How EFT tapping changes your mindset
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), also known as tapping, is a simple practice that can change your outlook on life.
EFT helps you explore and transform difficult emotions, which naturally starts dismantling the thoughts and beliefs behind those emotions.
This is powerful stuff. If you change your thoughts and emotions, you by definition change your mindset. And if you change your mindset—the lens through which you filter information and experiences—you change your life.
What is EFT?
EFT is a practice of tapping specific points on the body while focusing on a specific upsetting emotion. While tapping, you repeat a phrase that reminds you of the emotion. As needed, you repeat the EFT process until the emotion is gone or reaches a tolerable level.
The prescribed points in EFT are acupuncture points. Just as acupuncture uses needles to release stuck energy in the body, EFT uses tapping to release the intense charge of whatever emotions you’re holding onto.
The official EFT manual actually refers to EFT as “psychological acupuncture.” Over time, the tapping rebalances your energy system so that your emotional landscape feels more peaceful and calm.
Signs that EFT is improving your mindset
Here are some signs you’re experiencing the mindset shifts that are common from regular EFT practice:
You’re less reactive and more willing to consider interpersonal situations from other perspectives.
When things don’t unfold exactly how you hoped, your instinct is to think you did the best you could instead of being self-critical.
When confronted with a recurring circumstance or thought, you notice yourself responding differently than you typically would.
You’re making decisions faster, without ruminating or second guessing.
You’re less anxious, sleeping better, and/or feeling more optimistic about the future.
The science behind EFT
There are several theories on how EFT works. Here are two of the most common scientific explanations:
The nervous system theory
This theory is related to research that’s been done on acupuncture.
Research shows that needling acupuncture points helps regulate the nervous system by increasing parasympathetic activity (rest and digest) and decreasing sympathetic response (fight or flight).
It may be that tapping the acupuncture points in the EFT protocol has a similar effect.
The brain theory
Brain scans have shown that EFT lowers cortisol levels by calming the amygdala.
When we experience difficult emotions, the amygdala gets triggered and floods the body with cortisol. With EFT, you deliberately activate the amygdala by focusing on an upsetting emotion, then you tap points to calm down the amygdala. This decreases the amount of cortisol that gets released.
You’re essentially rewriting the neural pathways around whatever emotion you’re processing. After EFT, you’re able to recognize a situation or thought without having such a charged emotional response to it.
EFT resources and coaching
To start practicing EFT, learn the standard EFT protocol. That articles includes a free PDF download with complete EFT instructions.
If you want to learn more about EFT, you can download EFT International’s Free Tapping Manual. It’s free and chock full of great information.
