Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a type of psychological acupressure that anyone can practice on themselves. In fact, practicing on yourself is the preferred method, as this technique is not something done by others, in a way that a massage would be for example. By tapping specific pressure points on the body, it is believed that negative energies causing pain (whether physical or emotional) are disrupted, and therefore balanced is restored to the physical and emotional body. EFT has close ties to acupuncture, in that it physically touches on the body, believed to hold epicenters of energy. With acupuncture needles to alleviate pain, tension, and combat illness. Over the years, however, researches and healers alike have realized that tapping on these pressure points of the body offers similar results to that of acupuncture. One such psychologist Roger Callahan, used the idea to one of his patients who was deathly afraid of water. Through the course of her many treatment, all of which proved ineffective, Callahan almost accidentally stumbled into the tapping technique when his patient complained about feeling anxious in her stomach at the thought of water. He asked her to tap underneath her eye, knowing that this location had a direct connection to the acupuncture meridian in her stomach. Unknown to him, he was building the idea that tapping could ease his patient’s anxiety. That’s exactly what happened - after tapping under her eye, the patient experienced a sudden release of stomach sensation, almost immediately. The energy centers of body can best be thought of as meridian points. These are like energy channels connecting the highways of the body, and therefore connecting us to our sensations - which can often be rooted in physical pain and emotional fear. When these negative sensations come up, they disrupt the balance of the body, and we feel off in some way. By lightly tapping each of these meridian points in sequence, and repeating how we feel and what we’re struggling with, out loud, we cut the chain of negative reactions and sensations from continuing to plague us. Whatever we’re dealing with - whether it’s a bad memory, a struggling relationship, a moment of intense fear - we can use tapping to concentrate on accepting and resolving the negative emotion, so that we can allow the body to restore itself yo order and balance.
