{"id":10019,"date":"2018-03-23T06:00:15","date_gmt":"2018-03-23T10:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=10019"},"modified":"2018-03-17T11:12:03","modified_gmt":"2018-03-17T15:12:03","slug":"can-tap-way-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/03\/can-tap-way-health.html","title":{"rendered":"Can You Tap Your Way to Less Anxiety?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10022\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2018\/03\/anxiety-2019928_1280-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"anxiety-2019928_1280\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/>Tapping, or what is\u00a0called, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT not ECT!) is a popular alternative therapy that\u00a0was developed by Roger Callahan (Pulos, 1999)\u00a0and\u00a0based on traditional Chinese medicine. It was first used\u00a0to deal with anxiety and phobias.<\/p>\n<p>The theory is that there are meridian points in the body that\u00a0carry energy. When\u00a0energy flow is disrupted or blocked, tapping on one of the meridian points while thinking about the distressing emotion, then restores the energy flow and releases the negative emotion&#8211;the source of most emotional problems.\u00a0Gary Craig developed\u00a0this method to help his clients deal with negative memories, thoughts and emotions after exploring Callahan&#8217;s Thought Field Therapy (TFT). EFT\u00a0differs from traditional therapies in that it adds the novel element of stimulating acupuncture points. He simplified the technique by telling clients to use their own fingers to tap on their meridian points. By tapping and focusing on the negative memory or thought, the emotion releases.<\/p>\n<p>When people focus on their fear and then tap, they are doing something similar to a process called systematic desensitization. This involves facing the fear or imagining the fear and then relaxing the body&#8211;very similar to what the tapping might be doing. And the expectancy of results can impact a person as well. If you believe doing something will achieve a certain result, it might. And because the technique includes saying positive affirmations about yourself, this could be one reason people feel better. The technique has elements of cognitive therapies including exposure therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy as well.<\/p>\n<p>The treatment has become widely popular with many claims of help, but more scientific studies are needed. That said, a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/26894319\">review of some studies<\/a>\u00a0 found the technique resulted in a significant decrease in anxiety. \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/?term=emotional+freedom+technique+mccaslin\">Other reviews<\/a>\u00a0claim the benefit comes from the way the technique incorporates other therapies. \u00a0And one <a href=\"https:\/\/psychiatrysho.wordpress.com\/2014\/01\/16\/tapping-into-quackery-why-emotional-freedom-therapy-is-dangerous-nonsense\/\">psychiatrist<\/a> provides reasons to &#8220;turn off the tap.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0effectiveness of this technique has not been\u00a0established in the science literature. Some even call it &#8220;pseudoscience.&#8221; Keep in mind that some people get better without doing anything when their problems are mild. Finally, it should be noted that none of the major professional mental health organizations endorses it as evidenced-based.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tapping, or what is\u00a0called, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT not ECT!) is a popular alternative therapy that\u00a0was developed by Roger Callahan (Pulos, 1999)\u00a0and\u00a0based on traditional Chinese medicine. It was first used\u00a0to deal with anxiety and phobias. The theory is that there are meridian points in the body that\u00a0carry energy. When\u00a0energy flow is disrupted or blocked, tapping&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4100],"tags":[135,4178,4177,4176],"class_list":["post-10019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","tag-anxiety","tag-emotional-freedom-technique","tag-tap-eft","tag-tapping"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Can You Tap Your Way to Less Anxiety?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/03\/can-tap-way-health.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can You Tap Your Way to Less Anxiety?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tapping, or what is\u00a0called, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT not ECT!) is a popular alternative therapy that\u00a0was developed by Roger Callahan (Pulos, 1999)\u00a0and\u00a0based on traditional Chinese medicine. It was first used\u00a0to deal with anxiety and phobias. The theory is that there are meridian points in the body that\u00a0carry energy. When\u00a0energy flow is disrupted or blocked, tapping&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/03\/can-tap-way-health.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-03-23T10:00:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-03-17T15:12:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2018\/03\/anxiety-2019928_1280-300x200.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can You Tap Your Way to Less Anxiety?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/03\/can-tap-way-health.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can You Tap Your Way to Less Anxiety?","og_description":"Tapping, or what is\u00a0called, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT not ECT!) is a popular alternative therapy that\u00a0was developed by Roger Callahan (Pulos, 1999)\u00a0and\u00a0based on traditional Chinese medicine. It was first used\u00a0to deal with anxiety and phobias. The theory is that there are meridian points in the body that\u00a0carry energy. When\u00a0energy flow is disrupted or blocked, tapping&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/03\/can-tap-way-health.html","og_site_name":"Doing Life Together","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","article_published_time":"2018-03-23T10:00:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-03-17T15:12:03+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2018\/03\/anxiety-2019928_1280-300x200.jpg"}],"author":"Linda Mintle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@drlindamintle","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/03\/can-tap-way-health.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/03\/can-tap-way-health.html","name":"Can You Tap Your Way to Less Anxiety?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/03\/can-tap-way-health.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/03\/can-tap-way-health.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2018\/03\/anxiety-2019928_1280-300x200.jpg","datePublished":"2018-03-23T10:00:15+00:00","dateModified":"2018-03-17T15:12:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/03\/can-tap-way-health.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/03\/can-tap-way-health.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/03\/can-tap-way-health.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2018\/03\/anxiety-2019928_1280-300x200.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2018\/03\/anxiety-2019928_1280-300x200.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/03\/can-tap-way-health.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can You Tap Your Way to Less Anxiety?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/","name":"Doing Life Together","description":"Relationship Doctor, Mental Health, Emotional Wellness, Relationship Advice &amp; Entertainment","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142","name":"Linda Mintle","description":"It is rare that a trained academic who speaks passionately to the heart of people providing real answers to real life problems is so relatable. Dr. Linda\u2019s fun personality and expertise comes through whether she\u2019s helping her audience stress less or make peace with their thighs! Dr. Linda has her Ph.D. in Urban Health and Clinical Psychology and is a national expert on mental health. She has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, depression and pain management. With 30 years of clinical experience working with couples, families and individuals, she brings her common-sense approach to people who want to live in positive mental health. Dr. Linda is also a bestselling author with 21 book titles to her credit, a radio host of the Dr. Linda Mintle show, professor, national speaker, winner of the Mom\u2019s Choice Award, a national news consultant, featured writer for Beliefnet and hosts her own website. Her academic appointments keep her abreast of current research in her areas of expertise. Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. Check out her latest book Hope and Healing for Anxiety, a whole-person approach to eliminate anxiety. .","sameAs":["https:\/\/drlindamintle.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/x.com\/drlindamintle"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/author\/lmintle"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10019"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10019\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10023,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10019\/revisions\/10023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}