EFT Tapping for Anxiety: Leaning Into Relief
Stress and anxiety are the main causes of dis-ease in our bodies today. Managing anxiety, without turning to some type of distraction, takes incredible bravery and a willingness to lean into discomfort. EFT tapping for anxiety goes against our instinct, but will also provide the relief we need.
In a systematic review, EFT treatment was shown to be more effective in decreasing anxiety scores when compared to controls. Patients who received EFT treatment had a significant decrease in their anxiety scores.
We need a willingness to be more grounded in moments of stress or anxiety. Tapping for anxiety and fear, and working through these feelings, will accomplish this. Let’s go through the structure of tapping for anxiety.
Take a Rating
Close your eyes and take a nice deep breath. Feel your feet on the floor and support from your chair. Put all of your awareness on the anxiety you’re feeling right now. Tune into any sensations or feelings in your body. Can you describe them? Do you have an overwhelming emotion? What is it? On a scale of 0-10, what is the intensity of that emotion? Take a moment and record your initial assessment.
EFT Tapping Script for Anxiety and Fear Sequence
We’ll start tapping for anxiety with a list of our fears. Whether it’s tangible or intangible, start by identifying your fears, even the really big ones. If you’re looking for a script for a specific anxiety or fear – fear of rejection, not belonging, or not being wanted, for example – there are tapping scripts available for each of these. An ideal approach is to work through each fear and work until you can get yourself down to a zero for each one.
Anxiety stems from fear, and removing the fear will lessen your anxiety around the situation. However, it can be draining to work through this anxiety and fear because of how stressful recalling memories can be. We’ll share a general EFT tapping for anxiety script that can serve as a good band-aid to help you function, get your heart rate down, and feel safe again.
Karate Chop
- Even though I feel super anxious right now and I’m not even sure why, I honor myself and my feelings.
- Even though I’m experiencing a lot of anxiety and it’s completely unnerving, I honor all parts of who I am.
- Even though this anxiety has me feeling like I just want to escape, I accept myself anyway and honor my courage in tackling this issue.
Tapping for Anxiety Script Progression
Start by identifying your anxious feelings and be honest about how you’re feeling in your body. Address the overwhelm, feelings of a lack of safety, and anything else that’s coming up with the fear and anxiety you’re experiencing.
- Eyebrow point: I feel super anxious right now
- Side of the eye: Anxiety flowing through my body
- Under the eye: My thoughts are scattered
- Under the nose: And the urge to escape is overwhelming
- Under the mouth: It just feels so uncomfortable and scary
- Collarbone: Something doesn’t feel safe
- Under the arms: I feel jittery and anxious
- Ribs: I don’t know how much more of this I can take
- Wrists: This anxiety feels completely overwhelming
- Top of the head: And want to honor that at the deepest level
Next, you’ll address what’s happening in your body as you’re feeling anxiety – the stress response and fight-or-flight occurring alongside this nervous energy. Start to address what causes these feelings – a threat- and even if you can’t identify the threat, start coming to terms with the cause of the feeling.
- Eyebrow point: I have all this anxious energy in my body
- Side of the eye: My body is in stress response mode
- Under the eye: With this nervous energy coursing through my body
- Under the nose: And it doesn’t feel safe
- Under the mouth: It feels like there’s a threat somewhere
- Collarbone: Something threatening my safety
- Under the arms: Maybe I’m not sure why I feel anxious, but I do
- Ribs: My thoughts are scattered and random
- Wrists: All this anxious energy running through my system
- Top of the head: My body is in fight or flight mode
Regardless of the source of anxiety, you want to honor the feeling you’re having, making the connection between trigger and response.
- Eyebrow point: And I want to honor that
- Side of the eye: For whatever reason
- Under the eye: Or for a million reasons
- Under the nose: I’m overwhelmed and anxious
- Under the mouth: And I’m experiencing this stress response in my body
- Collarbone: I was triggered somehow
- Under the arms: And now I have this anxious energy running through my body
- Ribs: Making me feel tense and scared
- Wrists: It feels completely unsafe
- Top of the head: And I want to honor that at the deepest level
Do you feel you distract yourself to avoid feeling anxiety? Does the fight-or-flight mode leave you looking for a place to hide? Acknowledge yourself showing up in a different way and dig a little deeper.
- Eyebrow point: My instinct is telling me to escape in any way I can
- Side of the eye: This fear is here for a reason
- Under the eye: And my thoughts are too scattered to figure it out in this moment
- Under the nose: I don’t know what to do
- Under the mouth: Maybe this has happened many times before
- Collarbone: And my strategy of distracting myself only helps in the moment
- Under the arms: It doesn’t help long-term
- Ribs: The anxiety might even feel like it’s escalating
- Wrists: And I’m honoring that I’m safe in this moment
- Top of the head: Because it’s clearly impacting me
Again, acknowledge the feeling, but start to explore, get curious, and lean into your emotions as much as it feels safe to do. Acknowledge that you are, currently, safe.
- Eyebrow point: It feels like something is very wrong
- Side of the eye: Maybe it feels like something bad is going to happen
- Under the eye: I just know I don’t feel safe
- Under the nose: And this stress response in my body is very unnerving
- Under the mouth: I wonder what would happen if I tried leaning into the anxiety
- Collarbone: And use this as an opportunity to discover the source
- Under the arms: Maybe then I would have an avenue for healing
- Ribs: Escaping this feeling is my main priority though
- Wrists: I don’t know if I have the strength to confront this now
- Top of the head: And I want to honor that at the deepest level
Once you’ve acknowledged that you are safe in the moment, give yourself permission to release your feelings of fear and anxiety, leaning into discomfort and working through to lessen the sensations.
- Eyebrow point: I honor that this feels scary and unsafe
- Side of the eye: And I want to be open and willing to release this anxiety now
- Under the eye: I acknowledge that I’m safe in this moment
- Under the nose: So I can try something new to release this anxiety
- Under the mouth: Finding my courage in this moment is really hard
- Collarbone: I want to run away so badly
- Under the arms: I honor how hard this is
- Ribs: And as Glennon Doyle says, “We can do hard things.”
- Wrists: So maybe I can brave and stay right where I’m at
- Top of the head: And lean into this discomfort
Next, focus on your breathing and being present in the moment.
- Eyebrow point: Taking a moment to breathe into my belly
- Side of the eye: Staying present in this moment
- Under the eye: Where I’m completely safe
- Under the nose: And bringing my energy back down into my body
- Under the mouth: Feeling my belly go in and out
- Collarbone: My body feeling more relaxed and peaceful with each breath
- Under the arms: Halting any anxious thoughts that arise
- Ribs: And focusing only on FEELING my breath
- Wrists: FEELING my heart beating
- Top of the head: And letting go of all anxious thoughts for now
Acknowledge the bravery it takes to lean into anxious moments, while also appreciating the increased feeling of calm you experience by doing so.
- Eyebrow point: It’s scary to lean into this anxious energy
- Side of the eye: And feel into my body right now
- Under the eye: But I recognize that I feel instantly calmer
- Under the nose: When I focus on my breath
- Under the mouth: And staying present in my body
- Collarbone: Maybe I don’t have to think 10 steps ahead
- Under the arms: That takes me off-track so easily
- Ribs: Staying centered, calm and focused
- Wrists: Focusing my awareness on breathing into my core
- Top of the head: Letting go of all this anxiety now
Take stock of the difference made by focusing on your anxiety, leaning into discomfort, and creating a feeling of groundedness.
- Eyebrow point: I love that I have some clarity about this
- Side of the eye: Staying centered in my core
- Under the eye: Keeps my thoughts from scattering everywhere
- Under the nose: And I’m more peaceful and calm as a result
- Under the mouth: Letting my body feel more and more relaxed now
- Collarbone: And letting all these anxious thoughts dissipate
- Under the arms: Calming this stress response in my body
- Ribs: I’m grateful for any movement of this energy
- Wrists: I’m open and willing to release this anxiety completely
- Top of the head: From every cell in my body and every fiber of my being
Tapping for Anxiety and Fear: Closing
Close your practice by taking a nice deep breath. Put all of your awareness on how anxious you feel at this moment. Has your feeling of overwhelm shifted, or released a little? Check in with your body and your emotions. Determine whether the intensity has gone up, stayed the same, or released a bit after that round. Record on a scale of 0-10 again.
If you have the time, I strongly recommend you continue tapping through the issue until the intensity has decreased to a 1 or 2. Once you’ve reached this point, spend time visualizing yourself feeling calm and centered in your body.
When your energy wants to travel back up to your head – don’t let it. Gently bring it back down and focus on your breathing until you feel grounded again.
EFT tapping for anxiety and fear is not a one-and-done process. This is a practice that will need to be done over and over until it feels routine. It takes time to build the muscle to stay grounded, but it’s well worth the effort.
The good news is you don’t have to go it alone. You can gain more guidance from my tapping videos or get additional EFT tapping scripts for anxiety and fear on my new app, available on Google Play and the App Store. Whether you’re interested in tapping for anxiety, reaching your goals, getting better sleep, or many other topics, you can find these topics on the app.
