EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) is a surprisingly easy way to make positive changes in your life. Whether you need more confidence, want to free yourself from irrational fears or phobias, or want to change bad habits into good ones, EFT offers a solution.

What is EFT?
EFT is a simple method of healing which works by realigning the body’s energy system by performing a simple sequence of taps on the body. It is based on the ancient science of acupuncture, and the more recent development of kinesiology. However, unlike acupuncture, there is no need for needles, and can be learned very easily.

What Are the Benefits of EFT?
There are those who believe that EFT can cure just about any mental or emotional condition. EFT has been used to help people with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), it’s been used to help people with extreme phobias, and it’s also been used to help people quit smoking and lose weight.

EFT is based on the belief that there is an emotional element in the healing process, and healing emotional problems can provide a pathway for healing not just mental and emotional issues, but also physical problems. Many people have successfully used EFT to rid themselves of headaches, and other stress related disorders.

When you experience a negative emotion, your energy meridians are affected. These changes to your energy meridians become attached to the memory of the negative emotion (or experience that led to it), and the sum of these emotional experiences affect how we see the world.

EFT is used to realign the energy meridians, disconnecting them from their association with negative memories, and in doing so removing symptoms (for example, removing an irrational fear of spiders).

How Can You Learn EFT?
There is plenty of information available online that can help any interested person learn the basic techniques of EFT. Many people have cured themselves of simple problems through self-taught EFT. However, if you want to learn EFT in order to conquer a deeper emotional problem, it may be beneficial to visit a qualified practitioner.

EFT is one of the quickest and simplest methods which can be used to bring about extraordinary changes in a person’s mental, physical and emotional well-being, and as it’s so simple to learn EFT, there is no reason not to have a go.

The first step in using EFT is defining the emotional problem you want to work on during the particular session. Let’s say you have a headache and you want to ease the pain by the use of EFT. The statement you would use while tapping would be: “Even though I have this headache, I completely love and accept myself.”

The next step in the EFT procedure is to find the “Karate Chop Point”, which is located on the side of your hand underneath the little finger (the fleshy part below the lowest finger joint). You need to firmly and continuously tap this point while repeating the statement “Even though I have this headache, I completely love and accept myself.” three times.

The EFT Tapping Points in Sequence

The following step requires that you repeat the words “this headache” while you follow the EFT tapping sequence, by tapping on each of the following points seven times.
•    The top of the head
•    The inner eyebrow
•    The outer eye (basically on the edge of the eye socket bone)
•    Under the eye
•    Under the nose
•    Under the mouth (upper chin area)
•    On the collar bone
•    On the “sore spot” (this spot is about two inches down and two inches towards the armpit from the collar bone, you may have to tap around a bit until you find it, but it usually feels somewhat painful when you poke it)
•    Under the nipple (around about the top of the rib cage)
•    Under the arm (a few inches below the armpit)
•    The side of the thumb (near the nail)
•    The side of the index finger
•    The side of the middle finger
•    The side of the little finger
•    On the 9 gamut point (the fleshy bit between the bottom joints of the ring finger and the little finger)

After you have gone through the sequence once, analyze how the emotion feels (in this case, the headache), has the intensity decreased? How does it feel on a scale of 1 to 10? If you need to, repeat the sequence again and see if the result changes.

How Does It Work?
In performing the EFT tapping points sequence as described, the energy meridians of the body realign themselves into the correct state. The repetition of the chosen statement helps break the connection between the emotion (or pain in this case) and the energy meridians, freeing the body of the physical or emotional problem described.

This method can be used for any such physical, emotional or mental problem. When EFT doesn’t seem to work, it could be because the root cause of the problem isn’t being addressed. For example, a headache could be the result of another form of stress which needs to be addressed first.

While a lot of people learn about EFT from the numerous resources online (which are free and easily accessible), some people’s problems are so severe and far-reaching that they need the assistance of a qualified EFT practitioner for a number of EFT therapy sessions.

Finding EFT Practitioners
A good place to start is by looking through the online EFT resources available and searching for an EFT practitioner in your area. EFT Therapy is becoming more widespread these days, and there are more and more practitioners in the field of natural health who are learning and practicing EFT.

Why Use an EFT Practitioner?
When there’s so much information available about EFT for free, why would you need to visit someone? Well, many people may find that self-taught EFT is enough for their needs. But if you have deep-seated emotional problems which you can’t seem to resolve yourself, it could be necessary to visit a professional to get the results you really need.

Many people have emotional problems stemming from childhood, so far back in time that they don’t even have conscious memories of the events themselves. Others have had such painful experiences in their lives that they have completely blocked all recollection of them from their minds. In these cases, it may not be enough to perform EFT on yourself, as there may be issues you consciously or unconsciously avoid as a means of self protection.

A qualified and sensitive EFT practitioner can assist in breaking through these barriers, and can get to the core of emotional issues that a person may never manage to get to themselves. Sometimes a practitioner can do this in a single session, but for others several sessions may be necessary to reach the core problem.

Getting the Most From EFT Therapy
When you do decide to visit a professional practitioner, be aware that you may need to face some difficult memories. Also be aware that the process of EFT itself will quickly help neutralize any painful emotions associated with these memories. A good EFT practitioner will be sensitive to your needs, and will try not to open too many emotional wounds too quickly, and thus several sessions may be necessary.

EFT therapy is a very effective way of utilizing EFT for those people who need a little extra help getting to the bottom of their  emotional problems. With a qualified and sensitive EFT practitioner it’s possible to completely change your mental, physical and emotional outlook on life.