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Emotional Freedom Technique

Bikewer

Penultimate Amazing
Bikewer
Joined
Sep 12, 2003
Messages
13,242
Location
St. Louis, Mo.
The local (KMOV-TV) news last night ran a segment on a "miraculous" weight-loss technique that has the side benefits of producing less stress, improved general health, etc, etc.

I watched the segment:

http://www.kmov.com/video/topvideo-index.html?nvid=247220
(streaming video)

Which has a bunch of people tapping on themselves and relating amazing tales of how they cured phobias, lost weight, and made long standing emotional distress go away.

According to Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_Freedom_Techniques

This is a simplification of "Thought Field Therapy", and was developed by an individual named Craig in the 1990s.

According to the article, one apparently taps on various "meridians" on the body to restore the flow (blah, blah)...
Wiki lists several peer reviewed studies. Positive results were reported in two, but did not appear to make any difference if the subject tapped on the "correct" spot or anywhere on the body at random. Or on a doll...
This led Skeptical Inquirer to refer to the practice as pseudoscience.

Any effect would be attributed to the distraction from whatever "negative thoughts" are annoying the individual, and the positive aspect of "doing something" to alleviate the craving, headache, depression, or whatever might be taking place.
Perhaps an interesting study of the placebo effect.

Evidently, this is getting a lot of publicity on the internet, no doubt due to it's simplicity and the fact that it's free....Googling "EFT" yields a page of hits.
 
Damn! i thought it was supposed to be Azaleas. Still a fat git, and i wondered why it wasnt working.
 
I found that by repeatedly poking out my tongue and rubbing the top of my head and my belly in a circular motion while hopping on one leg, I could make myself laugh.

I haven't thought of a name for it yet -- go ahead and invent one if you'd like -- but I offer it as my contribution to making the world a better place.

And it's free.


M.
 
Bikewer said:
The local (KMOV-TV) news last night ran a segment on a "miraculous" weight-loss technique that has the side benefits of producing less stress, improved general health, etc, etc.

I watched the segment:

http://www.kmov.com/video/topvideo-index.html?nvid=247220
(streaming video)

Which has a bunch of people tapping on themselves and relating amazing tales of how they cured phobias, lost weight, and made long standing emotional distress go away.

According to Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_Freedom_Techniques

This is a simplification of "Thought Field Therapy", and was developed by an individual named Craig in the 1990s.

According to the article, one apparently taps on various "meridians" on the body to restore the flow (blah, blah)...
Wiki lists several peer reviewed studies. Positive results were reported in two, but did not appear to make any difference if the subject tapped on the "correct" spot or anywhere on the body at random. Or on a doll...
This led Skeptical Inquirer to refer to the practice as pseudoscience.

Any effect would be attributed to the distraction from whatever "negative thoughts" are annoying the individual, and the positive aspect of "doing something" to alleviate the craving, headache, depression, or whatever might be taking place.
Perhaps an interesting study of the placebo effect.

Evidently, this is getting a lot of publicity on the internet, no doubt due to it's simplicity and the fact that it's free....Googling "EFT" yields a page of hits.
Click to expand...

Well, it is endorsed by Deepak Chopra, so it MUST work....:D

You can even download a free manual from Gary Craigs website:
http://www.emofree.com/LearnEFT.htm

I agree - placebo.
 
I had an entire weekend "training" in this as part of a hypnotherapy course some years ago.

Tap, clap, do whatever the heck you like as long as the victim...oops...client believes in it.

Yep. Placebo all the way.

More here.
 
EFT looks ridiculous and that totally makes it look stupid but anyway, I tried this with a woman.

Her problem was that... she was a passenger in the car while the husband was driving toward the local-mountains and it was icy/snowy. They eventually skidded and crashed really bad against the mountain. Ever since then, she had a constant anxiety as a passenger in a car from any lane-changing or speeding or anything abrupt. As a driver though, she was fine, no worries or fears or anxiety.

Anyway, she had this issue for at least 2 years since the accident. I spent about 10 minutes doing this ridiculous tapping (and wow do *i* look stupid in the process, yes, yes i do), and from then on she never had that anxiety anymore.

I saw her usually twice a week (she was an ex's relative) and would ask her randomly, even months down the line whether she had the anxiety and she said, nope, it's gone for sure. So.. yea maybe it is a placebo effect, or maybe it's not, but hey.. it helped get rid of her fear, somehow, someway, and that's cool with me. And as you, the reader, who may be a skeptic (or a nihilist) will just call it anecdotal and meaningless and downgrade it to bunk, that's cool with me too.

Peace.
 
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The Wiki article and the two peer-reviewed studies indicated an effect, but the effect is not caused by the reasons given for proponents of the "system".

The EFT folks apparently feel that this is similar in effect to "acupressure" with all of it's nonsense about blocked "meridians" and "energy flows" and all that.

The effect would almost certainly appear to be simply psychological, which does not mean that it might not work for some percentage of people.
1. You are doing something positive to achieve whatever your goal is.
2. In addition, this positive feedback is augmented by the placebo effect.

I can see where this would be very similar in effect to "ear stapling" for similar complaints; smoking, weight loss, etc.
 
Bumping this. KOTV in Tulsa just ran a story with a very pseudoscientific test almost completely favoring the EFT side. Come to think of it, there wasn't the slightest bit of scientific oversight whatsoever. It bothers me, considering I work at the station.

It's not linked on our site right now. I'll post a link when and if the internet goons put it up.

ETA: Just found the old SWIFT article about Mr. Craig. Sending it to the reporter who did the story. I anticipate it having zero effect.
 
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There is only one mental trick to achieving an aim:- holding your awareness of that aim constantly in mind.
This sounds easy, but ain't. How often did you decide "Today is the day I start a diet", only to forget all about it until the third doughnut?

Any trick at all that keeps you focussed can help. Write it on your hand, note on the fridge, point at geraniums*, ask everyone around you to remind you, tie a knot in your handkerchief, tie a knot in your tongue.

This is so banal that only a genius could think of it. Or a cultist. Or a kid. Or anybody.

* I'm not so sure about this one. Not many geraniums in my life.
 
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