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Tap Your Way To Less Stress With This Quick EFT Sequence

Author:

Jessica Ortner

April 13, 2020

NY Times bestseller

By Jessica Ortner

NY Times bestseller

Jessica Ortner is the author of the New York Times best-seller The Tapping Solution For Weight Loss and Body Confidence and the producer of The Tapping Solution. Her work has been featured on USA Today, Women's Health, and Shape, among others.

Image by Sergey Filimonov / Stocksy

April 13, 2020

As strange as it may look, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) tapping—putting pressure on certain points of the body while thinking about what's bothering you—can provide quick, in-the-moment stress relief. While there isn't much research on this alternative technique, preliminary studies show that it can be effective at decreasing anxiousness and psychological distress 1. If you want to try it out for yourself, here is a basic tapping sequence to do the next time you are lost in negative thought:

Identify the problem you want to focus on: It can be general stress a specific situation or issue that is causing you to feel anxious.
Consider the problem or situation. How do you feel about it right now? Rate the intensity level of your stress, with zero being the lowest level stress and 10 being the highest.
Compose a “setup statement" to acknowledge the problem you want to deal with. Follow this statement with an unconditional affirmation of yourself as a person. For example: "Even though I feel this anxiety, I deeply and completely accept myself", "Even though I'm anxious about my interview, I deeply and completely accept myself and these feelings", etc.
Perform the setup. With four fingers on one hand, press the Karate Chop point (the outer edge of the hand, opposite your thumb) on your other hand using firm but gentle pressure, as if you were drumming on the side of your desk or testing a melon for ripeness.
Repeat your statement three times aloud, while simultaneously pressing the Karate Chop point.
Move on to the following meridian points and repeat your statement 5-7 times each one:

Start of the eyebrow, near the bridge of your nose
Side of the eye, near your temple
Under the eye
Under the nose
The crease between the chin and lip
The collarbone
Underneath the arm
The top of the head

What to keep in mind as you're tapping:

You can use all four fingers or just the first two (the index and middle fingers) to apply pressure to these points. Four fingers are generally used on wider areas like the top of the head, the collarbone, and under the arm. On sensitive areas, like around the eyes, you can use just two. And tap with your fingertips, not your fingernails!

It does not mater what side of the body you tap or what hand you use. Just keep tapping then take a deep breath and check in with how you feel after the practice.