Blog: Decrease depression & anxiety: Tap your way

Decrease depression and anxiety:

Tap your way through the holidays and into a less stressful new year

Holidays aren’t always cheery and bright. Isolation, social and financial pressures, the desire to create a perfect holiday, or the absence of loved one can increase depression and anxiety rates over the holidays. For those who struggle during the season, you need to put in place measure that ensure your wellbeing, such as setting boundaries to help alleviate some holiday pressure. We have a webinar to help with that – watch Set Yourself Free by Setting Boundaries.

Also, Tapping can help.

What is Tapping?

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) aka Tapping is a self-help stress reduction technique you can use to reduce anxiety and depression, alleviate chronic pain, get better sleep, and even help your kids and family members. You can use this powerful technique anywhere to help reduce your stress in a matter of minutes.

It involves tapping specific points on the body using your fingers, primarily on the head and the face, in a specific sequence. While performing the tapping, the person focuses on the issue that’s bothering them.

It’s great for taking a step back at the office and is ideal as a support measure during stressful holiday situations (escape to a washroom when parties or family gatherings feel like too much). Spend a few focused minutes and tap your way to decreased anxiety and alleviate depression.

Research shows:

Students with anxiety reported feeling calmer and more relaxed after practicing EFT
Adult EFT participants often experience significant reductions in anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms, as well as in pain levels and cravings
Comparing data before and after EFT sessions demonstrates improvements in heart rate, blood pressure, and levels of the stress hormone cortisol
Participants of all ages report improvements in happiness^{^[i]}

How it works

Like acupuncture and acupressure, Tapping relies on the body’s energy meridian points. You tap on areas where there may be blocks or imbalances to restore the energy balance or resolve emotional or physical concerns.

As Tapping involves focus and mindfulness, it also helps the person to attend to their breathing and body and be present.

Tapping is a five-step process:

1)Identify the concern or issue: Really think about whatever it is that is bothering you.

2)Rank the initial intensity of the concern or issue on a scale of one through ten (this will act as a point of comparison for the effectiveness of the treatment and subsequent cycles).

3)Before you start Tapping, compose a reminder phrase that acknowledges your issue and communicates self-acceptance (for example, Even though I feel anxious about [whatever is bothering you], I completely and deeply accept myself).

4)Tap through the sequence, using two or more fingers to repeat the tap approximately five times on each contact point (watch the webinar) to learn the sequence and see the exact positioning.

5)Revaluate the intensity of the concern and rank on a scale of one through ten.

6)Repeat steps 1–5 until the intensity either plateaus or reaches a rank of one.

To learn more about Tapping, join Clinical EFT Practitioner and Wellness Coach Julie Lafleur in this WIT Network webinar-on-demand. Also stay tuned for Tapping Circles in 2022.

[i] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326434#how-to-do-eft-tapping