Stress has been a constant sidekick of mine during the pandemic, affecting my sleep cycle, eating habits, and more. Throw in a major life change, iron deficiency anemia side effects, plus being ghosted by the guy I was dating, and my anxiety and stress were through the roof. I’m a big believer in seeking the help you need. But I felt that no matter how much I talked my therapist’s ear off, there was always still a block. I knew I needed to lose weight, work toward reaching the success I wanted in my career, open up to dating again and get better at falling asleep at night, but I just couldn’t get there. During one restless night, I discovered something called “EFT tapping” while scrolling through YouTube. EFT stands for “emotional freedom technique,” and draws on theories developed in Traditional Chinese Medicine. With tapping, you tap on certain pressure points on your body while focusing on emotional issues to channel, which helps to ultimately relieve any anxiety. EFT tapping is linked to reduced anxiety, depression, stress, reducing cravings, and more. According to EFT developer Gary Craig, a disruption in energy is the cause of all negative emotions and pain. I immediately started to watch more YouTube videos to tackle each of the issues I wanted to clear out of my energy. But it still wasn’t enough, I needed a practitioner to guide me through this because it didn’t feel like I was digging deep enough to get to the root of the matter. After an extensive search of trying to locate someone that offered virtual EFT sessions, I found Rachel Durchslag, owner and healing practitioner of Emerge Asheville. “EFT is often used to heal past traumatic events, address anxieties about the future, resolve feelings of anger, and to correct self-sabotaging thought patterns,” Durchslag told me. “It’s amazingly effective because my clients almost uniformly see results in a single session. Once an energy blockage has been cleared, then the healing from it is complete and does not need to be revisited. I often think of EFT like peeling an onion—it’s amazing the deep layers of healing one can reach when they sign up to work with a practitioner."
What is EFT tapping?
A key element of EFT tapping is truly understanding what problem or issue you want to face head-on. Even if this isn’t quite clear to you yet, the process of tapping can help bring everything into focus. “In EFT, cognitive thoughts are combined with simple tapping with the fingertips on specific meridian points on the hand, head and chest," explains Durchslag. “This tapping helps remove energy disturbances and allows the client to overcome emotional and physical challenges. The combination of tapping on energy meridians and voicing cognitive thoughts works to clear emotional blocks from the body’s energy system, thus restoring the mind and body’s balance.” While it may be hard to believe that emotions and trauma can be stuck and unprocessed anywhere in your body, there is actually evidence suggesting overwhelming emotions can cause muscle tension, tightness, lymph buildup, and even organ dysfunction. According to Psychology Today, the body emits a “fight or flight” response in times of overwhelming stress, and your body can hold what your brain can’t process, often leading to emotional imbalance, PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), and eventually disease. The best way to release those trapped emotions is to let the body know it is safe. “I have tapped with people on anything that is causing them emotional distress, from weight challenges, car accidents, the loss of a loved one, and even fear about the pandemic. What is amazing about tapping is that it can be used for absolutely every emotional issue, and for physical pain as well,” says Durchslag. Tapping helps to revisit these stuck points to release that tension and get things in your body flowing properly. The EFT tapping sequence is the methodic tapping on the ends of nine meridian points. First, you start by tapping the karate chop point on the side of your hand while reciting your setup phrase three times. Then tap each following point several times moving down the body in this order; eyebrow, side of the eye, under the eye, under the nose, chin, beginning of the collar bone, under the arm, and finish up the tapping round at the top of your head. Repeat the sequence several times, but while tapping continue to recite a phrase to maintain focus on your issue including a positive affirmation.
How EFT worked for me
I wasn’t sure what to expect during a virtual EFT session with a practitioner, but my first session with Durchslag was intense. I told her my concerns, and we settled on the biggest issue I had at the moment. I decided to zero in on weight loss and rebounding from the effects of having severe anemia. I focused on this phrase: “Even though I’m frustrated with trying to feel normal again after iron infusions and the scale not budging, I still choose to love and accept myself." As we tapped—tapping is light, not forceful—Durchslag guided me through why I felt it was hard to lose weight, and we took a trip to the past to uncover what happened the last time I lost weight and how I felt. What we found was that a sexual assault in 2008 was key: I had lost weight on a reality show in 2007, shortly before the assault occurred. I started gaining weight because subconsciously, that was how my body chose to protect itself from being hurt again. We even addressed my insecurities about my hair loss from the anemia. Durchslag helped me realize it’s safe to let go. Through tapping and even visualization, we took a deep dive into forgiveness, acceptance, and allowing myself to return to the version of myself that I felt most comfortable in. Durchslag says there are several ways to tell healing is taking place when tapping. “One is that the client can talk about a previously triggering event and feel only neutral feelings," she says. “Another is that the client begins to feel compassion towards his or herself around something that happened, or compassion towards someone who caused them pain. Tapping literally helps rewire the brain to help us neutralize painful past events, and the result is we feel spacious and lighter and more resilient.” By the end of the session, I felt like a weight had been lifted. And for the first time in a long time, I was able to sleep for eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. After several tapping sessions, I was able to figure out the blocks and relieve some of the stress I was experiencing. I was able to accept and love myself just as I am so that I can move forward in the areas where I previously felt suck. I have tapped my way to ease the anxiety and I have discovered an inner peace that makes going to sleep a lot easier. As for the weight loss, I have lost a few inches and my sugar cravings have diminished greatly since I started tapping over a month ago. Take it from me: Once you learn how to tap, it can be an excellent tool to help relieve stress for the rest of your life. Up next: Essential Oils to Relieve Anxiety and Insomnia
Sources
Rachel Durchslag, owner and healing practitioner, Emerge Asheville
