How Can EFT Tapping Help Me Get Sober?

This is one of the first questions that I am asked by people who approach me when they are looking for support to stop drinking or using other substances.

To give full justice to this question, I’ll start by introducing EFT for anyone who’s not familiar with it.

What is EFT?

EFT is a therapeutic modality, it stands for Emotional Freedom Techniques and is more widely known as “tapping”. Despite the two terms sometimes being used interchangeably, there is a difference between EFT — or rather Clinical EFT — and tapping, and I’ll cover that a bit further down.

Clinical EFT is an evidence-based modality which brings together elements of cognitive, somatic and exposure therapy with the manual stimulation of acupuncture points. It has been described as “an emotional acupuncture without needles” because it is based on the Chinese acupuncture meridian system. The principle behind EFT is that mind and body are intrinsically interconnected and are part of the same system.

From a neuroscience perspective, this evidence-based technique appears to decrease stress and foster cognitive shifts by sending a calming signal to the amygdala, the stress centre of our brain. The tapping has been shown to deactivate the “threat response” that is triggered as a reaction to a stimulus perceived as unsafe. Tapping also decreases the production of cortisol, the primary stress hormone. This, as a result, triggers a cognitive shift in people who, consequently, are able to make different choices.

EFT is used both in coaching/clinical environments and as a self-administered practice and it is composed of many different techniques, aimed at addressing a different range of issues according to their level of intensity.

What does it look like?

EFT is administered by gently “tapping” with your fingertips on a number of acupressure points that are located on the head, face, hands and torso. When we tap , whilst focusing on a specific memory, event, trigger, thought or behaviour that stirs uncomfortable emotions within us, these unpleasant emotions are decreased or released. Clinical EFT is also the protocol that is followed in research trials and whose results are then published in peer-reviewed journals.

What is “tapping” then?

Tapping is more of an umbrella term for any practice that involves the physical tapping of acupoints on the body. You may see tapping being used in Yoga classes and in QiQong practices. A few practitioners have also created their own personal brand of tapping by making changes to the original EFT protocol. And, finally, social media has become a repository of videos where tapping appears to be used in the most diverse ways.

I wanted to make this distinction because in my work I use Clinical EFT and, to avoid any confusion, every time I mention EFT or tapping, that is the modality I am referring to.

EFT and Sobriety

When it comes to alcohol, you can just imagine the Pandora’s box of emotions, thoughts, triggers and behaviours connected to our personal use and abuse of alcohol.

The history of our drinking habit is dotted with events that happened even before we started consuming alcohol and where, more often than not, we can find the trajectory leading up to our drinking becoming problematic.

Once we start drinking, there will be all the misconstrued benefits that alcohol gave us when we were using and abusing it; the worries and concerns of what the future might hold in a world that keeps on drinking when we are contemplating stopping; there will be a whole life to readjust in such a world so that we can live in it happily ever after.

EFT is a great resource that anyone can use. It can help us navigate past events more smoothly, by processing and clearing all the undesirable, spiky and stressful emotions that are intrinsically interwoven into them.

A few examples

Despite the dust that settles on many of our memories, some of you may still remember having your first drink, or at least the most memorable one; the one that changed everything for you. Some of you will be able to recall to some extent what you were feeling before and after you had your first drink.

It might have been your first party where you felt awkward and out of place. Or maybe you started drinking at home because that’s simply what your caregivers did and the situation was difficult. Maybe it all started in a park with your peers, wanting to belong, and thanks to that beer, you found some kind of relief from the sense of uneasiness and turmoil you were inhabited by.

If a person recognises that the memory of a certain event bears a particular significance to how their drinking developed, or if a difficult memory just comes up whilst tapping (and it’s never a coincidence), an experienced practitioner is able to work with that memory and clear the uncomfortable feelings brought up by remembering that situation.

Through the action of tapping and verbalising those feelings about what happened back then, those emotions will be released and the younger version of a person, which has been stuck in that tangled muddle ever since, can finally be freed.

An Advanced EFT Practitioner will also be able to so some wonderful inner child work to help that kid process whatever trauma they experienced, so that the attachment to alcohol can be partially -or even fully- released. If alcohol use was a way of coping with an unmet need, we can help the younger version of themselves feel that their needs have been met. It might take some time, but I have seen some true magic happen.

Another example where tapping can be successfully used is when we are trying to stop drinking, but just thinking about stopping, triggers a cascade of emotions connected to future scenarios we might find ourselves in. Some of them may be the fear of not being able to cope with problems anymore, the terror of having to face social situations without relying on the crutch of alcohol, or the absolute dread that your current, familiar, life will change unrecognisably. And anxiety. Loads of it. And all of that can be tapped on rather than having to be endured and having to white-knuckle through it.

These are only a couple of examples that can give you an idea of how EFT can be used to help you come to terms with your drinking and feel able to make different decisions that will change your life for the better.

As you might have realised, I’m really passionate about this subject and I believe that there can never be enough tools to help successfully lead an alcohol-free life. And EFT is another one. Needless to say — but I’ll say it anyway — whether the emotional or physical dependence relates to a substance or a behaviour, EFT can work just the same.

I hope this quick introduction about how EFT can offer support with getting sober has been helpful.

And remember, you can always tap into your Sober Rebel.

Thank you for reading and please feel free to join me on Instagram. I’d love to connect with you. Websites: www.soberrebel.co.uk, www.eastsussexeft.co.uk