How to relieve anxiety? You just need to do it for 10 minutes

Anxiety disorders are becoming an increasingly common phenomenon. As statistics show, every fourth adult Pole has struggled with this type of problem at least once in their life. It affects people of all ages, both older and younger. What to do to deal with it? Just do one simple activity for about 10 minutes.

“Tapping” as a method of alleviating anxiety

“Tapping” is used in the EFT trend. The acronym comes from the English words Emotional Freedom Techniques and loosely translated means techniques of emotional freedom. In other words, tapping is one way to release emotions and relieve stress and anxiety. In practice, it involves lightly “tapping” specific points on the body with your fingertips, such as:

• the top of the head,

• eyebrow,

• the corner of the eye, as well as the area above and below the eye,

• beard,

• collarbone,

• armpit area

• around the back of the hand (the back of the hand between the little finger and the ring finger).

This method is based on elements of psychology and Chinese medicine. As clinical psychologist Dr. Peta Stapleton notes, tapping reduces cortisol (the stress hormone) and lowers blood pressure. Many different studies have been conducted that prove the effectiveness of the technique in alleviating the symptoms of anxiety and stress (an average reduction of 40 percent within four days of using the method), as well as other disorders (such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder) and can bring very good results in combined with traditional forms of psychotherapy, for example cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Why does tapping work? According to scientists, this simple action activates the parasympathetic nervous system and triggers the body’s responses characteristic of a state of rest and relaxation (as opposed to stress, which stimulates the body’s “fight or flight” response). However, it is important to first identify the specific source of anxiety and its intensity and focus your attention on it while tapping, for example by naming the problem. It is worth paying attention to another very important issue here – EFT does not require precision or extensive experience. It does not matter whether you choose a specific side of the body or strictly stick to the order in which you tap points on the body. You can skip some of them.

What are the dangers of excessive anxiety?

Ignoring anxiety and downplaying stress can lead to many health problems, not only mental, but also physical. Tension felt for a long time may increase the risk of various diseases, such as hypertension or cancer.