When I work with others to identify ways in which they can live the most healthy lifestyle, whether low-carbohydrate/ketogenic or not, part of this work relates to how to help remove barriers to healing that keep us stuck. In my personal life and in my work as a psychotherapist, one of the best techniques that I have found to be able to address these things that aren’t always even conscious is something called EFT (The Emotional Freedom Technique)/”Tapping”.
EFT/”Tapping” is done by using your fingers to literally repeatedly tap on acupuncture points around your face and torso while repeating a statement that addresses the symptoms you are experiencing. The beauty of EFT/”Tapping” is that is can be used for just about anything (e.g. a headache, sugar cravings, anxiety) and I have seen it immediately change someone’s emotional experience within seconds! It’s also, um, free, and is something you can do at home without the need for a professional.
It only takes about 2 minutes to go through one round of the EFT/”Tapping” protocol. Usually one needs to complete the 9-point EFT/”Tapping” protocol around 3-4 times to fully feel that an issue has resolved. And, the changes are usually lasting because EFT/”Tapping” is designed to create shifts in the way memories and emotions are coded in the brain. So, when the memory changes, our ability to interact with something in a different way changes, too.
There has been a lot of research done on EFT/”Tapping” (you can browse some of the research here if you are curious). But, EFT/”Tapping” has been documented to be especially effective for:
- Treatment of Depression
- Treatment of Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Treatment of Anxiety
- Treatment of food cravings and addictive behavior
- Treatment of chronic pain
- Reducing symptoms of mental health
- Clinically significant shifts in stress chemicals and gene expression
- Lasting effects of healing
As you may have noticed by what I bolded and italicized above, this is why I wanted to highlight this technique on my Lifestyle Coaching website. So much of the time, in our sugar-addicted, highly-processed food world, we have developed disordered eating. (How could we not when sugar, a highly addictive substance, is in practically everything with a nutrition label!? Gary Taubes has a great book on the addictiveness and toxicity of sugar called “The Case Against Sugar” if you want more information on this.) But, using EFT/”Tapping,” the hope is that you can release the grips that food and cravings for such food has on you. The beauty of EFT/”Tapping” is that it allows you to tap into your body’s natural, innate ability to heal itself. So, the technique itself helps you to practice listening to your body intuitively – the same thing that I coach others to do related to their relationship with food!
INTUITION is power and what I think should be a key driver in all of the decisions that we make. So, let’s use it!
The kicker is that EFT/”Tapping” is really best learned and practiced by demonstration. So, although I realize that the following demonstration video is borrowed from my psychotherapy practice website, I figured I wouldn’t recreate the wheel. 🙂
As I mention in the video, if you feel like doing this as home causes your symptoms to become stronger, if you are uncomfortable practicing this at home, or if you think there are some other things that would cause you to need to explore this technique with a professional, please reach out to a professional. Or, feel free to contact me and I would be happy to help you find one who may be a good fit for you.
