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From the archived Rick and Carol EFT podcast series. The series is complete.
Episode #6—How do I find the right words to use with EFT?
- Start with the basic recipe of the emotional label and the body sensation.
- Although experts applying EFT artfully will use intuitive flow to connect with the energies, there are NO WRONG WORDS!
- You can even use sounds!
- Yes, be more specific with your EFT focus, but you are not doing it wrong if the intensity is being reduced.
- Listen to your center, and let it guide you.
Helpful Links:
- No Wrong Words in EFT
- Pay Attention to Body Sensations When Using EFT
- More EFT Tapping articles
- Carol’s Attracting Abundance with EFT Products
Companion Guide
You do not need inspired, elegant, or therapeutically perfect words to tap. Begin with an emotional label and a body sensation: “this anxiety in my shoulder,” “this burning pressure in my gut,” or simply “I cannot think straight.”
The right words are the ones that help you make honest contact. They can change as the experience changes, and they can even be sounds.
This Guide Helps With
- freezing because you do not know what to say
- turning tapping into another perfection test
- moving from polite language toward what is emotionally true
- knowing when to become more specific
- using another person’s reflection when you cannot see your own target
Start With the Basic Recipe
Name the feeling, locate it in the body, and repeat the reminder phrase through the points. You can use the same phrase at every point. Order matters less than contact and attention.
If “anxiety” is too broad, describe its quality: burning, twisted, buzzing, clenched, hollow, hot, or heavy. If language disappears, use a sigh, growl, or other sound that expresses the energy without explanation.
Let Intensity Movement Teach You
If intensity changes—even if it briefly rises—the target may be active. Follow the new sensation, image, memory, or phrase. If nothing moves, become more specific or ask whether the polite words are covering a stronger truth.
This is not encouragement to attack yourself without care. While tapping, honest language can bring suppressed anger, guilt, or hurt into a form that can shift. Slow down if the material becomes overwhelming.
Tapping: I Have to Get the Words Right
Side of the Hand: Even though I am not going to do this perfectly and I am not good at it yet, I choose to be calm and relaxed with whatever words come.
Even though getting the words wrong makes me anxious, I am open to feeling surprisingly safe while I experiment.
Even though I am a perfectionist and hate feeling incompetent, I can take this one tap at a time.
Top of the Head: I am a perfectionist.
Eyebrow: I have to get it right.
Side of the Eye: Or I am not going to do it.
Under the Eye: I do not feel safe unless it is perfect.
Under the Nose: This practice has become another test.
Chin: I am tuning into my energy.
Collarbone: Not their rules or their perfect phrases.
Under the Arm: My honest words are enough to begin.
Top of the Head: I can set easier rules.
Eyebrow: I cannot fail by noticing what is true.
Side of the Eye: I can repeat one simple phrase.
Under the Eye: I can follow what changes.
Under the Nose: It has been hard enough.
Chin: I am ready to let this be easier.
Collarbone: Easy breathing, relaxed and present.
Under the Arm: The words that fit me now are the right place to start.
Take a breath. Say the plainest true phrase you can find and begin there.
When Another Perspective Helps
It is hard to be both practitioner and recipient at the same time. A trusted tapping partner, coach, or therapist can reflect words you miss and help you stay with an event instead of skimming over it.
The test is not whether the language sounded expert. Ask whether you feel more contact, movement, neutrality, or choice. That is a much kinder and more useful standard.
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