Relieve Stress With the Tapping Technique
Everyone experiences stress, whether it be a job, a partner, or even just reading the news. For me, the typical way out of a stressful situation is to walk and think about something else. When I get back to my desk or that fight with my boyfriend, things don’t seem to be as bad as they did before I went for a walk.
This week, The Wall Street Journal spoke to several experts about various methods of dealing with stress. There were a few common suspicions, such as pinpointing the cause of your stress or focusing on your breathing, but there was also a unique case: tapping.
I had never heard of tapping before the article, but after reading it, I was interested in trying the idea.
Julie Bartels, a licensed clinical social worker, explained this method to the magazine. The method, also called the “Emotional Freedom Technique,” is fairly simple. First, you must say out loud what you are experiencing, and then rate that stress from 1 to 10.
For example, you might say, “I’m worried that I won’t finish this big project on time.”
After that, take two fingers and touch the top of your head, repeating what is bothering you. Then do the same for the inner side of the eyebrows, outside of the eyebrows under the eye, on the chin, on the collarbone, and finally on the side of the torso.
When you’re done, figure out which number, from 1 to 10, you rate your stress. If it is still high, repeat the process one more time until you can tell you are stressed.
“It sounds silly, but it works,” Bartels told the Journal .
I tried it this week and she’s right. A few runs had the same effect on me as walking away from the situation. However, I work from home, which gives me an edge over office workers. I don’t know if I would do it in a cube where people could watch.
If you just need to quickly regain concentration and relieve stress, this can be a great trick in your arsenal.