The Tapping Solution Book: Don't Knock "EFT" Till You Try It

Me, Skeptical? You Bet I Was ... Until it Worked

It felt a little funny at first. And it still does, months later. But now that I know for a fact that it works for me, I don't mind if it looks a little silly. Most of the time, though, there's no one watching anyway (except maybe the dogs, and they aren't particularly interested).

It's called Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) or, more commonly, "tapping," and it's a sort of psychological acupuncture where you tap with your fingers on various points on your body. At the same time that you're tapping, you're talking, expressing what's bothering you, whether physical or emotional or a combination of both, as well as stating positive affirmations about these issues.

Sound pretty simple? It is. And as simple and sort of goofy as it sounds, it can and does work -- and, in some cases, surprisingly quickly -- for a wide array of troubles, everything from stress and anxiety to weight loss struggles to fears and phobias, even allergies and physical pain. And tapping is now used quite extensively with those who suffer from PTSD, including my husband. In my experience and that of many others, tapping can reduce the symptoms of these issues to a much more manageable or even nearly imperceptible level or even make them go away completely.

I was so nervous, I couldn't sleep. The biopsy was scheduled three days from then, and I was so worried and stressed about it, even though the radiologist had said it was most likely old scar tissue and probably benign. Still, my heart was racing, and I kept feeling an achy, even painful sensation on the left side. I was petrified that it was breast cancer. I'd had a needle biopsy before and it had turned out to be scar tissue, but I hadn't expected to be going through this again.

After tossing and turning all night, I shared my anxiety with my husband, who was the one who suggested I try tapping. He'd recently started doing it with the help of his psychologist as he worked on his PTSD from experiences in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Then, the very next day, a friend of mine happened to recommend it, too. I was surprised he knew about it and would soon be surprised again at just how many people not only know about EFT but have used it successfully to deal with a variety of struggles, life stressors, and physical and medical issues.

My friend suggested I read the Tapping Solution, which I downloaded on our Kindle right away. And I couldn't put it down, reading through half the book in one sitting. What did make me eventually put it down, though, was that I was anxious to try it -- to try to relieve some of the overwhelming anxiety I was feeling about the upcoming surgery and the unknown outcome. While the book itself was very convincing, I still was skeptical it could work for me.

Well, what can I say? After learning just a little about how to tap on my own and trying it out, first in the shower and later in bed the next night, mouthing the words to myself rather than speaking out loud, not only did I feel much calmer, but the achy and painful sensations on the left side of my chest (where the suspicious spot had been seen on the mammogram) went away completely.

This doesn't mean I was no longer worried. I sure was. But I didn't have the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach any longer. My heart wasn't racing, and I was able to sleep the night before the surgery. I was much less stressed and better able to handle the situation.

I did tap on the anxiety more than once -- three "sessions," you might say -- and it was more like I suddenly realized the significant change after the fact, especially after the second time through.

As it turned out, I didn't even need to have the biopsy after all. New pictures were taken on the morning of the procedure in preparation to insert the wire, and a more experienced radiologist and the surgeon looked at things and felt 100% they were simply seeing a "shadow" of scar tissue. I'd go back in six months for repeat mammography, just to be totally on the safe side, but they felt confident there was absolutely no need for surgery, which would only create more scarring.

Now, tapping had had nothing to do with that outcome, of course. But it lessened my anxiety noticeably, helped me have a more positive, optimistic outlook, and made the whole experience more bearable.

I then went on to use tapping (the shower is one of my favorite places to tap, to be honest) to deal with some guilt and sadness I was dealing with related to my mom, who's now deceased. I used tapping to deal with financial stress, to help me with my food cravings and weight loss, and even to try to reduce the effects of my seasonal allergies. Some issues were more ... oh, I guess "responsive" to the tapping, with more immediate results, while others have taken longer and even much longer to work through. But this once-skeptic can now say with certainty that, whatever the reason (although the reasons given in the book really do make sense), this tapping/EFT has definitely worked for me.

You don't need to spend big bucks -- or anything at all -- to learn how to do this in the privacy of your own home, your car, the woods ... wherever you feel comfortable.

There's a bunch of information about this simple therapy to be found online, including videos that will show you how it's done (and there are a number of variations as far as which tapping points to use, the specific method of tapping, and the types of things you might say as you're doing it), but there is one book in particular that I highly recommend if you're at all curious about it, possibly interested in giving EFT a try, or wanting to understand how and why it's working for someone else. That book is The Tapping Solution by Nick Ortner.

In this book, the author will speak to you in a very down-to-earth, honest way, beginning with his own experiences with tapping and why something so simple and even a little silly on the surface works so well for so many people, whether they do it on their own or with someone who can guide them, like a mental health professional. Ortner will give you a myriad of real-life stories of how EFT has helped people and walk you through how you can try it yourself for various challenges you might be facing in your own life, including how to adapt the scenarios to fit your specific situations.

As you're reading or once you've finished the book, you can also visit his Tapping Solution website for more information and videos to help you get the most out of tapping on your own.

EFT Videos

Hear directly from the author and others about tapping, which really is a combination of ancient Chinese acupressure and modern psychology. Nick Ortner will explain of the basics of WHY this works and how. For the science-minded, he'll briefly give you the physiological explanation of what happens as you tap on meridian points on your body while making certain statements or affirmations.

It really is true -- as you'll hear in the first video -- that the book is more of a reference that you'll go back to multiple times as opposed to a one-time read. That's proven true for me, as I've found myself referring to the book a number of times, particularly to look at some of the suggested "scripts" to say while tapping on certain issues.

More Resources for Learning About Tapping

Here are some good websites to take a look at....

Emofree.com

The website of Gary Craig, the founder of the EFT technique. See his book below.

EFT Tapping Points

From the Energy Therapy Centre

See also....