EFT Tapping: Perfect Hack for ADHD Brains!
Wow, I have entered the rabbit hole of all rabbit holes – EFT tapping. Honestly, I thought this was just a curious little brain diversion, but it is proving to be an ADHD Swiss Army Knife tool worth looking at.
EFT is a tool to reduce anxiety, help to manifest our deepest desires (like more money or a soulmate), and even find lost things. I first mentioned EFT tapping as a tool to find missing things in Ways to Find Your Stuff Back.
Follow me, if you dare, into the world of EFT tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique) and discover the possibilites of this flexible tool.
Table of Contents
- What is EFT?
- EFT for Manifesting and Meditation
- EFT Tapping Script for Manifesting a Successful YouTube Channel
What is EFT?
EFT tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique) is a holistic practice based on acupuncture. Some people even refer to it as “psychological acupuncture.” It uses the body’s natural system to provide well-being. It involves tapping on specific meridian points (nine main ones to be exact, but there are others that exist outside of these) including face, body, and hands—similar to acupuncture—that relax the nervous sytem.
The tapping occurs while focusing on a particular issue or emotion you want to release and can be done while talking through or focusing on the specific problem. The technique helps reduce stress, anxiety, and emotional distress. By helping you feel calmer, you can make better decisions.
According to Dr. Peta Stapleton, “Tapping is a brief stress reduction intervention and uses a two finger tapping process on acupuncture points with a cognitive statement. EFT has been researched in clinical trials and has over 250 publications indicating its effectiveness for a range of concerns.”
Doing the EFT prep work can put you in the right frame of mind, shifting your brain into a more positive state!
How EFT Tapping Works
- You use your fingertips to tap on key points on your face and upper body.
- While tapping, you acknowledge a negative emotion or challenge.
- You then reframe the thought with positive affirmations.
- This process is believed to restore balance to the body’s energy system and reduce emotional intensity.
Tapping is done on specified meridian points – nine of the many identified, ancient acupressure points on the face, body, and hands – that help relax our sympathetic nervous system, or our fight or flight mode, and bring us to a calmer state.
Dr. Peta Stapleton mentions that in professional environments, patients are asked to rate how they feel when they start, on a scale from 1-10 before tapping. Asking for feedback again after the tapping session is a good way to assess the effectiveness of the session. The tapping is usually done in three rounds, with assessement taking place after each round.
I recommend Dr. Stapleton’s Youtube video on beginning EFT tapping. She precisely tells you where the exact points are, which can be vague when watching other people tap.
Benefits of EFT Tapping
Studies suggest EFT tapping can help with:
- Anxiety & Stress Reduction, including depression and PTSD – Lowers cortisol levels and promotes relaxation.
- Emotional Healing – Helps process trauma, fears, and limiting beliefs.
- Improved Focus & Confidence – Supports mental clarity and self-empowerment.
- Physiological issues such as pain, insomnia, and autoimmune conditions, professional performance, and biological markers of stress.1
Kate Moryoussef, a trained well-being coach, uses it to manage her stressors and challenges related to her ADHD, as well as her clients with ADHD. She addresses a host of issues including imposter syndrome, setting boundaries, food cravings, anxiety, low self-worth, limiting self-beliefs, and more.
Can EFT Be Harmful?
EFT tapping, while generally safe, can have some temporary side effects like increased emotional intensity or physical sensations. It’s also crucial to use it cautiously when dealing with mental health conditions like PTSD or trauma, where a licensed therapist can guide the process. In rare cases, tapping can bring up painful memories or repressed emotions.
Physical sensations include tingling, numbness, or slight discomfort may occur during or after a tapping session. These are often temporary and can be managed with further tapping.
Increased emotions can manifest as heightened feelings of sadness, anger, or anxiety, and even crying.
Anxiety, worry, and fear have taken up huge parts of my life… stressful situations would leave me feeling mentally drained… your nervous system can be thrown off by the slightest negative comment or action means you’re on high alert most days – an exhausting ordeal.
Kate Moryoussef
EFT for Manifesting and Meditation
Turns out, EFT is perfect for those of us with ADHD who find it stressful to keep still and resist fidgeting during the quiet time of mediation and manifestation.
Many people with ADHD who attempt to use these types of techniques are often plagued with racing thoughts that interrupt the process. As we know, our ADHD minds wander off, or we are simultaneously thinking of two different thoughts, making our progress into a zen state challenging.
This is particularly exciting for those of us who struggle visualizing. A great tip is to try talking through the scene WHILE tapping. Either way, EFT tapping provides another sensory experience for neurodivergent types to explore.
ADHD people who implement EFT techniques, are able to stay focused on a topic they are attempting to affirm. With the act of manifesting, it is common for our ADHD brains to re-play over-and-over limiting stories or beliefs about ourselves in our mind. By calming our nervous system with EFT tapping, we are able to step out of that negative space.
Some say that EFT tapping is a form of “stimming” (self-stimulatory behavior) – repetitive movements, sounds, or actions that people use to regulate emotions, manage sensory input, or express excitement. That’s why many with ADHD respond well to it.
Below is a statement from a Reddit user who applied EFT tapping together with manifesting:
“As soon as I have a new desire, the first thing I do now is to tap through all the possible reasons my mind is saying I can’t have this thing. Then I tap through all positive reasons why I CAN have this thing. I only do this once or twice, not constantly. From then on – I only tap in the positive statements about my desire, I always make sure I am open to receiving my desires everyday.”
EFT Tapping Script for Manifesting a Successful YouTube Channel
Just for fun, here is an example of a tapping script to manifest a successful YouTube channel; it includes the NINE meridian points on your body. The script is designed to release doubts, boost confidence, and align with success.
The statements about loving and accepting yourself seem to be a common theme in EFT tapping scripts. The EFT tapping can get complicated; ate Moryoussef demonstrates a simple version of it in the video I included in this article. The tapping is more powerful if you speak in your own words!
Setup Statement (Karate Chop Point – Side of Hand):
“Even though I have doubts about my success, I deeply and completely love and accept myself. Even though I sometimes fear failure, I choose to believe in my abilities. Even though I feel overwhelmed by the journey, I know success is coming to me.”
Jason Cyrus not only demonstrates the key Krate Chop technique, he uses uplifting affirmations, such as “I’m in the zone! I’m talented, I’m confident, I can do and learn anything!”
Tapping Points & Affirmations:
Eyebrow:
“I release all fears and doubts about my YouTube business.”
Side of Eye:
“I let go of self-sabotage and allow success to flow.”
Under Eye:
“I am capable, creative, and confident in my content.”
Under Nose:
“My YouTube channel and website attract the perfect audience.”
Chin:
“I am aligned with success, and I trust my journey.”
Collarbone:
“Every video I create brings me closer to my goals.”
Under Arm:
“I welcome abundance, growth, and impact in my business.”
Top of Head:
“Success is inevitable, and I am ready for it.”
(Repeat the cycle 2-3 times while breathing deeply and focusing on the feeling of success.)
Final Affirmation (Karate Chop Point):
“I am open to limitless opportunities and prosperity. My YouTube business and website thrive effortlessly. I step into my power and embrace success now!”
This tapping sequence helps shift limiting beliefs and align your energy with success.
1 Church D, Stapleton P, Vasudevan A, O’Keefe T. Clinical EFT as an evidence-based practice for the treatment of psychological and physiological conditions: A systematic review. Front Psychol. 2022 Nov 10;13:951451. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.951451. PMID: 36438382; PMCID: PMC9692186.
