Thoughts on EFT?

[stanford.designer]

Hi all,

I've been having terrible problems with depression. This week I started just crying often for no reason. When I visited my MT yesterday, he tried something totally different with me. EFT - Emotional Freedom Technique (I've heard it called other things as well - Energy Field Technique, etc). He had me tap on certain acupressure points while repeating a phrase over and over again.

I had to stop myself from laughing, really. I mean, it was kind of silly when I thought about it, but he's had me do "sillier" things in the past and they've always helped me (laying with my legs straight up in the air for 10 minutes before bed, drinking Mangosteen juice, standing up and taking a Tai Chi breath every 30 minutes when I'm at work, etc...).

Anyway, he has two treatment rooms, and so when he went on to his next client, he let me stay in the room he had treated me in. I cried for an hour, lay quietly, and generally took my time getting up.

Today, I'm almost afraid to say it, but I feel incredible. Come to think of it, I have forgotten to take my herbs today (the ones my acupuncturist gave me to keep me sane), and I feel content, whole, and dare I say it, happy. I've repeated the EFT process that he showed me about 4 or 5 times.

Can it really be this easy? Has anyone else had experience with the technique? I'm kind of scared that it's all going to come crashing down tomorrow or the next day.

Kemilyna

 

[lynn]

I adore EFT. It's been a huge blessing in my life.

It does seem silly at first, I thought it seemed like pure voodoo because I didn't understand WHY we did certain things, but there's a reason behind every piece of it.

For example, the reason you don't tap your ring finger is because in the Chinese Medicine system no meridian runs on that side of the ring finger. It runs on the other side, but you get that meridian with one of the other points.

I'm glad you're doing it at home. That can make all the difference for you. If you're getting negative emotions or beliefs outside of the office, they're coming from something you folks didn't treat or treat fully... so you can either wait until you go back (no fun) or work on it yourself!

There can be a difference between using EFT as "first aid" to quell emotions as they come up and using it as a "surgical tool" to get at the root of those emotions so that they don't come up anymore.

The latter takes some skill and experience, so if your current practitioner isn't getting those kinds of results you may, after some time, want to find someone more experienced with EFT to help you.

In the meantime, you may find yourself using it a lot on your own... but I find that running through the tapping routine is better than feeling bad!

I'm kind of scared that it's all going to come crashing down tomorrow or the next day.

Indeed. For that, I can suggest When Things Fall Apart, by Pema Chodron. No guarantees in this life, for better or worse.

 

[hungry heart]

I got turned on to EFT about 4 years ago and started using it on myself with everything. I had varying results, some phenomenal, some so-so. I put that down to being a beginner with no access to someone with experience, based on where I live. I kind of lost interest in it a while ago, but occasionally refer back to it. I think it CAN be wonderful and encourage other therapists to read up on it and try it out. I have tried to get friends and family interested but haven't had much luck there.

Could it be that easy? Anything is possible...

 

[Russian is Me]

So yeah, I've crashed a couple of times this week, but not to the extent that I was crashing before. EFT has definitely been a help.

In Massage School last night, we learned about Chakras. We traced our bodies on newsprint and drew the chakras on the outlines as our teacher told us about each one. Around each Chakra, I wrote an EFT affirmation: "Even though I have this Fear/Guilt/Shame/Anger/etc, I deeply and completely accept myself." This was very therapeutic. I went from feeling hopeless, afraid, and powerless at the beginning of class to feeling just the opposite by the end. Of course I have to attribute a large part of that to my classmates' shenanigans during the body tracing. A good belly-laugh is the best medicine in the world!

Kemilyna

 

[Ima LittLe Teapot]

So yeah, I've crashed a couple of times this week, but not to the extent that I was crashing before. EFT has definitely been a help.

In Massage School last night, we learned about Chakras. We traced our bodies on newsprint and drew the chakras on the outlines as our teacher told us about each one. Around each Chakra, I wrote an EFT affirmation: "Even though I have this Fear/Guilt/Shame/Anger/etc, I deeply and completely accept myself." This was very therapeutic. I went from feeling hopeless, afraid, and powerless at the beginning of class to feeling just the opposite by the end. Of course I have to attribute a large part of that to my classmates' shenanigans during the body tracing. A good belly-laugh is the best medicine in the world!

Kemilyna

I agree Kemilyna, a belly laugh is always a good dose of medicine for the body

 

[dbpap688]

Yay. It sounds like you're on a great healing path.

Look into something called TAT, Tapas Acupressure Technique. It's really easy, goes with EFT well.

I used those two in combination for a few years... later I learned more about chakras, and started including that knowledge--just in terms of what to use EFT on, and more precisely locate the issue at hand in my system or psyche.

Keep going, and you'll learn (and create) the things that work for you

 

[Joe B]

Just resurrecting this thread...

to encourage any EFTers to look into TAT as EgoMagickian has suggested. The night I read this thread I looked it up and it has completely enhanced EFT for me and given me a powerful yet gentle tool to use on its own.

http://www.tatlife.com

Thanks EgoMagickian!

 

[Methral]

Glad to help

 

[Pompal 09.]

Interesting thread! Just recently I have been asked about EFT, and I referred them to review (preferably peer-reviewed) literature on the subject. The Wikipedia article has several interesting links worth investigation.

The second study, published in The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice, was conducted by Waite and Holder on people who reported specific fears or phobias.[4] This study compared four groups: A group that received regular EFT; a second group that tapped on sham points that were not EFT points; a third group that tapped on an inanimate object (a doll) and a fourth group that received no treatment. The first three groups did statistically better than the fourth group, but there were no significant differences between the three tapping groups. That is, the groups that tapped on sham points and on the doll did just as well as the EFT group, but all three groups did better than the no-treatment group. Since the group that used the doll was not tapping on meridian points yet still benefited equally, the authors suggested this as a falsification of the theory that EFT works because of the body's energy meridian system.

I have no doubt that people successfully use EFT as part of their healing process. What remains in doubt is the actual mechanism by which it helps them.

To those using EFT successfully, this may seem like a matter of little import, as the treatments may be effective and potentially long-lasting. I just have a strong personal need to understand WHY a modality is/is not effective, and when to recommend/not recommend it.

Best wishes to you on your path to wellness!

 

[saleem]

I'd be interested in knowing more about the design of that study, specifically:

What were the "sham" points tapped? Other acupoints? Parts of the body that aren't supposed to be points?
What areas of the doll were tapped?

EFT points are just acupoints, there's no magic to those specific acupoints. I understand that they were chosen using the following criteria: include a point from each meridian, in an order that's easy to remember. That the points chosen are often special points, such as the beginnings or ends of a merdian are--I believe--just a bonus.

Conceivably the EFT process could be performed on other acupoints; the important pieces of the process are 1) tuning into the problem and 2) putting energy into the meridian system (traditionally via tapping).

Combine that with the following:

1) There are acupoints all over the body
2) Tapping as a method of energy input is very broad and does not require one to tap very precisely on the point
3) The body forms spontaneous acupoints in response to stress/situations
4) One doesn't have to address all of the meridians that hold a problem in order to obtain a significant amount of relief

And I think we may be able to explain Group 2 just fine.

As for group 3, phenomena like this are something that EFT practitioners are experimenting with. Many have had success with "tapping by proxy" in a number of forms.

One potential explanation of this has to do with what Donna Eden calls the "strange flow" energy system in the body. One thing these flows are responsible for is energy flowing to parts of the body that are focused on. It's not hard to see how intention is at work in Group 3: go through the EFT process while working on a doll, meanwhile your body's energy is copying the process that your brain is moving through.

Perhaps the folks who "suggested this [example] as a falsification of the theory that EFT works because of the body's energy meridian system" are showing us more about their understanding of the body's energy systems than about those systems themselves.

I just have a strong personal need to understand WHY a modality is/is not effective, and when to recommend/not recommend it.

These are two different needs, and I hope your phrasing doesn't mean that you have them arbitrarily coupled. The latter you can obtain via EFT training.

As to the "why" question... well. The answer is always just going to be story. Even our hardest science tells us more about our instruments (telescopes, eyeballs, electronic sensors, brains) than about reality, and any extrapolation beyond our nervous systems rests on sets of stories that the folks in the philosophy departments continue to argue about. So pick (or create) whatever story you can believe in, at least for the duration of the task at hand.

 

[fcoleman43]

I just have a strong personal need to understand WHY a modality is/is not effective, and when to recommend/not recommend it.

These are two different needs, and I hope your phrasing doesn't mean that you have them arbitrarily coupled. The latter you can obtain via EFT training.

As to the "why" question... well. The answer is always just going to be story. Even our hardest science tells us more about our instruments (telescopes, eyeballs, electronic sensors, brains) than about reality, and any extrapolation beyond our nervous systems rests on sets of stories that the folks in the philosophy departments continue to argue about. So pick (or create) whatever story you can believe in, at least for the duration of the task at hand.

To me, it is unethical to recommend a modality unless I have a reasonable understanding of the mechanism by which it works. If a satisfactory explanation is not available, I do not refer patients to it. The health of my patient is primary, and I won't send them to someone who can't rationally explain how their treatment approach works. This is a blanket policy that applies to all types of bodyworkers, healers, physicians, etc.

 

[Hassan a]

To me, it is unethical to recommend a modality unless I have a reasonable understanding of the mechanism by which it works. If a satisfactory explanation is not available, I do not refer patients to it. The health of my patient is primary, and I won't send them to someone who can't rationally explain how their treatment approach works.

Of course. What I hear you saying is that you need to hear a story you can believe in order to get behind a treatment or modality. I think this is true of most of us.

On the other hand, there are plenty of cases, even/especially in allopathic medicine, where it's admitted that "we don't quite know how it works". Sometimes the doctors have a believable story for how it might work, but other times they don't even have that. Not sure there's anything wrong with just going forward with the empirical clinical observations in those cases. "This seems to work, it doesn't seem to be doing any harm, so it's the best we've got for now."

Doctors seem to have no ethical problem prescribing drugs that work by unknown mechanisms of action. Our "understanding of the mechanism by which [something] works" is nearly always going to lag behind the actual doing of that something... science is slow, meanwhile real life goes on.

The important thing would seem to be, not "do we know how it works", but are we reasonably sure that it's safe? And on that front, frankly, I'd say save the pitchforks and torches for chasing after the FDA before going after EFT practitioners ;-)

So how did the possible explanations I posted for the results of the study you mention sit with you? Satisfactory or no?

 

[Falling Star]

Good points, no denying there are some parallels worth consideration.

However, the possible explanation of "strange flow" energy seems to be a farfetched suggestion. It seems eminently more likely that the verbal component of EFT is of far greater importance than any type of tapping. In other words, perhaps EFT would be equally effective if practiced as a type of talk therapy.

In any case, people seem to like it and I haven't heard of any deaths attributable to EFT, so it's probably safe enough for those who like to try "different" things. Just don't hold your breath waiting for me to refer anyone to it.

 

[No Requerdo]

Hehe... no more farfetched than the rest of Traditional Chinese Medicine ;-)

 

[mundox]

In other words, perhaps EFT would be equally effective if practiced as a type of talk therapy.

That would be interesting to try and create, and potentially very useful.

It still wouldn't disprove the existence of a meridian energy system. If I were designing a study trying to look at the mechanism of action, I'd want to enlist the aid of someone like Eden in order to identify a sham method that doesn't activate the body's energy systems.

Because, as I think I mentioned, the magic isn't in the tapping per se as much as putting energy into the system. You can put energy in with visualization, off-the-body reiki, and probably just verbal intention. I hope you're getting an idea of how difficult it could be to disprove the existence of a system that seems to be so flexible and attuned to what we're doing and intending.

Strange flows, by the way, are also called Extraordinary Vessels. Acupuncturists and many ABT practitioners work with them all the time.

But ignore that specific idea long enough for me to rephrase more generally what I said a couple posts back: what if simply visualizing the energy input (tapping on a doll) is enough stimulus for the body's energy systems to respond in kind, as a mirror?

There's already research showing effects like these on our physical systems, e.g. mirror neurons, etc.

 

[mother_amethyst]

I referred a client to an EFT practitioner recently. She was having severe anxiety attacks, and her medication/massage/acupuncture/more medication was doing nothing to calm her symptoms. It was so bad she was sleeping mere minutes at a time. I suggested she look into it, since I've heard stories of the effect it has for anxiety.

After a few sessions she improved immensely to not be having debilitating symptoms and sleeping several hours at a time, with less meds and less therapy.

I don't need a double blind study to recommend the therapy. In fact there is a course being offered here in a week or so I'm thinking of trying.

EgoMagickian, do you think a one day course (all that's being offered) is enough to get a feel for EFT? Enough to use at home?

What kind of training do you think is necessary to utilize as a treatment tool?

Just curious. I'm amazed at the outcome with my client.

 

[Alicia]

A one day course can definitely be enough to get started at home... depending on your learning style, simply reading the free manual from emofree.com could be enough, especially with your background.

To get a higher success rate with it does require some finesse. Beginners get hung up on EFT and start to think it doesn't work when they either forget or don't pay attention to a number of details, including:

- not understanding the purpose of the setup phrase: what it's supposed to do and how it's supposed to work
- not using a specific enough setup phrase
- giving up when the first few phrasing attempts don't work well enough
- failing to do EFT multiple times when there are multiple aspects to an issue

Because EFT requires "tuning in" to the issue in order to be effective, and because folks can find it difficult to get themselves to run uncomfortable energy, it's often very valuable to work with a practitioner who can a) hold safe space for you, so you're not having to do everything yourself all at once, and b) coach you into leaning into the "sharp edges" long enough to sand them smooth.

To utilize as a treatment tool... well you can see what the founder requires of practitioners in order to be listed on the site: http://www.emofree.com/Practitioners/newPractitioner.asp

Everyone's path is different though, and the creator of EFT isn't big on restricting the flow of the benefits of this tool into as many lives as possible.

 

[Penny]

Thanks! I think I'll sign up for this. The instructor has been doing/teaching EFT for years in this area.

 

[Mogsy]

Awesome! Let us know how it goes.

 

[A p]

Hehe... no more farfetched than the rest of Traditional Chinese Medicine ;-)

Though EFT claims to be based upon TCM principles, the modern approach so broadly marketed is not a TCM discipline. "Based on" and "inspired by" do not equal "same as."

For example, most TCM doesn't have to rely upon ethereal energies to explain how it works. Many TCM practitioners of my acquaintance, including a number born and trained in China, explain TCM as a systematic approach to utilizing various body reflex points that operate via biochemical means. If modern terminology for anatomy and physiology had been available to early TCM pioneers, the operating theory may have been explained very differently, with terms like "neurolymphatic reflex point 25" replacing terms like "Gall Bladder 20".

For the most part, TCM methods are fairly straightforward science, even if the 5 Elements Theory is a nonlinear approach to diagnosis and treatment. At the present moment, EFT can not make the same claim.