won’t respond in fight or flight — in fact you could train your body to get excited to publicly speak! It’s really that powerful…

Imagine, what if you could be excited to present in front of hundreds of people? What if you could get excited to go pitch your company and get 100 no’s? What if you were inspired to have a tough conversation, finally? How would your life be different if you didn’t have fear preventing you from taking the step you’ve always wanted to take?

I’m convinced, how do I get started?

To start, I’d recommend watching this basic video that explains what a tapping session is: Intro to EFT Tapping.

Then, I’d take a look at the free resources below and pick a video that resonates most with your situation. The best way to learn is to experience this method. It took me a few tries to figure out how it worked for me. If you don’t feel a difference in your first try, please don’t give up! Just as tapping can be used to reduce negative stress, it can also be used to magnify positive emotions. Effectively, you can turn the negative into a positive. With all my tapping rounds, I will do tapping to reduce the negative, and then I’ll do what’s called a “positive” round to shift my emotional state into a positive one. You can experiment with what works best for you.

The best part of this technique is that it’s accessible to all – it’s completely free, it can be done quickly, and it can be done anywhere.

Ultimate Tapping Resources List

Tapping Books

Favorite Tapping Teachers

Tapping Videos

Anxiety

Fear of Rejection or Judgement

Cravings

Smoking

Money/Business

The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.