Is EFT just a form of distraction?
QUESTION: What about the possibility that it’s just distraction that makes EFT work? It is distracting to tap and say those phrases?
ANSWER: There may well be a distraction element in EFT, but we know from experience as well as research that distraction alone does not create the kind of solid, long lasting effects that we so often see following learning of EFT.
For example, if you distract a child or puppy from something that is bothering them, this particular event or person may not bother them later providing they happen to forget about it. But suppose that child or puppy (or it could be an adult for that matter) has an ongoing problem, such as a fear of spiders that they have had all their life. You simply can’t distract a person from a fear such as this more than momentarily, that fear will simply snap right back in place. But the opposite happens with EFT, if the method is applied correctly with all relevant Aspects addressed, the problem is usually gone permanently.
Another point to think about is that in EFT, the Reminder phrase, which you repeat at every tapping point, focuses your attention on your problem, rather than distracting you from it. You keep repeating words which bring back the problem to your mind over and over again as you tap. This suggests that it cannot be a distraction effect or at least not a type of distraction which is similar to any that we have seen previously.
Do other people have these kinds of doubts?
Yes. Some people don’t know whether EFT is the agent that is helping them and they may then conclude that it is not the cause of their feeling better.
I have, seen dramatic instances of change occur right before my eyes with EFT – seen a person’s face relax, their whole attitude change and them end their session with lifelong fears removed – and yet they seemed to be Questionnaire unaware that EFT had played any part in this almost miraculous change. What I say to such people is “As long as you feel better that’s what matters. If you want to give another explanation for the improvement, then by all means do that.”
Then I’m not alone in my uncertainty?
This phenomenon of reluctance to attribute change to such an unfamiliar procedure as EFT is, in fact, is so common it even has a name. It is called the “Apex effect” and EFT’s founder, Gary Craig, has written extensively about it in his excellent manual for basic EFT.
To sum up my answer, I would say that since you can never really prove that it is EFT that helped you in an individual instance (only research using large numbers of people can “prove” that EFT works), whatever explanation feels comfortable to you, apply it. I do suggest, however, that you keep using EFT if you think there’s even a possibility that it has been responsible for some improvement in your life, and that you at least keep an open mind on the subject. It’s just possible that EFT had something to do with the changes that you, your family or friends, are seeing in you since you started to use the technique.
EFT Master, Dr. Patricia Carrington
