What Is the Emotional Freedom Technique? How It Can Help You Deal With Stress More Effectively
Written by: Michael Hetherington, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a psychological and holistic self-help method that works by combining acupressure, neuroscience and modern psychology to reduce stress, tension and negative emotions in the body and mind. EFT can help you manage old stress and negative emotions while also helping you tackle more recent psychological challenges.
In the last few years, a combination of scientific research and modern techniques has turned EFT into a recognized psychological tool with proven effectiveness against stress and other emotional challenges.
What Is EFT?
EFT is a psychological self-help method based on the principles of acupressure and modern psychology. Practitioners use their fingertips to apply gentle tapping and pressure on certain areas of the body, combined with specific verbal phrasing, to activate and re-calibrate the brain's response to stress.
By stimulating the energy pathways in the body and helping the brain to switch out of a stressful state, EFT helps you manage your stress and negative emotions, as well as tackle psychological challenges more effectively.
How Does EFT Work?
EFT uses a variety of psychological and physiological methods to address various emotional challenges. These include addressing negative emotions such as anger, guilt, or sadness, as well as psychological issues like anxiety, phobias, or relationship problems.
EFT works by helping the brain to re-calibrate itself and essentially come out of the stress response, which is mostly activated by the amygdala. When the amygdala is calmed and “switched off”, the other parts of the brain that are responsible for other functions such as emotional processing and creative thinking, become more available to the EFT practitioner.
Also, positive thoughts, images and emotions can be generated and “installed” into the neural pathways of the brain making it easier for the practitioner to access and maintain those thoughts, images and feelings in the future.
The basic process of EFT includes the following steps:
Identify a problem you want to feel better or freer about
Then, take a moment to “tune into” the image, feeling or thought when you bring the problem to mind
Give this feeling a stress number from 1-10 (with 10 being the most stressful)
Begin tapping on the acupuncture points on the head and chest in a specific sequence (9 main points) while breathing
Verbalise some words and repetitive phrases to help you remain focused on the original feeling and issue you are addressing (eg. “All this anger and frustration”)
After a few minutes, stop the process and assess the work
Give the feeling a new stress number from 1-10 (10 being the most stressful)
Repeat the process until the stress number is reduced significantly or you don’t feel overwhelmed by the subject anymore
To conclude, tap on the acupuncture points again while adding some positive phrasing and images to help you to create new pathways in the brain
For more information, please visit my website, visit my YouTube or seek assistance from an experienced EFT practitioner.
Benefits of Using EFT to Deal With Stress and Tension
There are many benefits of using EFT to manage your stress, including:
Increased awareness of your stress and emotions:
One of the main benefits of EFT is that it helps you become more aware of the type of stress and emotions you’re experiencing.
Release of negative emotions:
When you learn how to use EFT to clear your energy pathways and address specific issues, you can release negative emotions more efficiently.
Release of physical symptoms:
In addition to the psychological benefits, EFT can also help you relieve physical symptoms related to stress, such as headaches and muscle pain.
Strengthening of positive emotions:
Over time, using EFT can make you more aware of your positive emotions and feelings.
Better decision-making:
Increased awareness and release of negative emotions can help you make better decisions, both in your professional and personal life.
3 Things You Can Use EFT on:
Physical pain symptoms (e.g., Neck Pain)
EFT works remarkably well on physical aches and pains, especially on pains that modern medicine has been unable to assist with. This is because EFT looks at the potential psycho-emotional aspects that may be involved.
Digestive issues
When a change in diet doesn't seem to help, it's likely EFT could help with digestion because it looks into and clears out any potential emotions that may be stuck or trapped in the digestive system.
Anger, Stress & Overwhelm
EFT works well at reducing intense feelings like stress and overwhelm because these emotional states are always linked to the amygdala being on and in overdrive. EFT will not only help turn off the amygdala, it will also reduce the feelings of tension and tightness that may have built up inside the body.
Conclusion
EFT is an effective self-help method for managing your stress and negative emotions, as well as tackling psychological challenges. Using the EFT method, you can clear the energy pathways in your body, access your body’s natural ability to heal, and address any emotional obstacles that may be holding you back. If you’re struggling with stress or other emotional challenges, EFT can be a powerful tool to help you reach your goals and feel better.
To learn more about this technique, and how you can use it on yourself and others, you can visit my website or check out my YouTube channel for free videos and resources.
Michael Hetherington, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Michael Hetherington is an anxiety-release expert with over 13 years of experience in the health and wellness industry. He holds a bachelor of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), a brown belt in Taekwondo, and postgraduate qualifications in education and counseling. Michael has been teaching and giving talks on energy medicine and traditional Chinese medicine around the world since 2012. Most people describe him as calm, knowledgeable, and playful.
