Can anxiety be tapped away?

© 2003 Seamus Hayes

Could you believe it if I told you that you can tap yourself out of an anxiety? Yes, actually tap away your anxiety.

Anxiety about your golf stroke, anxiety about your performance at work, anxiety about achieving your personal goals, anxiety about your family, anxiety about being bullied, anxiety about how you appear to other people, anxiety about coping, in fact anxiety in whatever shape or form it raises its head may be eliminated through focused tapping.

Consider the following. There is a rat in a box on your desk. Notice how the thought alone can create a reaction.
Now, do the following while thinking of the rat on your desk:

1) What is your anxiety?, is it fear? Is it panic?...
2) Rate the intensity of the anxiety between 0 and 10 (10 being the most intense).
3) While tapping on the "collar bone" repeat 3 times "Even though I feel this anxiety I totally & completely accept myself"
4) Now while Repeating the Words "This anxiety", tap 7 times

a) above the eye,
b) below the eye,
c) on the collarbone
d) under the arm, (about half way between the belt line and the armpit)

5) Rate the intensity again. In most cases the intensity has decreased.

Will this simple technique work for everybody? I have witnessed, in my own practice, a lady who had not done exams for over 30 years, release severe exam anxiety in less than 30 seconds with this simple technique. In a few cases no immediate result seemed to occur, however comments like "I feel calmer", "I feel more in control" or "I feel less tired and full of energy" surface in conversations days later. A small percentage of people need a longer version to achieve results, however, persistent use always facilitates some change for good.

Philosophers and Psychologists have always recognised the fact that thoughts influence behaviour. In the case of the rat above, if you have a negative perception of a rat, as you think about the rat, you will reflect your thoughts in your body as an emotion (anxiety, tension, fear...): Your body's energy has been disrupted in some form. Focused tapping or pressure on acupuncture points restores the balance to the disrupted energy. By tapping on these pressure points, you begin to separate the emotion from the thought. By thus doing, you increase your control over the situation. I have seen people, who suffered great anxiety at the sight of a mouse, actually hold the mouse in their hand without any negative emotion within minutes.

Is this simple method "off the wall"? Users of reflexology and acupuncture will easily understand the philosophy behind this simple technique. Chinese Medicine, from which this technique comes, has been successfully treating the "whole person" for centuries. Today we call it Energy Psychology. It blends in easily with today's lifestyle. It is drug free, easily applicable and within the personal control of each person who may choose to use it.