Tapping is a tool for calming 'in the moment'. It can also be an effective way of helping ease and sometimes resolve serious emotional and physical issues.

Physical Issues

If we're locked in a cycle of struggle, EFT can be an excellent complement to medical or other primary healthcare, as it encourages us to have the symptom and all the thoughts and feelings involved. We don't have to like where we are, but we can find relief by allowing ourselves to have 'what is', including the struggle.

When it's physical, like a broken bone, an allergy or other chronic condition – symptoms can seem mechanical, as if they are purely physical and out of our control. Yet, these symptoms don't occur in a vacuum: Negative thoughts and feelings accompany even the most mild symptoms. Tapping allows us the opportunity to have our experience of these areas and see what happens.

For example, when I'm struggling, I might tap with...

• The symptoms themselves, including where I feel them (e.g., soreness in arms and legs, heat and tightness in my stomach, burning lava in my throat, like a squeezing in the front of my shoulder)
• Metaphors or images for the pain (e.g., metal screw or vice in my neck, being chased or hunted by something, like twisted creaky wet wood inside my neck)
• How it feels to have the symptoms OR what they feel like (e.g. my pain is angry, it's guilty, it feels limiting, I feel ashamed about it, embarrassed, awkward, frustrated, hopeless, bad, gross)
• What was going on when the symptoms started (e.g., after the divorce, following my dad's passing, the shock of the accident, the aftermath of what happened)
• What the issue might be trying to tell me (e.g., that I'm doing too much, that I'm judging myself, that I hate my job, that I'm struggling)
• How my body might be trying to protect me in some way (e.g., expressing something I've been unable to express, protecting me from unwanted attention, helping me say no)
• What I might be getting out of it (e.g., receiving needed attention or care, carrying that familiar feeling of longing, maintaining a sense of safety)
• The stories I'm telling myself about the issue

In my experience, simply acknowledging the physical symptom in round after round – while noticing how it feels to do that or what arises during the process – can bring surprising relief, particularly if I'm locked in a battle with my symptoms.

I've found the adage of 'what I resist, persists' to be quite true. For instance, if I'm fighting illness, there is an opportunity to cultivate a different approach. I've found that things work out better for me personally – illness can pass more easily – when I allow myself to have all the colors of it, as uncomfortable as that might be. EFT has helped me do that in a number of circumstances.

Emotional Issues

Our past negative experiences, the meaning we've given those experiences, our fears and worries – can all be fertile ground for a helpful EFT exploration, especially when we are going through something challenging in the present moment.

For example, if we are having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or having issues with the amount or quality of restful sleep, EFT can help address the emotional components or contributors involved. These thoughts or feelings will be unique to each person's experience. For one person, a simple exercise of tapping on stressful thoughts and feelings before bedtime might bring needed calm to the nervous system – and make all the difference. For another person, a deeper exploration during an EFT session of what may be preventing restful sleep – getting curious about potential root causes - could be useful.

If we're anxious, a program of sessions could help us explore what it feels like to have this anxiety (e.g., "a ball in my chest") or what we're specifically anxious about (e.g., "speaking in front of the school", "talking to my son"). It can be helpful to acknowledge our specific fears and worries about these issues too.

In essence, EFT helps us to have our negative thoughts and feelings in gentle and appropriate ways. We can do this on our own or together with an experienced practitioner.

EFT Case Study: Learning to Sleep Naturally a tapping story by Mary Ann Mohr (a former EFT student)