Positive Health Online

Can you imagine what it would be like to be free of troubling negative emotions – permanently? Is it possible that fears, phobias, depression and traumatic memories can be healed within minutes?

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a powerful technology for quickly resolving emotional distress. It is even capable of relieving physical complaints such as chronic pain, allergic symptoms, and much more. When effective, not only does it do this quickly, but it works without forcing the recipient to repeatedly re-experience the negative emotional state. This treatment is generally permanent, relatively easy to apply, boasts a higher than 80% success rate and is free of negative side effects.

EFT is a wonderful tool that can be learned very easily. The technique has been described as a psychological form of acupuncture but without the needles. It has roots in ancient Chinese medicine and the modern day system of Applied Kinesiology.

The Emotional Freedom Technique was developed by Stanford Engineer Gary Craig. Through his life-long interest in helping people overcome their emotional limitations, he spent much of his time investigating various psychological treatments. He worked for many years with Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) until he discovered a technique known as 'Thought Field Therapy' (TFT), the product of many years of intensive research and study by psychologist Roger Callahan Ph.D. Gary Craig discovered that instead of using different energy points for different problems, if all of the major TFT positions were used every time, one simple formula could be applied to all complaints, thereby giving the energy system a complete overhaul. All that was necessary was for the recipient to focus on the distressing emotion or memory and tap the revised sequence of energy points. This method then became known as 'The Emotional Freedom Technique'.

When a person remembers a painful or traumatic incident it causes their energy system to disrupt. As the body recalls the memory, it also re-produces the original emotional state associated with that time. EFT works directly to re-balance the energy field; as a result, negative emotions are cleared and harmony is restored. The feelings connected to even the most intense memories or limitations are then dispelled. The negative emotions attached to an event whether past or future, can then no longer be accessed. Similarly, life-long phobias, compulsive behaviors and unhealthy patterns of belief can be eliminated.

The reason this treatment is so effective, is that it treats the problem directly by correcting imbalances in the body's system. Once the imbalance is corrected, the negative emotion quickly resolves, leaving the person free of troubling emotions that may have been limiting their lives.

How does EFT Work?

By stimulating certain acupressure points, neural receptors under the skin convert that pressure to an electrical impulse that is transmitted to the brain. The person is then asked to connect to the physical pain, unpleasant emotion or just simply "tune in" to the uncomfortable memory or future event, whilst these energy points are gently tapped. (Fig 1 & 2 below). This allows a release of physical and emotional trauma which is experienced as an unlocking of the negative feelings, and a release of the emotional intensity that has kept the person trapped. People often report a release of energy at this stage and describe feelings of light-headedness, yawning, sighing and a sense of freedom.

One of the most miraculous aspects of this treatment is the confused relief that people experience when they are suddenly without the familiar response that may have plagued them for years.

When asked to recall the initial difficulty, most people are speechless, as they can no longer connect to the original feelings that it provoked.

The EFT process can take from five minutes to half an hour depending on the number of aspects surrounding a problem. For instance if a marriage breaks down a person can be left with varied emotions such as anger, jealously, resentment, grief, regret, and even sometimes a sense of failure. These are all different aspects to the same problem, which may need to be addressed individually.

Different aspects are possible with just about any problem. A phobia of spiders may have different elements, for instance a stationary spider and moving spider may have to be treated as separate fears.

We have observed many miraculous results using EFT personally and professionally, from giving up smoking to the release of intense long-standing emotional difficulties. We are excited by the future possibilities of this technique, which really needs to be experienced to appreciate the transformation that it can bring to your life.

The author tapping on the collarbone meridian

The author tapping a meridian point beneath the eye