I found this article today about tapping. It’s something I have recently begun, and am finding it quite therapeutic. Has anyone tried it, or heard about it? I was quite surprised at the results actually. It isn’t just about relieving stress and anxiety, it can be done simply to boost your mood for the day, or help you focus on a particular situation, as well as pain relief.
For those who have a smart phone, I can recommend this app too…there are free exercises to try out, as well as paid ones if you choose
I used it some years ago when i had a break down ., and more recently when a neighbour came to ask about my husband , before i could speak I started to tap above my top lip just below the nose , this calmed me enough to tell her he had died , although i couldnt stop the tears rolling down my face , i didnt fall apart .
So for me it did work and id use it again in stressful situations .
Eliza, I’m so sorry for the loss of your husband. I’m really glad tapping works for you and that it’s something you can call on whenever you need it. I haven’t quite got to the stage where it’s the first thing I do if I’m upset or stressed, but I’m doing it in the mornings to start off the day well. Hopefully it will become a habit. My daughter does it as well, I just discovered the other day!
I’m glad it helps you, Swimmy. I always thought the elastic band on the wrist was to help remember things (association)…but then, now I think about it, I’m assuming it works by bringing your focus back into the present moment? Interesting, thanks!
I had a Latin master that used walk round the class and would stop next to you to ask a question. As soon as he asked the question he would start tapping on your head with a wooden ruler, if the answer took too long he would turn the ruler so the edge was tapping on your head (this was not a gentle tap).
I wonder if it works partly by releasing kinetic energy with the tapping motion, like people who jerk their legs or fidget with things and fidget rings?
I don’t think tapping would be for me, I’d feel daft, but I do spin my worry beads to relax and that’s supposed to work by relieving physical tension
Tapping is a focused action designed to activate your meridian points around the body.
Fidget toys, rings, spinning, and twitching is a more absent release of energy. It might momentarily distract you - even relax you a little bit, but it doesn’t have the same effect on the entire body (or be as long lasting) as tapping does
I’m not sure I believe in the meridian point thing, though, it always sounds like a bit of a con and witchdoctor medicine to me, but I’ll keep an open mind
I suspect if the tapping works it’s more because of the distraction factor than because it’s releasing energies in the body, but who knows?
Fast worry bead spinning releases the physical tension from frustrations and anger you feel that you can’t let out by bopping someone on the nose or fight or flight
I think I probably need that more than energy from my meridian points!
I’ve been looking into tapping for a while now. There are more and more scientific studies on the efficacy of tapping as time goes along.
Like a lot of remedies, people don’t know exactly why it works. It’s easier to study the effects, which has more positive evidence all the time. This is one theory as to why it works based on the science. It’s based on the idea that stimulating certain points signals the amygdala to calm the body via the vagus nerve.
Here are some scientific studies.
From the National Institute of Health
Since 2015, there have been many more studies.
Here’s an article with more meta-analysis and studies.
I would perhaps describe it more as ‘patting’ rather than tapping perhaps?
Done gently, in the right place and sequence, and with the ‘pads’ of your finger tips, it can be very soothing.
There again, different things work for different people.
I love a foot massage, but others may not like that.
I also have used the 'TTouch, on my dogs. It is a series of gentle circular movements made with your hands on their skin. They love it.
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