EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique, or “tapping”) is a really effective technique to help quickly bring down stress in the moment, which means that it can be extremely helpful in everyday challenging situations.
There are many reasons why you might want to tap or use EFT outdoors or in public, and in some situations you may feel uncomfortable doing so. In modern life we routinely encounter situations that we often react to with strong emotions, and it is this ongoing stress that can build up to become chronic and create problems in our lives. (Read more about the harmful effects of chronic stress in this blog.)
When might we want to tap in public?
There are many situations where we might potentially feel anxious, nervous, worried, stressed, irritated, frustrated, helpless, angry, worthless, guilty, and so on. Here are just a few common examples:
- In the doctor’s or dentist’s waiting room
- During medical procedures or vaccinations
- Your children throw a tantrum
- Stuck in traffic
- Late for an appointment
- During a work meeting
- At lunch with the in-laws
- In any social situation
- On a first date
- Before or during an exam, driving test or job interview
Why might we not want others to know?
Sometimes it can feel inappropriate, embarrassing, or conspicuous to tap. Most people are not familiar with the technique, and we may attract attention, or even comments and questions. We may not always feel like explaining what we are doing (especially when feeling emotionally heightened.)
We may feel uncomfortable about others’ perceptions of us – will they think we are “weird” or “woo-woo,” and is this the time we want to deal with that on top of whatever is bothering us?
Considering hygiene
Sometimes when we are out, we may feel our hands are not clean enough to touch our face for the full tapping sequence. As the world became aware during the pandemic, it is important to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth if you may have picked up germs on your hands in a public place. Some of these tips can help when you want to avoid touching your face. (Also see my video on No Face Tapping.)
5 Ways to use EFT in public
1. Touch and breathe
This is one of my go-to techniques. It is less obvious than tapping, and can often be done without others noticing. Instead of tapping, gently touch each point in turn and breathe in and out once as you hold each point. (See my video on Touch and Breathe.)
2. Use the finger points
It is often less obtrusive to tap, squeeze or hold the finger points, and this can even be done under your arms (with arms folded), or under a table or off the Zoom screen. You can stimulate the point of one hand with that same hand, which makes it quite versatile for different situations. (Suitable for no-face tapping.) (See my video on EFT tapping in public.)
3. Hold or massage one or two points
Although for best results with EFT it is best to tap through all of the main points, in moments of emotional intensity it can still be effective to stimulate just one or two points.
This can look “normal” to other people – for example, you can place your thumb and fingers on the two Collarbone points and either hold or gently massage them. Holding or massaging the Side of the Eye or Eyebrow points can look like you are soothing a headache. (Can be suitable for no-face tapping.) (See my video on EFT tapping in public.)
4. Imagine tapping
If you are very familiar with the tapping points, it is effective to simply imagine tapping. In a recent study[1], it was found that the brain responded in the same way to “imaginal tapping” as it does when the points are physically tapped.
The disadvantage of this method is that it does require some mental concentration, so it may be less suitable in some situations, for example, if you are talking or listening to someone speak. It can work very well during medical procedures as it gives you something else to focus on, and sometimes we need to keep still, or are not able to move our hands easily. (Suitable for no-face tapping.)
5. Just do it!
Sometimes it really is OK to just tap in front of people! It can be a great opportunity to work through your fears of what others will think, and can lead to great conversations and sharing of the technique with others.
[1] Dina Wittfoth et al, 2020: Emotion regulation through bifocal processing of fear inducing and disgust inducing stimuli. BMC Neuroscience 21, Article number 47. Available at https://rdcu.be/dOFFD
