The Science Behind EFT Tapping

...proof that something so simple can work so well

Science = the study of the natural world through observation and experimentation

Quite by chance I found myself experimenting with EFT tapping… and being amazed by what I observed. So, first, I submit…

Myself as a Case Study…

It was 2012 and I was in my studio working. For some reason I had The Tapping World Summit playing in the background. The person being interviewed was talking about how this multi-purpose technique could be applied to physical pain.

My back ached as I worked. It always did ~ ever since an accident eight years earlier.

The Summit was interactive. So, since I had pain, I decided to pause my creative work and do as instructed.

Why not?

To my amazement, after less than 15 minutes of tapping, my back pain…

…it was nowhere to be found!!

I was dumbfounded.

The desire to share this discovery overwhelmed me.

Buuut as soon I imagined how goofball I would appear as I suggested that the girls I worked with SAY ALOUD, “I deeply and completely love and accept myself” WHILE tapping all over their face… my enthusiasm for sharing waned.

Tough sell.

Which brings us to…

The Science Behind EFT Tapping

Because the pioneers of tapping had the exact same misgivings I had!

This is why they got busy getting the hard data that would ground EFT in science.

Randomized controlled trials… outcome studies… peer reviewed articles. Done by PhD types… in top institutions.

And over and over again there was no denying it… the findings were impressive.

Effective is great but…

HOW effective is the real point. Turns out "moderate" to "large" effective.

That’s science language for…

Stories bring Science to life

Now for some stories about the hardest things people contend with and how EFT worked on it…..

PTSD

Meet Joe. Joe came back from his deployment… and found himself haunted by memories of war.

He struggled with nightmares, flashbacks, and a deep sense of unease.

Joe joined a pilot program where therapists introduced EFT tapping alongside traditional counseling to people suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Joe said strangely comforting things as he tapped on acupressure points on his body….

At first he was skeptical — tapping on his body seemed weird. But as he worked through his memories, using tapping, he noticed the weight of his emotions began to lift.

After 6 sessions, Joe’s symptoms had reduced by over 50%, and his nightmares all but disappeared.

This wasn’t just Joe’s experience. There were many more such stories…

A 2013 study published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease found that EFT significantly reduced PTSD symptoms in veterans, with 86% no longer meeting the clinical criteria for PTSD after six sessions.

Another study in 2016 in the Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine showed similar results, with EFT reducing PTSD symptoms by 90% in participants.

PERFORMANCE ANXIETY

Meet Sarah. A super smart college student.

But every time Sarah sat for an exam, her mind went blank. Her heart raced, her palms sweated, her confidence crumbled.

Desperate for a solution, she tried EFT tapping. Every day leading up to her next big test, Sarah repeated the very simple tapping process she learned.

On the day of the exam, she felt a sense of calm she hadn’t experienced in years, aaaand she aced her test!

Research supports Sarah’s experience…

STRESS and CORTISOL

A landmark study published in 2012 in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease found that EFT reduced cortisol levels (a key stress hormone) by an average of 43%.

PHOBIAS and FEARS

But well before that in 2003, a study in the Journal of Clinical Psychology demonstrated that EFT was effective in reducing specific phobias, with 83% of participants showing significant improvement after just one session.

PHYSICAL PAIN

Meet Maria. She lived with chronic pain for over a decade.

Doctors diagnosed her with fibromyalgia, but medications didn’t provide much relief and it left her feeling hopeless.

Maria was willing to try anything when a friend suggested EFT tapping. Skeptical about doing something as seemingly ‘nothing’ as tapping on herself while saying things that didn’t feel true… she did it anyway.

Over time, her pain levels decreased noticeably.

Tapping became a daily ritual that gave Maria her life back.

A 2016 study in the Journal of Pain Research found that EFT tapping reduced pain severity by 57% in participants with chronic pain after just a few sessions, often because it helps uncover and resolve the emotional triggers behind the pain.

This is just a small sample of the science that made it possible for people like me to be taken seriously when bringing EFT to more people.

Thank you, science!!

So how about YOU?

Do you have an EFT tapping story?

I’d love to hear it. Please share it in the comments….