The main reasons why tapping should be avoided is the fact that there is very little scientific evidence that it actually works. It often gives people false hope, gives them unrealistic expectations and causes some to avoid much needed medical help.
Tapping in and of itself poses no real risks. It is a very easy and gentle technique that simply taps gently on meridian points on the body.
One of the challenges with tapping is that it is very hard to measure results.
With physical pain it is quite easy to sense whether you feel more or less pain.
When it comes to emotional pain, making that judgement is not that clear cut. Emotional pain tends to come and go in varying degrees.
My reasons why tapping should be avoided is not to deter you from tapping in any way, shape or form.
I am a huge fan of tapping and I honestly believe that it has helped me significantly in a variety of issues – especially with overcoming negative beliefs.
Tapping can certainly help you in almost every area of your life but the way in which it helps you is often different than how most people expect it to help.
The way in which EFT and Tapping is sold (especially online) does not help its cause either.
Tapping helps in many subtle and indirect ways and it is usually part of a process of personal growth and evolution.
This is not a magic wand that will erase all your negative beliefs and habits overnight.
Where Did Tapping Come From?
The Emotional freedom technique (EFT) or tapping as it is commonly known is ‘treatment’ or technique that uses the body’s energy system to heal emotional ‘wounds’.
Tapping is weird.
When you first see it you will probably snub it just like I did.
In ancient China they developed a theory behind the body’s energy system. There is a flow of energy in the body and there is a constant ‘exchange’ of energy between the mind, the brain and the body.
This flow of energy reflects our mental, emotional and physical health and wellbeing.
There are a number of meridian points on the body which are located just below the skin which act as ‘endpoints’ or meridians.
The Chinese used needles in a practise called Acupuncture to tap into the flow of energy in the body. It’s been used to cure and treat almost every illness conceivable.
Tapping or EFT is also known as ‘psychological acupressure’ because it uses the same principles from accupuncture.
Gary Craig who first started using tapping was a real expert in energy psychology and while the idea was seem as ‘out there’ in the 1990’s it has gained a lot more acceptance.
In fact, an extensive study is currently underway (to be concluded in 2023) to establish if it can indeed be considered an evidence based treatment.
What’s The Deal With Tapping Anyway?
Acupuncture has become widely accepted even in western medicine.
Tapping uses the same principles but instead of needles it uses the fingertips to tap on these meridian points.
One important understanding about tapping is that its whole aim is to deal with emotional issues – hence the name emotional freedom technique.
The theory is that all emotional problems present themselves in your body’s energy system and by being conscious of the issue and tapping on these meridian points you can release the negative energy.
Traditional therapy goes through the mind to cure the mind.
Tapping goes through the body to cure the mind.
While tapping sounds great in theory, the BIG question is: does tapping work?
Tapping works and it works surprisingly well for a number of mental and emotional issues. Tapping also works incredibly well for numerous chronic pains that traditional medicine simply can’t treat.
The real challenge is that there is very little scientific proof and most of the results are anecdotal. And there is a lot of it.
There are thousands of testimonials and the annual Tapping Summit draw large numbers of people seeking mental, emotional or physical help through tapping.
Is tapping the be all and end all solution to mental and emotional problems? Definitely not and there are a number of reasons why tapping should be avoided.
5 Reasons Why Tapping Should Be Avoided
Tapping can be a great resource for improving many aspects of your life. We all have mental and emotional issues that hold us back. In fact, these are the real things that hold us back.
Being free from limiting thoughts can allow you to soar to great new heights in any area of your life.
Tapping may not be a miracle fix to instantly erase your limiting beliefs, your past or your emotional baggage but as part of a strategy to live your best life ever it is an indispensable tool.
There are some reasons why tapping should be avoided. It is not for everyone.
1. No Scientific Evidence That It Works
Despite tapping and EFT now being a massive industry there is still very little scientific evidence that it works.
This is in part because we have a very poor understanding of the body’s incredibly intricate energy system.
Could it be that EFT only works because of the Placebo effect?
All the positive testimonials. All the hype. All the buzz around this ‘miracle cure’ could well be enough to prompt the mind into healing itself.
The lack of scientific evidence certainly is one of the reasons why tapping should be avoided.
2. No Getting Proper Treatment
Trying to treat serious health conditions with tapping can be very dangerous. This is one of the big reasons why tapping should be avoided if you have a condition that should be (and could be) treated by conventional methods.
It is dangerous not because tapping can harm you directly, but delaying or not getting the medical help you need can have serious implications.
I strongly believe in the power of the mind to heal.
This does not negate the need for modern medicine. Explore tapping while you get proper treatment.
Do not pin your hopes on tapping to solve serious mental or physical health conditions. This is a ‘hail Mary’ approach that could result in serious short term and long term issues – especially if you suffer from mental health problems.
3. False Promises
Like many good things it can get exploited. There are some online ‘teachers’ and courses that have taken tapping in a direction it was never really intended to go.
Some claim that tapping can help you get rich or that tapping can make you look more attractive or even make you lose weight.
Tapping certainly can help you with all these things if there are negative emotions attached to it.
Releasing negative beliefs and emotional attachment to money, overeating and your self confidence can and will make a difference. It is usually a means to an end.
These false promises are one of the big reasons why tapping should be avoided because it gives people false hope and only sells one part of the solution.
4. Reliving Traumas
Tapping has made a big breakthrough in recent years and it is now a recommended treatment for PTSD.
It has proven to be particularly helpful for people suffering from PTSD.
One of the reasons why tapping should be avoided if you suffer from some sort of trauma is that tapping will prompt you to ‘relive’ the experience.
Unless you are doing tapping under qualified supervision it can be dangerous. When past traumas come up it can be very destructive and someone who is trained and qualified certainly can help you through it.
There are many DIY tapping solutions and most of them are great. It is however not ideal for everyone – especially if you are using tapping to release trauma and traumatic experiences.
5. Your Are a Die Hard Sceptic
If you are a die hard sceptic and you start tapping with a critical mind then you are likely to not see much results with it.
Being overly critical of anything ‘new age’ is one of the reasons why tapping should be avoided because it requires an emotional awareness and an emotional presence when doing it.
The idea behind tapping is that you ‘tap into’ the emotions that you have issues with while doing the tapping sequence.
Doing it while silently thinking ‘this is BS’ simply won’t allow you to reach that emotional state required to release the negative energy you need to let go of.
One thing that simply can not be ruled out with tapping is the Placebo effect.
Its effectiveness may well be all down to the placebo effect and those die hard critics who have ‘decided’ that it is BS and that it won’t work and will just waste their own time.
Tapping and The False Prophets
These days on the internet, everyone is an expert. It has given birth to a slew of false prophets and so-called experts whose real expertise lie in marketing and not so much in what they have to ‘teach’.
Tapping and EFT certainly did not escape this ‘expert culture’ online.
There are numerous tapping courses online that promise the world but are taught by amateurs.
Every year there is a Tapping World Summit and it is hosted by Nick Ortner. It features some of the most experienced and the best trained tapping experts.
I suggest you start there to find experts and avoid the false prophets that look like they just finished high school 🙂
Final Thoughts On Avoiding EFT
Traditional psychology certainly is one way of dealing with mental and emotional issues. Mental health really does matter and it arguably more important than your physical health.
Tapping is ‘out there’. I am the first to admit that.
It is weird and very unconventional.
What I do know is that as a human being I am made up of energy. I also know that my thoughts and emotions affect my energetic body in profound ways.
Those ‘embodied thoughts’ that are lodged in our belief certainly does affect us energetically. In many ways it dictates the way we think and feel.
There are many ways in which we can change our energy in the short term.
Just think a different thought. Change your mood.
This is not the issue though. The issue is with your persistent thoughts and emotions. Those thoughts and emotions that you are mostly not conscious of but that dictate your vibration and your energy.
This is where I find tapping most useful.
Many others have had great success in using tapping to alleviate physical pain. This certainly can be true. All pain is experienced in the mind – not in the body.
The main reason why tapping should be avoided is if you expect it to do something for you that is just not realistic or if you pin your hopes on tapping and EFT while there are other proven and easy fixes out there.
There certainly are some amazing benefits to tapping. Tapping probably won’t make you a millionaire by tomorrow morning or cause 50lbs of fat to disappear from your body.
What it will do though is to help you shift your emotional blocks that are often the root cause of why you can attract more abundance or lose the weight.
Tapping is a means to an end. Its a form of ‘therapy’ which helps you to target the root cause of many issues and like most therapies it takes time to work through the issues that may have been ingrained though years of wrong thinking
