Using tapping to ease stress
I recently gave a talk on the benefits of tapping to ease stress, and I wrote the following tapping script that we used during the talk. This is intended for day to day stresses, not deeper wounds.
Think about something that causes stress or tension in your body. Keep it ‘basic’ as now is not the time to bring up difficult situations. Please take responsibility for yourself.
Once you have something in mind, really tune into it and notice where you feel the stress in your body. The more we allow ourselves to fully feel it, the more effective the tapping will be.
Notice if it has a colour, a shape, a texture for example. Sometimes it is easier to identify the feeling more visually or metaphorically. And then give it a rating out of 10. 10 would be the most stress.
Now, tapping on the side of the hand repeat after me:
Even though I feel stressed, it’s uncomfortable and sitting in my body and it’s a ..out of 10, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
Even though I feel stressed, it’s uncomfortable and sitting in my body and it’s a ..out of 10, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
Even though I feel stressed and I feel it
In my arms
In my legs
In my stomach
In my heartbeat
In my sweaty palms
I choose to love, honor and accept myself anyway
EB – all this stress
SE – All this stress
UE – These stressed feelings
UN – Building up
UC – Sitting in my body
CB – Making me feel so tense
UA – Causing this tightness in my body
TH – Affecting how I think
EB – I can’t think straight
SE – When I feel so stressed
UE – I don’t know what to do
UN – I feel so anxious
UC – I can’t get rid of this stress
CB – Nothing seems to work
UA – I’m just getting more stressed
TH – I can’t work out what to do
EB – I’m so tired
SE – I feel so overwhelmed
UE – I’m exhausted by it all
UN – Nothing’s working
UC – I just want to get rid of it
CB – I want it to go away
UA – I need to make some changes
TH – Because I can’t cope with all this stress
EB – I wonder what will help
SE – What do I need to do differently
UE – I’m trying to work it out
UN – I keep thinking about what I can do
UC – But that’s not helping
CB – Maybe I need to take a break from thinking about it all, because thinking about it isn’t helping me
UA – Maybe I could take a break
TH – And allow my body to calm down
EB – Come to think of it
SE – I’m focusing on all the negative aspects of this stress
UE – Maybe I could look at this in another way
UN – Because I know I’m overthinking this
UC – I wonder if I could improve my breathing
CB – To help calm my mind down, I may even start to think more clearly
UA – I choose to take some deeper breaths
TH – I’m allowing my body to relax
EB – Allowing my body to relax with each breath
SE – Letting the stress in my body dissolve
UE – Letting go with each breath
UN – I choose to feel lighter in my body
UC – Letting go of the overthinking
CB – I choose to feel calm and relaxed
UA – I choose to take some deeper breaths
TH – I’m allowing myself to relax in body mind and spirit.
Take a deep breath and we’ll continue –
EB – I choose to feel calm
SE – I choose calm
UE – I am calm
UN – I am calm
Remember to breathe
UC – I am calm
CB – I am calm
UA – I am calm
TH – I am calm
Take a deep breath and tune in to the stress you felt earlier. Without over thinking it, what number would you put the stress at now?
You may be feeling lighter about the problem, maybe it doesn’t seem quite as stressful as before. You might possibly notice that you think differently about the problem.
Have you noticed a change? Do another round and notice the change then. Persistence is key. We get the best results with tapping when we are specific and persistent, don't give up after one round as this does not mean it isn't, or won't work.
I have used some very general statements here to help give you a taste of tapping. During an actual session the statements would be more personalised to an individual issue or problem. This is advisable if you have a longer standing, or more in depth problems.