I don’t handle stress very well. Add tinnitus to the mix, and sleep can feel impossible. Sound familiar? A while back, I found myself leaning heavily on tablets just to get some rest, desperate for relief from that constant ringing. Combine that with a stressful job, and life felt overwhelming.
That’s when I stumbled into meditation, and later, hypnotherapy. But the real game-changer for me? Something called the tapping technique.
If you’ve ever felt the weight of your day pressing down on you, tapping can help you hit the reset button—fast.
So, What Is Tapping?
Tapping, or Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), comes from traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture. It works with “meridian points”—think of them as energy highways in your body—to ease stress and tension. Over the years, EFT has even been used to support treatments for PTSD.
Here’s the best part: it’s simple. By gently tapping specific points while focusing on your emotions, you can help your body rebalance and release tension.
Our bodies are full of energy—practices like Kundalini yoga talk about chakras—but we’ll save that deep dive for another post!
Tapping became popular in the 1990s for anxiety relief, and now it’s widely used for everyday stress. You don’t even have to say your issues out loud; you can tap quietly at your desk and still feel the benefits.
How to Tap: A Friendly Guide
EFT focuses on nine key points on your body:
- Side of the hand (“karate chop” point): small intestine meridian
- Top of the head: governing vessel
- Eyebrow: bladder meridian
- Side of the eye: gallbladder meridian
- Under the eye: stomach meridian
- Under the nose: governing vessel
- Chin: central vessel
- Beginning of the collarbone: kidney meridian
- Under the arm: spleen meridian
Step-by-Step:
- Start with a setup:
Tap the side of your hand three times while saying a setup phrase, like:
“Even though I’m feeling stressed, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
Honestly, I don’t always stick to a phrase—sometimes just tapping is enough to start feeling better. - Tap through the points:
Tap each point seven times while thinking of a “reminder phrase” to keep your focus on the issue. For example: “This stress about the deadline.”
Eyebrow- Side of the eye
- Under the eye
- Under the nose
- Chin
- Beginning of the collarbone
- Under the arm
- Finish wit the top of your head.
- Repeat: Go through the full sequence two or three times, keeping your reminder phrase in mind.
- Check in: Rate your stress on a scale from 0 to 10. Notice if it’s lower than when you started. If not, tap again.
The beauty of tapping is that it’s portable, easy, and surprisingly effective. Next time life feels heavy, or that deadline feels impossible, give it a try—you might be amazed at how quickly you can feel calm, focused, and back in control. Let me know.
