How exactly does tapping really work?

Feb 9
2 min read

How Tapping (EFT) May Help the Mind and Body

EFT – Emotional Freedom Techniques can help people feel calmer, less distressed, and more emotionally balanced.

Tapping involves gently tapping on specific points on the face and body while thinking about a stressful feeling, memory, or problem. At first glance it might seem unusual, but a growing body of research helps explain what’s happening inside the body and brain.

What the research found

1. Tapping helps calm the nervous system. When we’re anxious or traumatised, the body can get stuck in fight-or-flight mode. Research shows that tapping sends calming signals to the brain, particularly to areas involved in fear and emotional stress. This can help the body shift out of survival mode and into a safer, calmer and healing state (rest and digest).

2. Stress hormones are reduced. Studies have found that tapping can lower levels of cortisol, the body’s main stress hormone. Lower cortisol is linked with feeling more relaxed, sleeping better, and thinking more clearly.

3. Emotions feel less overwhelming. Tapping while focusing on a difficult thought or memory may help the brain “re-store” that memory in a less distressing way. This means people can often think about painful experiences without being flooded by emotion, which is a key part of healing.

4. The effects aren’t just placebo. Some studies compared tapping with talk-based approaches alone and found that including the tapping itself made a difference. This suggests it’s not just distraction or positive thinking — the physical tapping appears to play an important role.

5. Both mind and body are involved. Rather than working only through talking, tapping works from the body up and the mind down at the same time. This is especially helpful for people who feel “stuck”, overwhelmed, or who struggle to talk their way out of distress.

What this means for people seeking counselling

Tapping can be a gentle, non-invasive tool to reduce anxiety, stress, trauma responses, and emotional overwhelm.
It can be especially helpful if talk therapy alone hasn’t felt enough.
Many people report feeling calmer quite quickly in body and mind, while also gaining longer-term emotional relief.
It can be used alongside other evidence-based therapies, not instead of them.

In short

This research suggests that tapping helps by calming the nervous system, reducing stress hormones, and helping the brain process difficult emotions more safely. While it once seemed unconventional, science is now catching up with what many clients and therapists have noticed in practice: tapping can support emotional healing in a very real, physiological way.

EFT/Tapping reviewed for treatment of PTSD

EFT tapping has shown to be an alternative method for managing PTSD and complex PTSD. It has been shown to help some people reduce the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder — like anxiety, flashbacks, and emotional distress — by calming the nervous system and easing emotional reactions. While more research is needed, tapping may be useful alongside other treatments.