EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)...coming to a CFS clinic near you? & a possible advocacy opportunity?

JemPD

JemPD

Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Wasn't sure where to post this, but i was watching a tv drama & someone was recommended EFT - Emotional Freedom Technique.... which is tapping on the so called 'meridians', to get rid of unwanted emotional distress & also physical pain/ailments especially 'MUS' etc.

I seemed to remember some mention of it being used for ME/CFS, so being a curious soul i looked it up. First 2 things that came up on google were a blog post illustrating why the purported 'evidence' doesnt hold up, written by a Psychiatrist (from Oxford... uh oh :cautious: ) which seems the type of analysis of actual evidence vs spin that might be credible?
https://psychiatrysho.wordpress.com...tional-freedom-therapy-is-dangerous-nonsense/

And a pdf of a leaflet from Derbyshire NHS Trust - which gave me the creeps because it remeinded me a bit of the L.P.
http://www.dchs.nhs.uk/assets/public/dchs/services_we_provide/service-directory/our-services/health-psychology/Energy Therapies/Emotional Freedom Technique - short form.pdf

I cant help but think that this may be the next thing, the next quackery we have to deal with, or even already being used in CFS clinics? googling certainly brings up a plethora of 'My CFS cure through EFT' type pages, that i havent the energy or heart to read, but i thought it's something appropriate for this forum to be aware of & discuss. I'm not up to any kind of thorough research into it but I thought it might be worth us looking into as a group if others are interested, as i'd be intrigued to know if there is actually any evidence for efficacy, for any condition.

Does anyone else have any knowledge or experience of it? (If anyone here has found EFT helpful I in no way intend to invalidate anyone's positive experiences & would very much like to hear about them if there are any)


Edit - sorry changed post then forgot to change title... i had thought that possibly the psychiatrist blogger might be someone we could ask to help in our situation, but given he also writes for LAncet Psychiatry, Mental Elf & his location is oxford... it seems unlikely.
 
A musician friend has used it surprisingly successfully for dealing with stage fright or pre performance nerves. Her anxiety was having a significant effect on her ability to work. Once taking the booking her anxiety would build as she agreed a programme of pieces, etc often resulting in her cancelling the gig. EFT seemed to have the objective consequence of improving her income. Certainly to her the effect felt almost miraculous.

Though she believed the idea that it was working via specific ‘meridians’, I wondered if over and above any placebo effect, the act of stopping her normal patterns of behaviour, doing something different and focusing on her body may have helped her be more ‘mindful’ and move out of habitual thought patterns.

So I could see how it might indirectly impact on anxiety or related issues for some people, without there being any sense behind its theoretical basis. However, to work on pain or biomedical conditions makes no sense.
 
Peter Trewhitt said:
A musician friend has used it surprisingly successfully for dealing with stage fright or pre performance nerves. Her anxiety was having a significant effect on her ability to work. Once taking the booking her anxiety would build as she agreed a programme of pieces, etc often resulting in her cancelling the gig. EFT seemed to have the objective consequence of improving her income. Certainly to her the effect felt almost miraculous.

Though she believed the idea that it was working via specific ‘meridians’, I wondered if over and above any placebo effect, the act of stopping her normal patterns of behaviour, doing something different and focusing on her body may have helped her be more ‘mindful’ and move out of habitual thought patterns.

So I could see how it might indirectly impact on anxiety or related issues for some people, without there being any sense behind its theoretical basis. However, to work on pain or biomedical conditions makes no sense.
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I suspect this, like quite a few therapies, are related to hypnosis and similar things/states. So after being hypnotised, one can train yourself or another person to be relaxed by say holding a particular finger and thumb together. Similarly one might associate tapping with a similar response.
 
I think it's a distraction technique. Reminds me of the things I do when in the dentists chair. For example trying to wriggle each of my toes separately, playing tunes with my fingers, counting backwards in sevens, etc. It gives the mind something to focus on to distract from the anxiety.
 
Peter Trewhitt said:
I wondered if over and above any placebo effect, the act of stopping her normal patterns of behaviour, doing something different and focusing on her body may have helped her be more ‘mindful’ and move out of habitual thought patterns.

So I could see how it might indirectly impact on anxiety or related issues for some people[...]
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@JemPD Were you watching the latest episode of Jane the Virgin? :) So funny, she was frantically tapping out that complicated pattern, and when someone asked her if it was helping, she replied something along the lines of 'at least trying to remember the pattern takes my mind off the anxiety' :laugh:
 
I can't help but wonder if a few well placed "The Onion" style news pieces would best illustrate the point of how very silly all of these mental techniques are for anything beyond specific and limited mental issues like situational anxiety.

But since CBT et al want to expand their tentacles into every crevice of health care I grow concerned even fake news that sounded simultaneously real and also crazy would still fail (say something along the lines of walking on hot coals cures herpes).

Fighting this is like whack a mole. The fight needs to be against the whole not each individual part. They can sort it out later if it still seems useful for some limited something.
 
mango said:
@JemPD Were you watching the latest episode of Jane the Virgin? :) So funny, she was frantically tapping out that complicated pattern, and when someone asked her if it was helping, she replied something along the lines of 'at least trying to remember the pattern takes my mind off the anxiety' :laugh:
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Hahaha YES! that's exactly it! i love that show :laugh: It was a funny episode this time. the narrator makes me howl. i so sad it's over nxt wk.

Sorry everyone, off topic
 
Peter Trewhitt said:
A musician friend has used it surprisingly successfully for dealing with stage fright or pre performance nerves. Her anxiety was having a significant effect on her ability to work. Once taking the booking her anxiety would build as she agreed a programme of pieces, etc often resulting in her cancelling the gig. EFT seemed to have the objective consequence of improving her income. Certainly to her the effect felt almost miraculous.

Though she believed the idea that it was working via specific ‘meridians’, I wondered if over and above any placebo effect, the act of stopping her normal patterns of behaviour, doing something different and focusing on her body may have helped her be more ‘mindful’ and move out of habitual thought patterns.

So I could see how it might indirectly impact on anxiety or related issues for some people, without there being any sense behind its theoretical basis. However, to work on pain or biomedical conditions makes no sense.
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Sounds a lot like any distraction would work. I've done several live shows, it's a lot of fun. I just concentrated on the music and it was frankly not much different from just playing in our space. But I can imagine people being really concerned about screwing up, giving a bad performance. It doesn't take much, but it goes both ways. Doesn't take much to worry and doesn't take much to distract from the worry. Once you're on stage it just flows, the years of practice sort of take over. It's the getting there that needs to be distracted, right up to the first note.

Probably anything that is structured enough would work just as well, nothing specific with one technique over another. Those "techniques" are a dime a dozen and no more scientifically validated than scientology or astrology. But as a medical treatment, that's just BS.
 
Snowdrop said:
Fighting this is like whack a mole.
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It's just so frustrating how they keep dressing the mole up in a different outfit or package and expect us to buy into this new "shinier" version. It's the same doggone mole!!!

Isn't that in itself the definition of insanity, i.e. doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?
 
Just to clarify - i dont know that this is being used for ME in NHS... when i said in the OP "& even already being used in CFS clinics?" i put the question mark there for a reason. - ie to ask if it is.
 
ITM 2021 | Day 2, Topic: EFT Tapping for ME/CFS and Long Covid from Practitioner Jacqui Footman
Welcome to International EFT Tapping Month 2021! It's every August! Today is Day 2, and the Topic is "EFT Tapping for ME/CFS and Long Covid" with practitioner Jacqui Footman. ME = Myalgic Encephalomyelitis CFS = Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
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Code: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCdjdjIeQl0
 
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