Reduce Anxiety With Tapping Therapy
By Kate Gardner
Anxiety is very common. We all experience some degree of anxiety on a regular basis, whether we're worried about our kids, our work or any of the curveballs life regularly throws at us. Some of us worry enough that it interferes with our daily lives, crossing the line between what is normal and what is considered a disorder. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 30 percent of Americans will suffer from an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives.
Treatments for anxiety disorders usually consist of medications and therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy. However, not all patients want to take medications or can afford therapy which begs the question: Is there an alternative?
Emotional Freedom Technique
The emotional freedom technique, or EFT (also known by many as tapping therapy), may fit the bill. Healthline.com tells us that EFT is used to treat pain and anxiety by applying pressure to certain parts of the body in a certain order while thinking about a problem. The steps are as follows:
Issue - Identify a single issue that is concerning you.
Intensity - Using a scale of 0 to 10 (with 0 being the best and 10 being the worst) figure out how intense, or bad, you feel about the issue.
Phrase - Next, come up with a phrase to you will use during the tapping. This phrase should acknowledge your feelings about the problem and include acceptance of yourself. For example, if you are worried about work your phrase may be, "I am upset about problems at work right now, but I unconditionally accept myself."
Tapping - The tapping, or acupressure, part of the therapy has you tap a sequence of spots on your head, face, and upper body as you recite your phrase.
Revisit Intensity - Once you have completed the tapping, revisit your intensity scale to see how you are feeling about the problem.
Benefits and Support
Emotional freedom technique may sound a little silly to some, but there has been research to support its use. Authors in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease looked at several studies that investigated EFT, showing that the therapy was connected to a significant decrease in anxiety scores compared to control groups that had no intervention. Another study in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, found EFT to be just as good as cognitive behavioral therapy in treating anxiety in adolescents.
It is important to note that the emotional freedom technique is often done with the help of a therapist, as it was in these studies. But, once learned, this therapy does have the striking benefit of being easy to do on one's own, wherever and whenever it is needed.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Loveland, Colo.