Recently, after many “quiet” years, I woke up in the middle of the night with an anxiety attack. Fortunately, and unfortunately for all of the prior “experience”, I knew what I had to do. And what I could do easily. Tap. That’s it. Tap.
Tapping, the common term for EFT: Emotional Freedom Techniques, refers to tapping with your fingertips on certain acupuncture points to send a calming signal to the brain which, in turn, calms the body’s anxiety response.
What I did was tap rapidly and constantly on my collarbone points. They are my “go to” points. In the past, I have tapped rapidly and constantly on all the points, around and around and around. This time it took me 5-10 minutes, although in the past I remember it taking about 15 minutes to feel very calm. I also find something distracting, to take my mind off of it, like watching television or surfing the internet. That’s what has worked for me.
My three tips to calm an anxiety attack are:
• Begin tapping and tap constantly until you feel calm. You’ll know it.
• Tap on one point or a couple or all of them, over and over and over until you feel calm.
• Don’t worry about “what to say” as words are often an important part of the EFT healing process. No words are necessary. Simply tap. You’ll feel calmer before you know it.
You’ll also feel a sense of relief and confidence because you’ll know what to do “next” time.
