EFT: What are the right words to use?

When starting to perform Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) most people find their greatest concern involves the selection of just the "right words" for the EFT setup phrase. This is a valid concern because more than anything, EFT tapping is all about words, and words are they way we express the thoughts and feeling about which we experience distress. Much more important to the success of EFT than the exact sequence or location of any of the EFT tapping points, is the choice of the most effective words that captures a distressing emotion.

A common question from someone learning EFT is, "just what is the best setup phrase to use" for such and such a situation; perhaps anger, low self esteem, low back pain, weight loss, recurring nightmares, posttraumatic stress disorder, emetophobia, etc. The best response is that there are never any predetermined or packaged words and phrases that can be removed from the shelf for anything by everyone.

No credible "library of EFT setup words or phrases" is ever used because the selection of the most effective EFT language changes and improves over with time and with experience. Those who are inexperienced with the many techniques of EFT can often have surprising success by using simple but meaningful words and phrases from the actual vocabulary, quotes from the conversation and thoughts of the individual who seeks help from the distressing emotion. Most often a good guiding principle is that it is not necessary, and more effective, to keep the words and ideas used in EFT tapping both simple and direct.

By crafting unvarnished thoughts and words to neutralize a distressing emotion and memory, e.g. "Even though my bum knee is acting up again...," "Even though I am so worried that Donna is not the kind of daughter I hoped she would be...," "Even though my brother frightened and abused me every chance he could, and made my life a living hell...," the benefits of EFT therapy can be both prompt and spectacular. When trying too hard to be fancy and complex, EFT therapy results can suffer and become lost in abstract thoughts and flowery language that do not accurately reflect the emotional files related to the stressful memories.

Using simple language and accurate concepts that honestly describe how a person really feels, as well as where those emotional feelings are experienced within the body, or even just retelling the story of a particularly stressful event while doing tapping on the standard EFT points can cause a release of negative emotions and a profoundly happy outcome.

The purpose of the words selected for the EFT setup phrase, and the subsequent reminder phrase used in the EFT sequence, are used to maintain focus on the issue that is addressed in a round of EFT tapping. The selection of these same words and concepts can also be employed to create reframes, affirmations, questions, intuitive statements, or any other EFT tapping application. The skilful and well crafted application of specific language is a critically important element of the "art of delivery" of EFT.

Dr. Theodore Herazy is a prolific writer on a wide variety of Alternative Medicine topics; he has authored hundreds of articles and two books in the area of men's health and nutrition. He primarily has used EFT on a daily basis to treat his patients for the last 10 years, and is considered an expert in the field of energy psychology. Visit EFT by Telephone