1. Alan has completed the new Pain Recovery Program. To read or share it, use this updated link: https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/painrecovery/
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
Our TMS drop-in chat is tomorrow (Saturday) from 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM Eastern (***NOTE*** now on US Daylight Time). It's a great way to get quick and interactive peer support, with Steve2 as your host. Look for the red Chat flag on top of the menu bar!

EFT tapping

Discussion in 'General Discussion Subforum' started by Painfreefuture, Feb 22, 2014.

  1. Painfreefuture

    Painfreefuture Peer Supporter

    Just out of curiosity, has anyone found EFT tapping effective in dealing with TMS?
     
  2. Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021)

    Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021) Beloved Grand Eagle

    I have found tapping very helpful in TMS healing, and so has Herbie.
    It hasn't worked for some people, but probably depends on the amount of belief that it can help,
    like belief is so important in any TMS healing technique.

    Have you watched the tapping video clips online? They show people losing their pain or anxiety fast.
     
  3. Mermaid

    Mermaid Well known member

    I've used EFT for about a year and it works for me. When I was in a great deal of pain (thankfully, a thing of the past), I could bring the pain level down with it. Keep an open mind and give it a try.
     
  4. Painfreefuture

    Painfreefuture Peer Supporter

    Thanks for the feedback. It does seem to help, so I am going to stick with it. I have not seen videos of actual people using it, just instructional videos. Could you share links or search terms? Thanks!
     
  5. BruceMC

    BruceMC Beloved Grand Eagle

    All the so-called "Power Therapies" seem to work with TMS pain: EFT with tapping and/or acupressure, EMDR, and programmed dreams. They all directly access the unconscious where adverse emotions can be separated from the people and things that originally produced them through a process known as memory reconsolidation. I suspect ISTDP does something similar but in a different way.
     
  6. Lori

    Lori Well known member

    Eric "Herbie" Watson likes this.
  7. BruceMC

    BruceMC Beloved Grand Eagle

    Eric "Herbie" Watson likes this.
  8. Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021)

    Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021) Beloved Grand Eagle

    Thanks, Bruce, for the Ruden article on tapping.
    I find it works without knowing the science reasons behind it, but it's good to know why it works.
     
    Eric "Herbie" Watson likes this.
  9. BruceMC

    BruceMC Beloved Grand Eagle

    I think the reason tapping works is quite a bit simpler than this long drawn out bio-neuro-chemical explanation about how it works, Walt! But since EFT tapping is getting close to a peer-reviewed psychological treatment of choice in cases of trauma, PTSD and chronic pain, I thought that this article puts it on a firm scientific footing for "those of little faith" that require rigorous scientific materialist proofs.
     
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2014
    Eric "Herbie" Watson likes this.
  10. BruceMC

    BruceMC Beloved Grand Eagle

    Is Jessica Ortner married? I like her to help me learn how to tap!
     
    Eric "Herbie" Watson likes this.
  11. G.R.

    G.R. Well known member

    Where does one start if they want to learn tapping? Which You Tube videos do you recommend to start?
     
    Eric "Herbie" Watson likes this.
  12. BruceMC

    BruceMC Beloved Grand Eagle

    To learn the tapping points, check out this video by Jessica Ortner:



    Dr James Alexander gives a very thorough overview of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) tapping in Chapter 12 - 'The Promise of Energy Psychology' on pages 236-261 of his recent TMS book The Hidden Psychology of Pain (2011). On pages 409-10 he also summarizes the basic EFT tapping procedure as a recipe in Appendix 8. As Lori says above, the 2014 Tapping Summit is currently in session and provides more detailed instruction and videos. They'll send you a book on tapping and EFT if you elect to give them you email address.

    I found Dr Alexander's summary quite useful because he locates all the material on tapping in a short space along with an explanation of the neuro-science involved.
     
  13. G.R.

    G.R. Well known member

    Thanks, Bruce I will check it out this week and let you know if I have any questions.
     
    Eric "Herbie" Watson likes this.
  14. G.R.

    G.R. Well known member

    Everyone is so loving and helpful on this forum.
     
    Eric "Herbie" Watson likes this.
  15. Painfreefuture

    Painfreefuture Peer Supporter

    Thanks for the link Bruce, and mentioning James Alexander's book. I have not read it yet, but I watched a video he put together on the rapid eye movement desensitization technique. I have been interested in this strategy as well and wondered if you had thoughts on it. It appears to be an evidence based treatment for PTSD and is currently being studied for other conditions. A clinical trial is currently underway for EMDR and nonspecific low-back pain. Wish the results were out yet! Just wondered if you had thoughts on this or how it compares to EFT. Thanks!
     
  16. BruceMC

    BruceMC Beloved Grand Eagle

    Chapter 16 of Dr Alexander's The Hidden Psychology of Pain (2011) entitled "Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing" provides a nice short summary of EMDR (pp. 317-332).

    Forest has given a link to Dr Alexander's latest article on EMDR on the Forum, where the concept of "memory reconsolidation" is introduced:

    http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/inside-emdr-a-neurological-perspective.3834/

    Well, I don't know about comparing EMDR to EFT tapping, but in my very non-professional opinion, it seems like both of these Power Therapies work by breaking up the obsessive scanning for trouble in the lower brain stem that drives the anxiety that causes the tension behind TMS pain. A jazz musician might say, they "loosen you up!" Some experts question the physical effectiveness of both therapies and suggest they work by distracting you from the pain. But that seems rather academic to me. The fact is that both of them work on traumatized patients with PTSD and have higher cure rates than purely cognitive behavioral methods seem to achieve. EMDR seems to require a therapist to do the hand passes in front of your eyes, but EFT "tapping" can be practiced on your lonesome.

    You might also run a search on EMDR on the TMS Forum. Quite a bit comes up, including an account of how you can do it alone too.
     
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2014
  17. Painfreefuture

    Painfreefuture Peer Supporter

    Thank you Bruce! I appreciate all the info!
     

Share This Page