Tapping as a Way to Heal from Anxiety
Thought Field Therapy or EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), now often referred to as “Tapping,” has its early origins in acupuncture as a way to treat physical problems through needles placed on meridians of the body. Dr. Roger Callahan, a psychologist who specialized in anxiety disorders, found that by tapping on those same energy meridians of the body in a specific way, or algorithm as he called it, you could completely eliminate the feelings associated with the negative thoughts you were experiencing. This particular technique is used to treat physical pain as well as psychological issues and is having a resurgence of popularity in the field of psychology.
Tapping is a wonderful tool that can help with many different issues. I have used it with various different obsessions, compulsions, and phobias. Delving into the possible origins of obsessive thoughts, compulsions, or phobias may be helpful to identify the source of any fears, but when it does not decrease the anxiety that arises, then tapping can often be very helpful.
Yes, anxiety is different in this stage of life. But you may be feeling that your anxiety now is just as bad as the first stage of life, and now you feel worse about yourself, especially since I have told you how different it is supposed to be in this second stage of life.
That’s okay, because if you are one whose anxieties linger and have not lessened, and now you have first stage of life anxieties as well as second stage of life worries, the exercises in these chapters will help you identify what might be the breeding ground for those worries and fears.
Here is one of the most helpful treatments for anxiety.
Tapping/Emotional Freedom Technique
Nick Ortner is the creator of the Tapping Solution: A Revolutionary System for Stress-Free Living. In his book, he offers ways to rid you of unwanted anxieties and fears that you may have had for years, or something that you may have just discovered that is causing you distress and pain.
I want to introduce you to Tapping with the following model. You can use this technique for any worry or fear, phobia, grief, depressed mood, past or present trauma, obsessive thoughts, compulsive behaviors and even physical pain, which can often be related to our mental state of being. All you have to do is change the words. You want to start with the actual thoughts you are saying to yourself about yourself, as those are real beliefs that you want to address.
To start, give your issue a number 0-10, with 10 being the most intense and 0 or 1 being no distress at all. The higher the intensity of the feelings or thoughts, the greater the chance that you will be in a state to lessen that anxiety. Then create your setup statement, or words to describe what you are thinking (see below for an example), and start tapping with two to three fingers of one hand on the parts of the body below. When you start with the Karate Chop, you tap on the soft part of the opposite hand below the pinkie with a perpendicular chop of that hand. This particular setup is for those with fear of public speaking. It is important to include in each segment the following words, as in the first two examples, I completely and deeply accept myself.
Karate Chop: Even though I'm stressed about what they'll think of me, I completely and deeply accept myself.
Eyebrow: Even though it makes me nervous to speak in front of other people, I completely and deeply accept myself.
Side of the eye: Freaks me out.
Under eye: Too many people.
Under nose: Don't like all the attention.
Chin: So many people watching
Collarbone: Too many people.
Under arm: Too much attention.
Top of head: Stresses me out.
Keep tapping until you feel relief, and then check in with yourself. You'll want to continue tapping until your anxiety is a 3 or lower. At that point, you're ready to tap in some positive emotion, which is what we'll do now. You don't need a setup statement for this.
Eyebrow: I choose to trust that they'll love my talk!
Side of the eye: So many people coming to hear what I have to say.
Under eye: Lots of people interested in my topic.
Under nose: I can definitely keep people engaged in what I'm saying.
Chin: So much great energy!
Collarbone: Exciting to share my message with all these people.
Under arm: I am really well prepared.
Top of head: This is going to be great!
Keep tapping like this until you're feeling grounded in that positive emotion, and as always, use your own words when you're tapping. The statements above are just examples.
You can find more information at Nick Ortner’s website. You also can view his videos on YouTube showing how to go through this model. This style of Tapping is a bit different from Dr. Roger Callahan’s formulas and algorithms in his book, Tapping the Healer Within. I have used them both with great success. You can try each of them and see what might work best for you