Question from me. Is tapping for pain and fear?
By Rona Garfield
In times of stress and increased anxiety we have to look for ways to cope and deal with being quarantined and isolated from our friends and family. One way of dealing with this is TAPPING or ETF (Emotional Freedom Technique). The goal of ETF is to reduce pain and emotional stress. ETF was founded by Gary Craig in 1955. The concept involves stimulating the meridians of the body like that of acupuncture. Tapping is commonly referred as “Tapping or Psychological Acupressure”.
“Tapping is believed to create a balance in your energy system to treat pain”, according Gary Craig. Fear and pain supposedly can cause disruption in your energy system. This might be the cause of all negative and emotional discomfort. ETF can possibly relieve symptoms from negative experiences.
Tapping is one option available like meditation or acupuncture. ETF focuses on energy hotspots in the body by restoring balance. It is similar to Chinese medicine which focuses on meridian points where energy flows. Whereas acupuncture uses needles, Tapping uses specific pressure points in the body.
Below are some of the salient points of Tapping to be observed. There are also references in YouTube videos that go into great detail for anyone who wishes to try their hand at Tapping.
OVERVIEW INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Identify your pain or fear issue. This will be your focus – only one issue.
2. Test the intensity on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the worst pain or fear you feel.
3. You need a phrase which allows you to accept and acknowledge the issue. One of the phrases that is used pretty routinely is the following. “Even though I have this fear, I deeply and completely accept myself”. This phrase has to represent only your pain or fear, not anyone else’s, and should be repeated throughout the tapping exercise.
Following are the meridian points on the body that are tapped.
- Karate chop
- Top of head
- Eyebrow
- Side of the eye
- Under eye
- Chin
- Beginning of collarbone
- Under arm
This is a brief overview of tapping. Prior to tapping, please refer to the videos below which give you an in-depth look at the process.
REFERENCES: