HI -
I suffer from mild to moderate depression - especially in winters like this. I have been hearing a lot recently about EFT - Emotional Freedom Technique. Has anyone tried it and does it work? Would be really interested to get some feedback.

Hi Ellebaba

My partner practices EFT as part of his hypnotherapy sometimes. I thought it was a crock until he tried it on me because I was phobic about driving to scotland (big hills, don't ask!). It feels like a crock, but I found it worked brilliantly, and most, although not all, of his patients seem to think it has worked for them too. Only thing I would say is that you have to be able to recall the most negative feelings (which some people don't want to, or can't) so that you can replace them with opposites. The stronger the original feeling the better. Good luck with it. Obviously talk to your GP too, though! Think about SAD also - because we didn't have a good summer, I've seen a lot more of this recently.

Hi Micki -
That is really interesting about the EFT. I have been reading up a bit more about it and it does seem very weird until you read the stuff about how a traumatic event does not just upset you emotionally but disrupts the flow of energy through the body. That is, of course, assuming that you believe the kind of Chinese medicine theory about our well being depending on energy flowing through the body freely. As I understand it, the EFT really does work like a tap in that 'tapping' at the end of the lines of energy running through the body while concentrating on the event or emotion that upset you sort of lets the energies run freely and the upsetting emotion run away.
However, it seems that it probably works better for a very specific problem rather than for general glumness as it does seem important that, as you say, you can pinpoint the problem feeling - which is quite difficult when you are feeling generally grey.
Any pointers would be gratefully received.

Hi Ellebaba,

From the sound of it, I wouldn't say EFT is your best bet for general grey and glumness. There could be loads of biochemical reasons for this. Go to www.bant.org.uk and find a good local nutritionist. I would be thinking about adrenals, thyroid, serotonin and blood sugar levels to start with, but it could also be a lack of nutrients such as zinc, B vits, magnesium, fatty acids etc. Have a look at Higher Nature's Positive Outlook - a brill product, but obviously read about it and check with your GP/nutritionist first before taking anything as I don't know what you're on/your case etc. (And no, I don't make any money out of recommending it; I just think it's a good product!)

Hi All

If you go to http://www.eftuniverse.com/index.php...d=37&Itemid=40 you will find lots of reports of how EFT has helped depression.

There doesn't seem much doubt that it works!

My own experience is that EFT is a bit like Dr Who's Tardis. There's this unassuming little box with "EFT" written over the door, and a simple list of instructions for how to use it stuck to the front of the door, but, once you get inside... Woah!

The basic technique that you can learn from the manual (free to download from http://www.eftuniverse.com/index.php...d=11&Itemid=14) is just the start - the key to the door. Once you have this at your fingertips (literally!) you can start to learn how to put it into practice - but I reckon it will take many years to get fully to grips with the many 'side shoot' techniques that have been developed for specific purposes, and which are all explained in the very detailed DVDs that are available from the EFT site above.

As Gary Craig says, EFT is just the first floor of a healing 'high-rise'. Even those who are now really good at using it are still only at the beginning of discovering what it can do. This is a healing method with incredible potential which will be developed over the coming decades into a major phenomenon.

On a personal level, I suggest a dual approach. Firstly, learn the basic technique yourself and get started, and then just keep on using it, literally, as its originator, Gary Craig, says, "on everything". Then move on to study the DVDs. Like learning to play a musical instrument, the more you study and practice, the more you are able to get out of it.

Secondly, If you have a particular issue, such as depression, and using the basic technique doesn't seem to be helping, find an accredited practitioner (http://practitioners.eftuniverse.com/referralMain.aspx) who will have years of experience that they can apply your problem. Once this has been sorted, you can return to using EFT yourself on anything and everything that arises. And you never know when an opportunity will present itself.

In the spring, a young bird smashed really hard into one of the windows of my home and fell onto the ground beneath. You want to help, but how? The little thing lay there breathing very heavily but otherwise motionless, and none of us had a clue what to do - until I thought to "tap" on its behalf. I'd read accounts of how those visiting the dying have been able to reduce the suffering and help ease the passage of their loved ones by using EFT, so I thought "why shouldn't it work with a little bird?" So I began to tap surrogately for it, mentally tapping on my own EFT points - "Even though I feel like hell and I don't know what's happening", etc... I've no idea if this helped the little thing, but it sure helped me to cope with watching it die over the next few minutes! I felt that at least I'd done something. And that was when I learned that you never know when you might need EFT, and I'm really glad I learned to do it if only for that one time.

What about drug and alcohol addiction? I assume if an addiction is linked to emotions then EFT MUST work, yes?

EFT works really well for all addictions. Have a look at this case of cigarette addiction and you'll see how.

http://www.eftuniverse.com/index.php...ons&Itemid=372

Yes - I second Lizzie on that - EFT seems particularly good for obsessive, irrational conditions - and addiction is certainly obsessive, whatever about irrational. However there is also some question that some addictions could basically be allergies - although this is quite controversial. An addiction to whisky or other gluten bearing grains could in fact be an allergy to gluten - as it is well recognised that one symptom of allergy is the craving for the allergen. I read somewhere of a long term alcoholic (like 20 years) who stopped eating any gluten and found that he could drink vodka or any non grain-based spirit with no problems at all........

Here's an interesting video about a lady who overcame her chocolate addiction using EFT:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=y5CiPHyY-hk