How Does EFT work?

EFT addresses emotional issues, including past traumas, and their corresponding physiological issues while tapping with our fingers on a series of acupuncture points.  Emotions can significantly impact and influence disease and physical conditions, and are often a primary underlaying component of chronic physical conditions and disease.  Addressing and releasing those emotions can often enable physical healing.

In acupuncture it is understood that subtle energy runs through the body in pathways called meridians. Negative health effects can emerge when energy is not flowing freely through these meridians.  Acupuncture points are spots on the body where we can directly affect those meridians.  With EFT, we use our fingertips to tap or rub a series of acupuncture points on our head and upper torso.  Tapping these points stimulates the associated meridians which help to balance the body’s energy system.  As you tap while focusing on an emotional issue the intensity of the emotional issue can fade, and the corresponding physical issues can likewise decrease or resolve.

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It has also been shown that EFT has a profound regulatory effect on the brain.  Stimulating the selected acupuncture points deactivates areas in the brain’s limbic (emotional) system.  Many of our charged emotional responses are automatic reactions based on old learned patterns.  When a person mentally brings up an emotional situation or traumatic memory while using EFT, new information is provided to the limbic system which helps to deactivate those automatic emotional response patterns.  As that deactivating information continues to be provided with EFT, a calm, non-triggered state begins to dominate in the limbic system.  This means that the brain can move from being highly emotionally activated, to regulating and deactivating the intensity of these of these charged memories and emotions. The brain literally rewires its response pattern to emotional triggers, and the person becomes able to hold those thoughts/memories/emotions/traumas in their mind without the intense emotional responses they used to have.