What Is EFT Tapping, and How Does It Work

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If you're one of the millions of people in the U.S. affected by a mental health condition, emotional freedom technique (EFT) may be able to help.

EFT - sometimes just called tapping - is a technique that uses acupressure points on your body to relieve symptoms. It's easy to learn and do on your own. Some research suggests that EFT tapping may help with several health conditions, from pain to anxiety and major depression.

Let's take a look at how this technique works and how you can try it out for yourself.

How does EFT tapping therapy work?

Like acupuncture, EFT tapping targets certain acupressure points on your body that are associated with symptom relief. But instead of using needles to restore balance like in acupuncture, EFT uses the percussive tapping of fingers. EFT tapping also uses some elements of cognitive therapy and exposure therapy.

Here's how to do EFT tapping on your own.

First, you say a "setup statement" that helps you focus on the issue you want to soothe during a tapping session. The first part of the sentence starts with: "Even though I am [state your symptom, issue or stressor]." This is then followed by: "I deeply and completely accept myself."

The first part of your setup statement exposes you to the issue you're facing. The second part of the sentence is an element of cognitive therapy designed to help you develop self-acceptance.

Here are some example setup statements:

• "Even though I got angry at my partner, I deeply and completely accept myself."

• "Even though I'm anxious about getting on a plane, I accept myself and how I feel."

• "Even though I'm stressed about my work presentation, I choose to be kind to myself."

Once you have your setup statement, you target nine acupressure points on your hand, face, and below your armpit. You repeat your setup statement while first tapping the side of your palm. Then you repeat your problem while tapping the other eight acupressure points. (We outline the full process below.)

The combination of repeating your statement while tapping on your acupressure points can help reduce symptoms.

What are the benefits of EFT tapping?

Studies suggest there may be many benefits of EFT tapping. There's still a need for high-quality randomized controlled trials. But here's what we know so far about its effectiveness.

Reduces anxiety

The EFT tapping technique can be a helpful anxiety-coping tool to use when you need it. A number of studies suggest that EFT tapping can reduce anxiety symptoms. Other research suggests EFT can be helpful to treat specific phobias, such as fear of spiders or heights.

Therapies for anxiety, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), can take some time to work. EFT tapping may be able to relieve some of your anxiety symptoms sooner.

Improves depression

EFT tapping has also been shown to reduce major depression symptoms. Researchers found that EFT can reduce depression symptoms and can be an effective add-on to other treatment methods.

EFT tapping may also help manage the symptoms of mild postpartum depression.

Helps manage PTSD symptoms

EFT tapping may also help reduce the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For people with PTSD, it's best to do a form of EFT called clinical EFT. This method combines EFT with more traditional PTSD treatments, including therapy and medication.

Relieves physical pain

EFT tapping may reduce pain, though we don't have as much evidence yet on how well it works. Small studies have looked at how EFT tapping could reduce chronic pain, tension headaches, and pain from a frozen shoulder.

These small, early studies suggest that EFT could effectively help people manage their pain symptoms. In addition, EFT seemed to help some people in these studies manage the psychological effects of living with pain.

Reduces food cravings

If you're trying to reduce food cravings, you may want to try EFT tapping. Some studies suggest that regular EFT practice for just 8 weeks can reduce food cravings and help people stick to a diet plan. And in some cases, cravings could be reduced for up to 2 years after doing EFT tapping for 8 weeks.

More research is needed to understand how well EFT works for other disordered eating patterns. But one small study suggests EFT may help people with binge eating disorder manage their symptoms.

Promotes better sleep

There's some evidence that EFT tapping could help you sleep better. But the research on EFT and sleep is pretty limited so far.

For example, one small study suggests that EFT tapping improved sleep quality for older adults. But learning more about sleep hygiene had even better results compared to tapping.

EFT tapping technique

The EFT tapping technique is a simple and accessible tool that can be done anywhere. You can check YouTube or other online videos to practice on your own. Or ask a mental healthcare professional for support and guidance.

Here's how the process breaks down.

Step 1

Start by identifying your focus. Maybe you want to feel less anxious or reduce your sense of pain. Try to focus on one thing at a time.

Step 2

Before you start tapping, reflect on the intensity of your topic, and rate it from 0 to 10. This will help give you clarity on when the EFT is working. Once you start tapping, repeat the process until your intensity level reaches a 3 or lower.

Step 3

Next, write your setup phrase. This should include a statement about the issue and an affirmation of self-acceptance. A common example is: "Even though (describe the symptom or concern), I deeply and completely accept myself."

Step 4

Now you can begin tapping. You'll start by tapping the side of your hand about halfway between the end of your pinky and your wrist. You can think of this as the "karate chop" spot.

Use four fingers to tap this part of your hand as you repeat your setup phrase. Repeat your phrase and the tapping 3 times.

Step 5

Next you're going to tap the eight other acupressure points one at a time while repeating a "reminder phrase."

Your reminder phrase will be a few words, and it will label the concern you're focused on in the first part of your setup phrase. For example, if you want to reduce your anxiety symptoms, your reminder phrase can be "anxiety symptoms." Or, it could be more specific, like "broke up with girlfriend."

Gently tap on the eight points listed below, tapping 5 to 7 times at each point before moving to the next one. Repeat your reminder phase as you tap each point. This helps you stay focused on your concern.

These are the eight tapping points:

1. Your forehead between your eyebrows

2. The outside corner of each eye

3. Under each eye

4. Between your lip and nose

5. Beneath your lips

6. Below the start of each collarbone

7. Below each armpit

8. The crown of the head

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