Discover the Healing Benefits of Tapping on Your Trauma Recovery Path
A concise guide on practicing tapping for trauma recovery.
“Our unprocessed emotions, beliefs, and traumas are still operating and controlling our lives. We need to address them–to look at them, admit they are there, and work through them–in order to clear them.” Nick Ortner
Memories of my first seven or eight years come like little glimpses of a movie. I remembered today that my aunt spanked my cousins and me when I was seven. I don’t remember if she used her hand or an object or if it hurt. All I remember is that I sat on her couch and sobbed after. She had to call my mom to come and get me. My mother, God bless her, never spanked me. Hitting isn’t in her nature.
I feel bad for seven-year-old me who suffered from sexual abuse. I know I dissociated as my aunt spanked me and then broke down after. I had already endured too much in my short existence. As a friend once told me about the abuse I endured, it broke my brain. However, my brain has healed much in four years.
God knows, rewiring my brain has not been easy. During March, when everyone stayed home in fear of covid, my heart started pounding every evening. I realized the nightly news triggered me, so I stopped watching it. The heart palpitations lessened but continued. I started searching for good meditation apps. I stumbled upon The Tapping Solution app. The first time I tapped, the palpitations stopped. I continued tapping daily until three months ago when I became sick.
I have written much about tapping here. However, I haven’t yet written in-depth about it. What exactly is it? How did it originate? Who created it, where were they, and when did they create it? Why does it work? Yes, the trusty five Ws and an H every journalist relies on will guide me. I will also explain how to tap and offer tapping meditations.
The History of Tapping
Acupressure arises out of the ancient Chinese practice of acupuncture. The first known complete book on acupuncture dates back to 476-221 B.C. However, archaeological evidence dates acupuncture back to at least 1700 B.C. The purpose of acupuncture is to move energy to treat pain. Activating acupoints along the meridians is the basis for both acupressure and acupuncture.
The psychologist, Dr. Roger Callahan had a difficult client with a severe water phobia. Nothing he tried helped her. He asked her to tap on the stomach meridian point in acupressure (right below the eye) while sitting on the edge of his swimming pool. “It’s gone! The horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach when I think about water is completely gone!” From that moment on, her water phobia was gone.
Dr. Callahan continued studying meridian points and developed tapping sequences. Gary Craig, one of his students, developed one sequence. He added a reminder phrase, spoken at each point, and reframes, questioning, and other processing methods. Craig is not a psychologist or therapist but an engineer. He provided a free manual, a free email newsletter, and instructional videos.
In 2007, siblings Nick, Jessica, and Alex founded The Tapping Solution. The idea for it came after Nick used tapping for pain relief. He made a documentary about tapping and released it in 2008. A year later, he launched The Tapping Solution Summit. In 2012, Nick published a book about tapping, and in 2018 they released The Tapping Solution app.
Tapping Helps Trauma Recovery
People who survive childhood trauma have overactive amygdalas, the almond-shaped section of the brain that serves as the alarm system. Our brains mistake triggers as dangers and activates the amygdala, which sends us into fight-flight-or-freeze. “What tapping does, with amazing efficiency, is halt the fight-or-flight response and reprogram the brain and body to act–and react–differently,” Nick Ortner states in his book, The Tapping Solution: A Revolutionary System For Stress-Free Living.
“Though we’re not yet sure why, tapping seems to turn off the amygdala’s alarm–deactivating the brain’s arousal pathways. Tapping on the meridian endpoints sends a calming response to the body, and the amygdala recognizes it’s safe.” Nick Ortner
Research backs up what Ortner claims in his book. In a study on tapping, researchers found that among the participants who practiced tapping, 40 percent reported less anxiety, 35 percent less depression, and 32 percent fewer PTSD symptoms. They concluded that tapping “results in increased mental well-being.” A meta-analysis of studies on tapping found that treatment with tapping helped PTSD.
How To Practice Tapping
When you practice tapping, you lightly tap on acupressure points. side of hand (Karate chop point), eyebrow, side of eye, under eye, under nose, chin, collarbone, under arm, and top of head. You start by repeating a set-up statement while tapping on the first point. You want to begin with the problem. You can’t solve anything unless you admit what is going on.
Here is a sample script I created:
On a scale of one to 10, rate how much anxiety you feel.
Take a deep breath.
Karate chop point: Even though I am feeling anxious, I choose to love myself. (repeat three times)
Eyebrow: I’m feeling anxious.
Under eye: I am anxious about this new project.
Under nose: I worry that I will screw it up.
Chin: I’m so anxious about the project.
Collarbone: What if I fail?
Under arm: The anxiety overwhelms me now.
Top of head: Yes, I’m so anxious.
Take a deep breath.
Eyebrow: Will worrying about it help me?
Side of eye: Why am I assuming I will fail?
Perhaps I will do well.
Under eye: Maybe I can pull this off.
Under nose: Perhaps I will do well.
Chin: Yes, this is challenging.
Collarbone: But challenges help me grow.
Under arm: Yep, I can pull this off.
Top of head: I can do it.
Take a deep breath.
Rate how much anxiety you now feel.
This is just a sample script. Feel free to create your own, and check out the resources section of this article.
When Tapping Isn’t a Good Idea
There are times when tapping isn’t possible. Last week, I started a week of no antihistamines in preparation for an allergy skin test. I have severe allergies and asthma. The allergist prescribed oral steroids. I read the paper that came with the medication and it stated that it worsens depression and anxiety. I am on antidepressants, which relieve both conditions. I decided to take the med because of the severity of my allergies. Big mistake!
I stopped taking the oral steroids last night even though I had only two left to take. I felt anxious, although not as bad as I used to experience it. I also felt depressed. I woke up this morning wheezing and coughing with a stuffy nose. I feel like absolute crap. Tapping could help my mood, but the idea of tapping on my face when I’m experiencing sinus pressure is abhorrent. For now, tapping is not a good idea. After I have the skin test tomorrow and can take antihistamines, I will tap. It will wait in my mental health toolbox for me to pick it up.
During May, I will write about the themes in the book, Sifting Through the Ashes: Finding Beauty, Peace, Love, and Strength Through Trauma by therapists, Darla Gale and Alice Rodriguez. The book is free if you have Kindle Unlimited. If you are interested in taking part in a book group that discusses it, message me.
Resources
This is the app that started me on my journey away from anxiety and depression.
The Tapping Solution: A Revolutionary System for Stress-Free Living by Nick Ortner
Ortner provides a comprehensive tapping guide.
Brad Yates is an expert on tapping, and his YouTube Channel has a wealth of tapping meditation videos.
You can support me with a paid subscription or a donation on my Ko-Fi page.
Help me expand The Possible Path by referring it to friends and family and sharing it on social media. I will send you a guide to healing from trauma if you refer at least three people.
Tapping transformed my life. We have a lot to thank Gary Craig (the inventor of EFT) for: his original 'emofree' website was a hub of free resources and case studies. I've used tapping almost daily for about 17 years, clearing huge swathes of childhood and adult trauma. In fact it astonishes me that there's anything more to find, but still I find useful threads to pull on from time to time. Recently I was clearing rejection issues that stemmed from my time in the womb!
Great article Gina! Tapping works for a lot of people. I'm glad it works for you!