EFT- Emotional Freedom Technique

Tap your worries away? It may seem overly simplistic, but it just might be possible using the emotional freedom technique (EFT). (Everyday Health)

EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Technique and can be seen like a cousin of acupuncture.

"Similar to acupuncture, the goal of EFT is to restore the flow of energy throughout the body, in turn alleviating the patient’s symptoms" -Dr. Nancy Lowe ( Vital Health )

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is sometimes called “psychological acupressure,” and consists of tapping specific points on the body. While acupressure is applied, the patient is asked to verbalize negative emotional experiences. Example statements can include "I feel depressed and alone"

EFT taps on specific nerve points in your face, upper body, and hands to send signals to your brain and nervous system.

Research suggests that EFT tapping can relieve stress, diminish cravings, improve performance, and even help relieve symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). (Everyday Health)

The goal of EFT is to free the patient of emotional negativity that can lead to poor health habits, anxiety, depression, and pain.

Personally, I see where this can sound and look ridiculous. Tapping on my head while talking negative? How could this help relieve PTSD symptoms?

Story Time

It was a Tuesday, I think, back in 2019 when I walked into my first therapy session. The building was screaming for a makeover as most old building in Orlando were.

I was doubtful, nervous, but also desperate for something to help me make sense as to why I feel so sick, tired, and manic, when everyone around me said I’m suppose to be fine. I was a fa couple of years into a violent marriage by this time despite having attempted a few times to escape, I always ended up back.

Now, on this day a Tuesday, walking into this old building. The therapist room was cute and bright, the walls were almost white if not for the softest blue tint, the chair was also soft, white and cozy, a 1-seater with a blanket, and off to the corner, a water fountain to help create a calming atmosphere with its slow trickling.

My therapist, sitting across from me and asked me why I was there, I tell her "because of panic attacks that preventing me from going to work, I can’t remember the details of the conversation, but I remember being extremely skeptical when she then asked me to hold a rock.

......A rock? How is this supposed to help? After spending time observing how the rock felt in my hands, she took the rock back and did not discuss it. This left me weirded out and confused, questioning if she knew what she was doing or if I just wasted my time and money.

She then continued on about EFT. 

I later (much later) taught myself Grounding Techniques and EFT which helped me realize she attempted to show me a form of one. This experience taught me, however, the importance explaining / understanding WHY something works, is important in your recovery Journey.

She then hands me a diagram that looks much like the one below, and tells me to follow along as she begins to tap.

Tap tap tap..... "this is stupid"I think to myself .. tap tap tap.... "why am I here?".....tap tap tap.... "does she think I am crazy?".... tap tap tap.

I couldn't help but think about how dumb it looked as we tapped the top of our heads, then forehead, temples, and worked our way through the chart.

 "this is ridiculous, and I don't see how this helps".

I'll be honest, I didn't go back for another session. Instead, I went back into the chaos of life until I stumbled upon EFT again, now a year later- in Chicago after my official and last escape attempt from my ex.

I was determined to find anyway to prove I wasn't crazy, that science and biology could somehow explain / help me recover from my issues.

I spent hours and days searching for anything that worked; Vitamin D, MCT oil, EFT...... EFT? I questioned in my head when I came across it. does this actually work? I questioned again.

I dug into the science of EFT to find the explanation, the why. And to my surprise it made sense. I didn't give EFT a fair try the first time. In fact, I didn't give it a try at all considering my thoughts on the whole thing was "this is stupid".

So, I decided to give it another try.

I started to follow this Tapping Queen called Gala or Gala Darling. A beautiful PINK queen who tapped Live on Instagram. She made a future for herself by teaching about EFT and how it helped her and hundreds of others. "Okay" I thought to myself. "I’ll give it a try".

Tap tap tap.... Starting at the top of my head, "I am open to trying new things" I said". Tap tap tap "I am safe and no longer need to be in survival mode." tap tap tap... "I want to feel peace"

To my relief, I actually felt better.

I would do EFT for maybe 2-3 minutes, sometimes 5 minutes a day, whichever felt right. I would follow along Gala Darling or to a positive affirmation video I would find on YouTube.

After a week, I honestly felt more connected to myself and more in control of my thoughts. 

After a few weeks, I was a believer. 

Life went on and I found myself living more in control of my life, my health, and my choices. More aware of what I wanted and what I deserved, more confident in my ability to achieve goals and rise above the list of symptoms that society labeled me: A Mentally Ill, Delusional, Crazy Latina.

I used EFT to help boost energy in the mornings, just enough to be able to get out of bed at first, then enough to stay consistent with a recovery lifestyle, like wash my face, eat healthier and take vitamins, which worked like a healthy domino, tipping over into the next, into feeling better, clearing my skin, thickening my hair that have thinned out from the stress and poorly done, self bleaching and box dying.

This led to more confidence in myself and in making the next choice, little by little. T prioritizing New shoes, new clothes, new income, new credit score, a new bank balance, each day a little better than the one before. 

As with anything, this will happen over time and one, 2 minute session will not solve all your problems, but a little practice each day, leading into the next, steadily building a habit, will produce long term results worth every minute.

I used EFT to motivate myself to take my vitamins, DLPA and MCT oil. Each helping me advance in my healing journey and in my life.

Before I knew it, two years passed, I didn't have the online empire I thought Id have, but I did get a 1-bedroom apartment near the great Lake michigan, lived on my own with a steady income. I dont have multiple panic attacks a day. I adopted a  new fur baby, and started a loving and healthy relationship. I'm happy and practice gratitude daily. such a huge 180 from 23 year old me from 2019.

EFT by itself cannot be held responsible for all my personal growth however. As I try to always mention, it takes practicing a little bit of many recovery lifestyle hacks. The credit is in myself and my choices each day no matter how small it may seem to others. But making the choice to practice EFT allowed me to unlock areas of my brain and body that felt lost and disconnected from me, giving me the ability to be more aware of my choices.