Years ago, my therapist recommended Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), and I felt like such a weirdo tapping on my face and reciting these positive affirmations she had given me.

With a year of Covid-type anxiety under my belt, I felt intrigued to try Emotional Freedom Technique again after seeing an ad for “The Tapping Solution” pop up during my endless scrolling in a dazed haze.

What the hell, I thought to myself. I spent the week jumping in on a challenge to do a particular tapping session for each day. It was titled, “You are Enough.”

This is something I have struggled with since being a wee one. My core belief was, “I am not good enough,” and that belief permeated every part of my life. Imagine walking through life with a voice on your shoulder whispering in your ear that you don’t add up, aren’t as good, will never compare, you’re too fat, too ugly, too stupid, too worthless. Imagine how you would present yourself to others while that nagging voice is resounding in your ear.

I have done a lot of inner work, but I still struggle with that critical inner voice, feelings of unworthiness, and not good enoughness.

This series literally changed my demeanor this week.

I repeated the same session daily (16 minutes each, but there are shorter ones), and I literally feel like I have been recalibrated. My anxiety has lessened, and the questioning of myself feels like it’s taken a hiatus.

I am a curious person, and so I ask, “how does this work?”

Here is what I found from my friends at Healthline:

“What is EFT tapping?

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is an alternative treatment for physical pain and emotional distress. It’s also referred to as tapping or psychological acupressure.

People who use this technique believe tapping the body can create a balance in your energy system and treat pain. According to its developer, Gary Craig, a disruption in energy is the cause of all negative emotions and pain.

Though still being researched, EFT tapping has been used to treat people with anxiety and people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

How does EFT tapping work?

Similar to acupuncture, EFT focuses on the meridian points — or energy hot spots — to restore balance to your body’s energy. It’s believed that restoring this energy balance can relieve symptoms a negative experience or emotion may have caused.

Based on Chinese medicine, meridian points are thought of as areas of the body energy flows through. These pathways help balance energy flow to maintain your health. Any imbalance can influence disease or sickness.

Acupuncture uses needles to apply pressure to these energy points. EFT uses fingertip tapping to apply pressure.

Proponents say the tapping helps you access your body’s energy and send signals to the part of the brain that controls stress. They claim that stimulating the meridian points through EFT tapping can reduce the stress or negative emotion you feel from your issue, ultimately restoring balance to your disrupted energy.”

I love how when using the app it asks you to rate how you feel before the tapping on a scale of 1-10 and then again after. I have always noticed a decrease in anxiety and dark feelings each time I have practiced this technique.

Here is a video from The Tapping Solution if you would like to give it a go:

In this video, she says, “when we’ve pulled out the weeds we are then able to seed.”

I have noticed in my newly found tapping journey that the narrator will really have me feel the feeling I was trying to avoid. I get down deep into it, and truly feel the root of it. Then, after I feel the depth of that emotion, and where it comes from, I am able to start tapping the positive attributes about myself and where I see myself going. We can’t avoid that deep, healing work of pulling out the weeds.

I hope you find this practice as beneficial as I have! Please let me know which ones you try and what you think.