Tapping into a lasting sense of calm for kids, with Emotional Freedom Technique

The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), also known as ‘Tapping’, is a quick and easy tool to reduce worry, stress, and anxiety that can benefit children of all ages.

Although children feel stress and anxiety, they often lack the words to express it, leading stress to remain ‘stuck’ in the body. When this happens, a child may feel afraid or upset without knowing why. Not only is this process confusing, but it can also lead to more worry and negative emotions. EFT is an excellent way for children to regulate these stress levels and feel more in control of their wellbeing. Most importantly, this powerful method can help children overcome negative emotions before they have the chance to become negative self-beliefs.

What is EFT TappiEFT Tapping is a self-healing technique which combines ancient Chinese wisdom with cutting-edge neuroscience. It involves gently tapping on your body’s acupressure (meridian) points while repeating a mindfulness statement. Sometimes referred to as ‘acupuncture without the needles’, it combines acupuncture, neurolinguistic programming, and energy psychology.

The steps in the tapping process include:

1. Deciding on a specific issue that you would like to resolve.

2. Ranking how much stress or anxiety that issue is causing, on a scale of 0–10 (e.g. ten being severe pain).

3. Repeating an opening ‘self-acceptance statement’ as you gently tap 5–7 times on the outside of your hand (your karate chop point). For example, ‘Even though I am feeling really stressed about going to school today, I completely love and accept myself.’

4. Then, tapping each of the following meridian points 5–7 times:

· Eyebrows

· Side of the eye

· Under the eye

· Under the nose

· Chin

· Beginning of the collarbone

· Under the arm

· Top of the head.

5. Once you have completed your first round of tapping, rate the intensity of your pain once again.

6. Repeat this process until it is at 0 or 1.

How Does EFT Tapping Work?

Three core components underlie EFT’s effectiveness:

· The Meridian Points.

Meridians, otherwise known as acupuncture points, are pathways where energy, or qi, flows throughout our body. Think of the body as a house wired with electricity. The meridians are the cables carrying that power. Each ‘meridian point’ acts as the endpoint of these cables.

Thanks to neuroscientific advancements, we now know that there is a direct link between these acupressure points and our amygdala. The amygdala is the stress-centre of our brain. When it locates a potential threat in the environment, it triggers the ‘fight-or-flight response.’ As a result, it shoots stress-hormones, such as cortisol, throughout our body.

However, when we tap on our meridian points, we can calm down our amygdala. For example, in one study, participants showed an average decrease of 24% in their cortisol levels after one-hour of EFT tapping — with some even showing a remarkable drop of 50%. In contrast, the control group, who received psychotherapy, showed a decrease of 14%.

· The Mindfulness Component.

There are few emotional states as blinding as fear or anxiety. But, by rating the issue out of 10, we provide our mind with context. When we ask ourselves, ‘how does this compare to other experiences?’ we move out of the present-panic and into a birds-eye view.

Then, we use our self-acceptance mantra to state the truth of what is happening. Psychotherapy teaches us that, when we approach our problems with compassion and acceptance, we can engage our negative feelings long enough to feel them, which helps us let them go.

For example, imagine the amygdala as a friend trying to warn you about something. If you ignore her, she might become more worried that you don’t realise you’re in danger. As a result, she’ll try harder to grab your attention. But when you listen to her, even if she is wildly misinformed, she will calm down, knowing that she did her part to look out for you.

· The Mind-Body Connection

Each of these components can be powerful by themselves. However, when we combine them in our EFT practices, we use our mind-body connection to rewrite neuropathways in the brain. It is this component of the EFT process that makes the technique so life-altering.

For instance, imagine Sophie, a seven-year-old child, who excels academically, sitting in class. Suddenly, the teacher exclaims that a maths test will begin. Sophie experiences a jolt through her whole body — she had forgotten that there was a test today. Before she’d even had a chance to think, her amygdala has spotted a danger and is flooding her body with cortisol. As she looks down at the exam, her heart is pounding, her vision is blurring, and her hands are clammy.

Throughout the entire day, Sophie’s nervous system is on overdrive. Every time she replays that moment, her body releases the stress response. Her brain is working overtime to process these intense sensations, but continuously arrives at the same conclusion: being unprepared for an exam is an extremely dangerous situation. As a result, new neural pathways have formed which set the stage for issues such as anxiety, perfectionism, or a harsh inner critic.

But, when Sophie practices tapping, she can rewrite this neuropathway. When she taps on her meridian points, she will start to feel calmer, which, combined with her self-acceptance mantra, allows her to release all of that fear. Now, she is associating feelings of calmness with this memory. Instead of believing that exams are frightening, she can think back to that day she was unprepared for her maths test feeling calm and in control.

At Happy Marlo, we believe it is more important than ever to help children feel secure. EFT is a wonderful way of doing just that. Tapping is beneficial for a child’s wellbeing, has no adverse side effects and is remarkably effective, with many children noting that they feel happier and healthier after just one tapping session!

Additional Reading & Sources:

Books:

Dr. Peta Stapleton, Ph.D. (2019). The Science Behind Tapping. Hay House Inc.

Dawson Church. (2013). The EFT Manual. Energy Psychology Press.

Nick Ortner. (2013). The Tapping Solution: A Revolutionary System for Stress-Free Living. Hay House Inc.

Nick Ortner. (2017). The Tapping Solution for Manifesting Your Greatest Self: 21 Days to Releasing Self-Doubt, Cultivating Inner Peace, and Creating a Life You Love. Hay House Inc.

Karl Dawson & Kate Marillat. (2014). Transform Your Beliefs, Transform Your Life: EFT Tapping Using Matrix Re-imprinting. Hay House UK.

Articles:

Serina Deen, M.D., MPH “Tapping Away Trauma: ‘Emotional Freedom’ Technique.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/serina-deen-md-mph/eft_b_1536431.html.

Bach D., Groesbeck G., Stapleton P., et.al. (2019). “Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Improves Multiple Physiological Markers of Health.” Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine.

Hui K., Liu J., Makris N., et al. (2000). “Acupuncture modulates the limbic system and subcortical grey structures of the human brain: evidence from FMRI studies in normal studies.” Human Brain Mapping.

Church D., Yount G., Books A. (2012). “The effect of emotional freedom techniques on stress biochemistry: a randomized controlled trial. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.

Geronilla, L. et al. (2016). “EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) remediates PTSD and psychological symptoms in veterans: A randomised controlled replication trial.” Energy Psychology: Theory, Research, and Treatment.”

Children’s Resource’s:

Angie Muccillo. (2008). Tapping for Kids: A Children’s Guide to Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).

Paula Kennedy (2017). Happy Tapping with Mia & Charlie: Energy EFT for Kids.

Alex Ortner (2016). Gorilla Thumps and Bear Hugs: A Tapping Solution Children’s Story.