First steps with EFT
“All negative thoughts are caused by a disturbance of the body’s energetic system.”
Gary Craig (founder of EFT)
Created in 1995 by Gary Craig, also called “EFT Tapping” or “acupressure technique”, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) is an unmissable and powerful technique when dealing with emotions.
It has already helped millions of people throughout the world to regain control of their lives.
The success that EFT had in helping war veterans free themselves from horrible and traumatic images, proved its effectiveness in treating post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD).
What is EFT?
EFT is based on the premise that “all negative thoughts are caused by a disturbance in the body’s energetic system”.
This disturbance is caused by emotional blockages preventing vital energy to circulate properly in the body, triggering physical pains (tensions, pains, headaches, weight gain…) and/or emotional pains (anxiety, depression, addictive or compulsive behaviour, insomnia, panic attacks among others).
EFT takes its roots in traditional Chinese medicine because it uses the meridians (energy river of the body) to relieve the emotional blockages in the energetic system, as well as in acupuncture, by tapping on specific points of the body.
It is a technique where emotions are freed rapidly, allowing a powerful transformation and a deep reconnection with ourself. Free from the weight of the past, EFT allows us to regain control of our life.
How does EFT work?
During an EFT session, the practitioner and the patient mirror each other.
Each of them taps with the tip of their index and middle finger on points of their face, their body and their hand while keeping the attention fixed on the problem which needs to be treated by saying a sentence like this: “Even if I feel this emotion in this part of my body because of this problem, I love myself and I accept myself deeply as I am”.
While bringing up the problem activates the amygdala (the area of emotions) located in the emotional brain accentuating the emotion, the tapping on the meridians, by sending electric signals and vibrations in the body, relaxes the body and the emotional brain.
This simultaneous action disconnects the emotional intensity registered in the body (which provokes stress, anxiety, and fear) and therefore brings back a balance in the energetic system while deprogramming the automatic response of the body and the emotion.
The patient can then think about and picture the same situation without having an emotional and physical reaction anymore.
Why should you choose EFT?
According to Bruce Lipton, 95% of our behavior (our decisions, our actions, our thoughts, our emotions) are unconscious. They are conditioned by our past experiences registered in our emotional brain and in the memory cells of the body. The subconscious becomes the pilot of our lives.
Free from the emotional and behavioural automatic response linked to our past experiences, you become the only pilot in your life.
EFT provides rapid and long-term results.
Easy to apply, EFT can be self-taught (for complex situations and multiple traumas, it is advised to contact a practitioner).
EFT can be used anywhere and whenever.
Playful, it is also very well adapted for children. Some even ask to do some tapping before going to sleep.
EFT usually works when other techniques do not work because this technique looks for the cause of the problem.
In which situations can EFT be used?
- Managing emotions
- Overcome depression
- Free yourself from addictions
- Eating disorders
- Improve concentration, attention, and motivation
- Develop self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-love
- Free yourself from consequences of incest
- Free yourself from fears (public speaking, failure, success, judgement, what others think…)
- Overcome the fear of exams
- Relieve panic attacks, chronic pain
- Free yourself from OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder)
- Insomnia
- Enuresis/encopresis
- Stress and anxiety
- Free yourself from memories linked to traumas