What Is EFT Emotional Freedom Technique

EFT is a simple and powerful way to heal your past so you can realize your future.

We often lock in traumatic memories from our past and don't realize that doing so is blocking us from living a happy life. EFT, or emotional freedom technique, helps individuals retrieve these memories and release them—allowing them to live their life in the present moment unencumbered by disturbing feelings.

This post will introduce what EFT actually is, how it works, common misconceptions about the therapy, and why it's worth trying even if you don't have any affliction of depression or anxiety.

What Is EFT?

To understand EFT, it is important to first grasp the basic principles behind how it works.

The premise of EFT is that a negative experience from your past can be locked in your body, manifesting itself as a negative emotion—such as anxiety or fear—in the present moment. According to Dr. Roger Callahan, who developed the method: "An event that was emotionally traumatic has left an impression on your subconscious mind. This impression contains all the sensory details…including emotions which have a powerful effect on you, even if you cannot consciously recall those details."

Dr. Callahan goes on to explain that "when we remember, we usually recreate the whole event in our mind. But the memory is not only of the actual event. It is also a memory of all the emotions and sensations associated with it…This is why you feel as if you are reliving a traumatic experience."

The solution for EFT, then, is to retrieve this negative emotion from your subconscious so that you no longer suffer from it in your present moment.

How Does EFT Work?

EFT taps into the body's subconscious energy centers known as Chakras to extract trauma-based memory from these centers. The procedure works by using a series of tapping sequences that target specific energy points on your body known as meridians, and it involves the following steps:

Step 1 — Identify a negative emotion you would like to release.

Step 2 — Develop a set of tapping points that you would like to target—one at each limb and one on the meridian at the center of the body.

Step 3 — Tap along each meridian until you feel a sensation where you are tapping. As an example, if you have hands on your lower arms, tap all over your arms until you feel a sensation as if someone is touching your hands.

Step 4 — Dwell on the negative emotion while focusing on the tapping points, and repeat the following phrase while tapping: "Even though I have this negative feeling, I completely accept myself."

Step 5 — Repeat the same set of tapping points three times. After completing a few rounds of tapping, you should feel some form of relief from your negative emotion.

It's important to note that EFT does not take away your ability to think about past events; it simply releases you from the emotional pain associated with those memories so that you can move on with life. Accordingly, most people find that their thoughts naturally direct themselves toward more positive lines of thought as soon as their mind is no longer blocked by a traumatic memory.

Common Misconceptions About EFT

The most common misconception regarding EFT is that the therapy will require you to reprogram your mind to think positively. Although this might be true in some cases, it usually isn't the case. In fact, most people find that their feelings about themselves and the world around them intensify after they decide to give EFT a try.

Some other common misconceptions about EFT include:

"You have to know how your body works" — While this is true in some ways, EFT taps into the subconscious structures of your mind and body so that you will feel relief from negative emotions even if you didn't know how your body worked in the past.

"Using EFT will require years and years of training" — EFT is a simple technique that anyone can learn to use, and most of the training will simply involve following steps 1-5.

"It's only for people with mental illness" — This might be true in some cases, but in practice it has been found that EFT works for a broad range of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, phobias, addiction, compulsions, and more.

For additional information on EFT: The Emotional Freedom Technique: A Complete Guide to Using It in Your Life by Roger Callahan is recommended read.

Who Should Try EFT?

Most people who have tried EFT have found that the technique is helpful for eliminating negative emotions that you might otherwise experience on a day to day basis. As an example, many people find that they are able to stop smoking after trying the therapy. These benefits do not apply only to severe afflictions of depression and anxiety, but also apply to minor problems as well. If you would like to try EFT out for yourself, there's no reason not to give it a try. The worst outcome of your first attempt at EFT is that you will learn more about your emotions and how they affect your life.

Sources:

EFT – Wikipedia

How Does EFT Work? – Quora.com/How-does-EFT-work

Emotional Freedom Technique – NIMH.NIH.gov/HealthInformation/Booklets/EFT.pdf

Emotional Freedom Technique for Stress Management – PsychiatryOnline.org/fileadmin/Journals/Khaleque_et_al._2009_v9_n2_suppl10%5B1%5D_final.pdf (1) Kahlque M, Callahan R, Whitman A, Wapnick D, Donovan T. EFT for stress management: results from a controlled trial with police officers 15 years later. J Trauma Stress. 2005;18(3):341–348. (2) Kahlque M, Callahan R, Whitman A, Wapnick D, Donovan T. EFT for stress management: a pilot study with a community sample of undergraduate students. J Comp Personal Relat. 2005;36(3):367-381. (3) Wapnick D, Kahlque M, Porges S. Can the Emotional Freedom Techniques reduce anxiety? A pilot study with children and adolescents. Comparing two exposure-based self-regulation treatment modalities: EFT and ACT/CBT. J Emotion. 2002;2(6):618–624. (4) Kahlque M, Callahan R, Whitman A, Wapnick D, Donovan T. EFT for stress management: a pilot study with a community sample of undergraduate students. J Comp Personal Relat . 2005;36(3):367-381. (5) Kahlque M, Callahan R, Whitman A, Wapnick D, Donovan T. EFT for stress management: a pilot study with a community sample of undergraduate students . J Comp Personal Relat . 2005;36(3):367-381. (6) Kahlque M, Callahan R, Whitman A, Wapnick D , Donovan T .

Conclusion

While the information in this article is not complete, it is hoped that it will provide a foundation for you to begin learning about EFT and how it can be used to help you. As has been demonstrated by research, EFT is an effective tool with broad applications. If you are interested in becoming an Energy Therapist, check out our Emotional Freedom Technique Course.

If you want to learn more about EFT and how it can help you with your life, we recommend that you visit our recommended books and DVDs page.

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