Emotional Freedom Techniques: Unlocking the Path to Inner Peace

When you think of finding inner peace, tapping on specific points in the body probably doesn’t sound like something that could be incredibly helpful, right? As crazy as it might sound, these types of techniques can actually do wonders for your health! Emotional Freedom Techniques are groundbreaking and can truly help you to reduce certain mental health conditions and relieve emotions like irritability and frustration. 

EFT is a simple, low-risk practice that doesn’t require much time or money. It’s easy to learn and can be used for a wide range of issues, from stress and anxiety to physical pain. Because it’s so accessible and doesn’t have any significant downsides, it’s definitely worth trying to see if it can help with what you’re dealing with.

If you’re someone who experiences chronic pain, or struggles with irritability or overstimulation, these techniques might be perfect for you. Join us as we expand on these ideas and explain more about Emotional Freedom Techniques for inner peace! 

The True Power Of Emotional Freedom Techniques

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) blend ideas from cognitive restructuring, exposure therapy, and acupoint tapping. In EFT, you gently tap on specific points on your body, similar to acupuncture or acupressure points. This technique has been used for thousands of years in practices like qigong and shiatsu, and it’s based on ideas from Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Here’s what acupoint tapping can do:

• Increase serotonin, a chemical that makes you feel good, in parts of your brain like the amygdala and prefrontal cortex.
• Release opioids, serotonin, and GABA, which help calm you down, into your bloodstream.
• Help control cortisol levels, a stress hormone that often goes up with both mental and physical stress.

Combining tapping with cognitive restructuring (changing your thoughts about stress) and exposure therapy (talking about your emotions or past experiences) becomes a strong tool for improving your mood and mental health.

The 8 Most Common EFT Tapping Sequences

Emotional Freedom Techniques tapping sequences focus on specific points on the body to address emotional and physical issues. Each of these points are linked to specific energy pathways and target different aspects of your well-being. 

These sequences make it easier to handle various stressors and emotional triggers, offering a structured approach to effectively enhancing mental and physical health. The most common points are:

1. The inner side of your eyebrows
2. The outer edges of your eyes
3. Just below your eyes on the bony ridge of your eye socket
4. Directly under your nose, on the middle of your upper lip
5. Below your lip, in the middle
6. Just below your collarbone, near the center of your chest
7. Around 3-4 inches below your armpit (you may need to lift your arm)
8. The top of your head, at the crown

It is also common to “set up” for what is called “a round” of EFT (moving through all the above points), by tapping on what is known as the “karate chop point”, the fleshy area of the side of your hand, below your pinky finger.

Whether you’re just starting with EFT or looking to enhance your healing technique, these common tapping points are designed to help you tackle a range of challenges, from anxiety and frustration to physical discomfort. 

How You Can Practice EFT On Your Own

You can try this practice yourself with the points mentioned above. Here’s how:

1. Tune into Your Emotions: Take a moment to tune into how you’re feeling, and think how to describe the troubling emotion or sensation you need some help with.
2. Rate Yourself on a Score of 0-10: In EFT this is known as a “Subjects Unit of Distress” or SUDS score, and it helps you to monitor your improvement as you start tapping. 0 is feeling totally calm and peaceful, 10 is highly distressed or acute.
3. Decide on Your Set-Up Phrase: Say a statement like, “Even though (describe the trauma), I deeply and completely accept myself.” For example, if you’re dealing with stress from a car accident, you might say, “Even though I was hurt in the car accident, I deeply and completely accept myself.” Tap the karate chop point on your hand as you say this.
4. Tap on the Key Points: Use your fingertips to gently tap on specific points on your face and torso as listed above. As you do this, focus on the upsetting event or feeling you want to work through.
5. Repeat a Reminder Phrase: While you continue tapping, repeat a short phrase that reminds you of the issue. This helps you gradually become less affected by the memory or feeling. For instance, you could say, “This car accident stress” while tapping.
6. Repeat as Needed: You might need to tap and repeat the phrases several times over different sessions to notice a change in the brain. The key is to practice regularly to help reduce the distress associated with the trauma.

As well as trying out Emotional Freedom Techniques on your own or following videos on YouTube, for deeper emotional issues or chronic health issues, you might like to consider working with a trained EFT practitioner. To get the best results from EFT, it’s recommended to have 4 to 10 sessions to work through a specific issue. After that, you can use it as often as you need. Even just one session can make a difference in how you feel, which is quicker than traditional therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy, where you might need several months of sessions to see improvements.

Once you learn to use EFT, you can apply it anytime to calm yourself and handle difficult emotions. It’s also a useful tool for dealing with past traumas and long-term issues.

What Benefits Can EFT Bring You? 

For those that are still on the fence about trying these techniques, just know, they bring about various benefits to your inner peace and well-being. EFT is believed to help in several key ways:

1. Physical Relaxation: Emotional Freedom Techniques are known to help relax the body. Many people report feeling less physical tension and discomfort after tapping sessions. This relaxation effect supports a more balanced nervous system and overall well-being.
2. Accessible and Practical: EFT is a low-cost, low-risk technique that anyone can practice. It requires minimal equipment and can be done anywhere, making it a practical option for managing stress and emotional challenges.
3. Emotional Regulation: Tapping on acupoints while concentrating on negative emotions or trauma can help regulate your body’s stress response. Focusing on these emotions can reduce their intensity and reframe your thoughts, leading to a sense of calm and emotional balance.

4. Retraining the Limbic System for Chronic Illness: Research suggests that EFT tapping protocols can significantly improve emotional health. Studies have shown that tapping on specific points can result in a downregulation of the limbic system, similar to how acupuncture points work. According to research done by Jin Fang, this stimulation can lead to “extensive deactivation of the limbic-paralimbic-neocortical system,” which is key for managing emotional responses and stress.

The Importance Of Retraining the Limbic System Through Emotional Freedom Techniques For Chronic Illness

The limbic system is a set of brain areas that helps control emotions, stress, and memory. When dealing with chronic illness, this system can become overstimulated or out of balance due to ongoing stress, trauma, or the illness itself. This can result in stronger emotional reactions, higher stress levels, and worsened physical symptoms.

When physical symptoms get worse, retraining the limbic system can help. This involves using different methods to bring balance and control back to this part of the brain. It’s a fundamental focus of our programs, and I discuss its importance more deeply in my appearance on The Neurologic Wellness Podcast. 

In chronic illness, the limbic system can get stuck in a constant state of high alert. This ongoing stress can make symptoms worse and slow down recovery. For instance, someone with chronic pain might feel more intense pain because their limbic system is overactive and reacting strongly to stress.

Techniques for Retraining Your Limbic System Apart From EFT

• Mindfulness and Meditation: These practices promote relaxation and help reduce stress. Regular mindfulness and meditation can help soothe the limbic system, improving both emotional and physical health.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: CBT helps people identify and change negative thinking patterns that increase stress. By changing these patterns, CBT can help regulate the limbic system and improve emotional responses.
• Primal Trust^TM Level 1, Regulate^TM Course: Since its creation in 2022, Regulate has integrated brain retraining, body-based somatic practices, vagus nerve toning, polyvagal understanding, and trauma processing into a streamlined approach. By rewiring your brain to enhance the limbic system, regulating your autonomic nervous system, and applying polyvagal theory for self-awareness training, we provide almost daily live support classes and a passionate community to facilitate your healing.

Benefits of Retraining This System

• Reduced Stress and Anxiety: Retraining the limbic system can lower stress levels and reduce anxiety, making it easier to manage chronic illness.
• Improved Emotional Well-Being: Addressing the emotional aspects of chronic illness can improve one’s mood and quality of life.
• Enhanced Physical Health: As stress decreases and emotional regulation improves, physical symptoms become more manageable, leading to better health outcomes.

Comprehending and retraining the limbic system is necessary for your healing because it helps break the cycle of stress and illness. Which is something we all wish for, right? You can better manage your symptoms and improve overall health and well-being by improving how the brain handles stress and emotions.

Get Tapping and Heal Your Limbic System with Primal Trust^TM

No matter where you are on your healing journey, it’s completely natural for your mind and body to resist and urge you to give up. You might even convince yourself that you don’t need these simple techniques and tools that can assist in your recovery. But that’s okay—it’s normal.

Take a deep breath, and don’t be so hard on yourself. Remind yourself that trying Emotional Freedom Techniques or other holistic therapies just once is still worth it. Chances are, you’ll feel better afterward, and it might be the step you need to continue on your path to wellness.

For the support you need, join Primal Trust Level 1, Regulate^TM today and experience the powerful combination of brain retraining and somatic practices. With countless classes, forums, and a community of people who strive for healing, we’re here to take this first step of unlocking inner peace with you. 

Resources

1. Church, D., Stapleton, P., Yang, A., & Gallo, F. (2018). Is tapping on acupuncture points an active ingredient in emotional freedom techniques? A systematic review and meta-analysis of comparative studies. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 206(10), 783–793. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000000878
2. Sebastian, B., & Nelms, J. (2017). The effectiveness of emotional freedom techniques in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: A meta-analysis. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing, 13(1), 16–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2016.10.001 
3. Dincer, B., & Inangil, D. (2021). The effect of emotional freedom techniques on nurses’ stress, anxiety, and burnout levels during the COVID-19 pandemic: A randomized controlled trial. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing, 17(2), 109–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2020.11.012 
4. Gaesser, A. H., & Karan, O. C. (2017). A randomized controlled comparison of emotional freedom technique and cognitive-behavioral therapy to reduce adolescent anxiety: A pilot study. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 23(2), 102–108. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2015.0316. 
5. Fang, J., Jin, Z., Wang, Y., et al. (n.d.). The salient characteristics of the central effects of acupuncture needling: Limbic–paralimbic–neocortical network modulation. Human Brain Mapping.