I was once a stranger to anxiety, unable to relate to people who suffered from it on a regular basis. I had the occasional bout of fear that came right before a job interview, but it never impacted my performance. I considered myself lucky, though I certainly had other health issues.

But everything changed the day I decided to leave my 9-5 job to become a solopreneur. I paid the deposit on a training program to start transitioning into my new career, solidifying my decision to give up a steady job for a life of uncertainty. The anxiety kicked in only a few hours later.

I started waking up with anxiety. Some days it would “turn on” mid-day, and other times it skyrocketed around bedtime. For almost a year I suffered the extreme discomfort and judgment-impairing effect of anxiety until I discovered the Emotional Freedom Technique, also known as tapping.

I’ll admit that I tend to be skeptical of fringy practices that don’t involve a lot of scientifically-based research. While I recognize that many age-old techniques clearly have proven themselves even if the clinical world hasn’t bothered to study them, I feel more assured if the scientific method is involved.

People have been experiencing the positive impact of tapping since the 1990s, but we didn’t have the evidence-based research of this practice until much more recently. The results are head-turning.

One of the more recent studies in the Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine (1) showed that activating these points in the body lowers the stress hormone cortisol that’s heightened during an episode of anxiety. Many other studies have shown that tapping significantly improves food cravings, depression, PTSD, phobias, chronic pain, and overall happiness.

I think it’s time that the average person knows about this game-changing technique.

What is tapping?

Tapping combines the stimulation of acupressure points on the face and body with a cognitive acknowledgment of the problematic feeling. Physically tapping these points turns off the stress response from the amygdala of the brain, clearing out negative emotional charges.

When tapping is combined with thinking about the problem, this practice forces the brain to update how it reacts in response to the trigger that led to the problematic feeling. In other words, EFT changes your relationship to the problem by changing the pathways in your brain.

Consider this—every time you feel anxious, it’s an opportunity to rewire your brain through tapping. It doesn’t mean you should always tap through an uncomfortable feeling. We’re emotional beings for a reason, and some feelings are worth holding onto or exploring. But when you have a consistent problem that you’re ready to release and let go of, tapping is a proven technique to create rapid change.

When should you tap?

Tap when you’re actively feeling triggered. You can tap through a feeling that’s either related to an upcoming event or an incident that’s already passed. This includes tapping through an old memory that still triggers you. The biggest change happens when you marry together the calming effect of tapping with a cognitive recognition of the problem.

Acknowledge what you’re moving through and what you’re moving towards. For example, if you’re feeling anxious about giving a presentation, imagine yourself giving the presentation while you tap and state both what you’re feeling and how you’re changing. A favorite go-to statement of mine is, “Even though I feel this way, I am learning to feel differently.” Let your statement evolve as you move through the emotion.

I also like to recommend tapping upon waking up in the mornings. It’s a great way to start your day on the right foot, especially if you tend to wake up feeling stressed.

How long should you tap?

There is no hard-fast rule on how long you should tap. A great place to start is about 10 seconds for each set of points. I recommend that you start by rating your problematic feeling on a scale of 1 to 10. Tap for several rounds. Check in and rate the feeling again. Continue tapping until you’re able to bring it down to a 0-3.

A few rounds of tapping for a few minutes can reduce your anxiety or other problematic feelings pretty quickly for temporary relief, and when done in repetition through several sessions, it has the power to rewire your brain for lasting change.

Here are the tapping points:

• Take four fingers of one hand to tap the side of the opposite hand on the pinky side
• Take three fingers and tap in between your eyebrows
• Take two fingers and tap next to your eye on the bone of your eye socket
• Tap with two fingers underneath the eye on the bone
• Tap with two fingers under the nose
• Tap with two fingers in your chin crease
• Tap with all five fingers around the collar bone
• Tap with four fingers about 4 inches below your armpit
• Tap the top of your head in the center

If you’re a visual learner, watch my video on how to use EFT Tapping. It only takes a few rounds to get the muscle memory in place, and you’ll find it both easy and simple to implement this practice in your everyday life.

Self-help is here when you need it.

The implications of tapping are massive. It’s easy to learn. It’s healing in your own hands. Studies have shown it creates results much faster than other therapeutic methods such as CBT. I invite you to experience it for yourself.

1. “Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Improves Multiple Physiological Markers of Health,” Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine, 2019