So What Is EFT?

Great question!

When people ask me what I do and I say “I’m an EFT practitioner”, there’s usually a moment of incomprehension before the standard, polite “Oh lovely!”.

Put EXTREMELY simply: EFT is akin to acupuncture, but without the needles.

It’s often known as Tapping and has its roots in ancient Eastern medicine practices, with a Western twist.

It works on the flow of energy around the body by tapping with fingers on acupressure points whilst saying specific affirmations.

By doing these things together you engage both the body’s energy system and the brain’s limbic system (a complex system of nerves and networks in the brain, controlling basic emotions, drives and long term memory), which encourages a sense of resolution, peace and safety.

The benefit of this is that – as the scientific field of Epigenetics is proving – external changes to your mental and physical health follow a change to your internal beliefs and emotions.

EFT quite literally taps into the Mind/Body Connection.

This is the acknowledgement that both our physical and emotional well being are linked. So where you have a physical discomfort, your emotional state is affected and vice versa.

EFT is simple and painless. It can be learned by anyone, of any age and can be used at any time, anywhere.

Most importantly EFT allows you to tap into your own personal power, by releasing limiting beliefs, fears and anxieties – putting the control back into YOUR hands.

Is There Scientific Evidence That It Works?

Like many other holistic healthcare practices, EFT has been met with its fair share of scepticism.

Some doctors and psychologists have been quick to dismiss it, despite much evidence from clinical trials, practitioner reports and individual case studies. Not to mention the feedback from the thousands of people who use EFT at home.

In recent years, there’s been a growing pool of undeniable research proving that EFT produces real and lasting breakthroughs. Studies performed around the world, including Harvard Medical School and Bond University (Australia), continue to verify these assertions.

The scientific basis for EFT is focused on an almond-shaped part of your brain called the amygdala – which is part of the limbic system.

Our ‘flight/fight’ response is based in the amygdala – firing other brain receptors and initiating the release of specific hormones that allow your body to respond to the perceived danger. Whilst this is extremely useful when facing a threat to your survival, it can also be detrimental when it develops into an ‘irrational’ fear or a maladaptive behaviour pattern.

EFT ‘turns off’ the amygdala, disrupting the stress response and allowing the brain synapses to be rewired for a more appropriate emotional response to a given situation.

There are some interesting links below that give more information on the science behind EFT.