Nearly three years in, we are finally feeling some relief from the stress and anxiety that accompanied living through a global pandemic.
As mothers, it has felt like three years of constant stress and coping. Even without COVID, the pressure that moms feel daily can lead to chronic stress and anxiety. Many of my clients have struggled trying to cope on their own and come to me seeking relief from the discomfort of high stress in the body and mind. I teach my clients a variety of skills, filling their toolbox with resources to manage their anxiety even after they leave our session.
One such technique is Tapping also referred to as the Emotional Freedom Technique. Despite the growing popularity of tapping in recent years, many people still are in the dark about what it is and how it can help their symptoms.
What Is Tapping?
Tapping is actually rooted in the ancient science of Chinese medicine, meaning it’s been around for a long time. It involves accessing and stimulating the body’s meridian points to redirect energy similar to acupressure and acupuncture. But rather than using needles to alter the energy flow in the body, tapping uses either light pressure or a tapping sequence applied by the fingertips while repeating a phrase called a “Setup Statement”.
Before the tapping sequence begins, I ask clients to rate the level of their anxiety related to the statement on a scale of 1-10. The aim is to lessen the level of distress by at least a couple of points after the session.
What Is a Setup Statement?
Prior to initiating a tapping sequence with clients, we work together to identify the distressing feelings they are having and what they view to be the root causes of those feelings. Then we create a statement that allows the client to acknowledge the cause of their anxiety along with some language about accepting situations as they are. For instance, for the mom who has been solo-parenting through the deployment of their military spouse, the setup statement might be “Even though I feel anxious that I am juggling all the parenting by myself, I am okay, my kids are okay, and we are safe.”
I walk clients through the tapping sequence repeating the statement.
This helps tie the distressing emotion, experience, or thought to the situation while decreasing or lessening the intensity of emotion around it. We go through this tapping exercise three times together and, in the end, I ask clients to tune into the distressing emotion and rate its intensity again, hoping for at least a one-point reduction. While one point doesn’t sound like much, it’s actually really great to see any decrease in distress and, over time, the effect is cumulative.
How Does Tapping Help?
For many people, it’s not just one stressful situation they come to therapy to resolve but rather a culmination of stress and the daily micro-traumas of life. Many clients are looking for a way to find comfort and stability in a world that never slows down, where new challenges are always arising. When the central nervous system is under such chronic stress for prolonged periods of time, the body is continuously flooded with high cortisol levels making it challenging and even impossible to relax or get out of a hypervigilant state.
The idea is that by tapping or applying pressure to the meridian points, it helps calm the central nervous system, decrease cortisol levels, relax the body, and ultimately rewire the brain.
Why Use Tapping As Part Of Your Therapy Plan?
Tapping is a useful tool for those seeking a simple way to calm down when feeling anxious. It's not a tool that requires you to carve out time and space for every day. Rather, it's a technique I can incorporate into my therapy sessions and is a tool clients can easily use outside of sessions. Clients can incorporate it into their day-to-day to break the stress response cycle. Say you simply had a challenging morning, you can tap on the spots that are most useful for you and say something as simple as “Even though I feel anxious, I’m okay.” Just doing that can lessen the intensity of that emotion and calm the central nervous system down.
If you’ve been trying to cope with anxiety on your own but haven’t experienced relief from the symptoms, check out The Tapping Solution to learn more.
Begin Working With An Online Therapist in Honolulu, HI
I am familiar with the struggles mothers face in coping with anxiety. This is why I’m happy to offer in-person and online support across the states of Colorado, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Florida. You can start your therapy journey by following these simple steps:
Schedule a free 15-minute consultation via phone or video
Start learning new tools to cope with anxiety
Other Services Offered with Ashley Clark Comegys
I am happy to offer a variety of mental health support options to residents of Colorado, Hawaii, and Louisiana. Mental health services I offer include therapy for anxiety, online postpartum depression treatment, online postpartum support, and online depression treatment. I’m also happy to offer online grief counseling for women, military spouse therapy, and online trauma treatment for women. Visit my blog or about page to learn more today!