Emotional Freedom Technique, also referred to as EFT, is a means of accessing energy meridians within the body. EFT has long been a part of Acupuncture in Chinese medicine. (1)
However, the procedure is noninvasive and can be used by the individual without the aid of a practitioner. This process can be used anywhere, any time, and for any reason.
EFT is a powerful way of combining the established sciences of Mind Body Medicine and Acupuncture without the use of needles.
The history of EFT lies in ancient Chinese medicine. Nevertheless, it is now becoming recognized by traditional Western medicine practitioners, mostly for its use as an anesthetic in hospital settings. However, EFT has been discovered to be a powerful way of accessing and erasing negative emotions in the human psyche.
In essence, these techniques are a way of stimulating certain points within the body through the use of tapping. Where an acupuncturist may have used needles or an individual practicing acupressure may use deep tissue pressure, those who practice Emotional Freedom Techniques take advantage of the immediacy in their environment by “tapping” into their meridian points and essentially breaking a negative emotional path.
Many of the tapping points that are used by EFT practitioners are those we automatically use when we are under stress. Think back to a time when you were recently stressed, had a headache, or were thinking deeply. Most of us automatically reach for the area on our face above our eyes, at our temples, below the eyes at the top of the cheekbone, or at the base of the chin. Each of these are tapping points which are used in EFT. In essence, the practice takes advantage of those points which we normally use to relieve our stress.
The interesting thing about emotional freedom techniques is that, when done at the correct places on the body, they work whether the individual believes in the practice or not. Think of it as a medical practice that your primary care physician might recommend. Whether or not you actually believe a medication can lower your blood pressure, it may work on most of the patients for whom it is prescribed. Similarly, whether or not you believe setting a fracture and placing it in a cast will work, when done correctly by a skilled practitioner, the leg will heal. You will regain full function without pain. The same is true for EFT. When they are done at the correct position, whether you agree with the practice are not, it can work.
Critics describe the theory as pseudoscientific and suggest that it stems from a cognitive component, such as a placebo effect. This is where an individual recognizes the end result which should occur and makes it occur through the power of his own mind. There have been several scientific studies which purport to have found both negative and positive findings. Interestingly, the areas of the body which emotional freedom technique practitioners use, are those the same areas which are used for acupressure and acupuncture. And, while there has been the same degree of variety in scientific research for the use of acupuncture or acupressure, the basis of EFT is found in traditional Chinese medicine, which has been functional for thousands of years.
Despite its critics and the belief of traditional Western medical practitioners that the underlying scientific theory for the use of Emotional Freedom Techniques is flawed, the practice continues to grow as more individuals report significant positive results.
Reference
(1) Shen Nog: What is the Meridian System?
http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/principles/whatmeridian.html
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