By Dawson Church, PhD, author of Genie in Your Genes: Epigenetic Medicine and the New Biology of Intention
EFT tapping is able to significantly reduce your body’s level of cortisol, according to research. Cortisol is your main stress hormone, and high levels of cortisol for long periods of time produce serious physical effects. Among these are:
- Increased fat deposits around waist/hips
- More skin wrinkles as cell repair diminishes
- High blood pressure
- Reduced memory and learning as brain cells calcify and die
- High blood sugar
- Heart disease
- Accelerated aging
- Slower wound healing
- Reduced bone repair and higher osteoporosis risk
- Decreased circulating immune cells
- Diminished immune antibodies
- Reduced muscle mass
These are just some of the many effects of having chronically high cortisol. When you’re stressed, your emotions send a signal to your body to ramp up cortisol production. This decreases your production of another hormone, DHEA, which is responsible for cell repair.
The Cortisol Molecule
So stress produces a double whammy, simultaneously increasing cortisol and reducing DHEA. Research shows that even low-level anxiety increases the incidence of cancer, heart disease, and other ailments (Russ et al., 2012).
Dawson Church explains EFT tapping and cortisol in this 1 minute video.
Several studies have measured cortisol in participants before and after EFT tapping. One landmark randomized controlled trial compared an hour-long EFT session with an hour of talk therapy. It found that anxiety and depression dropped twice as much with EFT and that cortisol declined by 24% in just a single hour (Church, Yount & Brooks, 2012)! Another found that participants enrolled at a Clinical EFT workshop had a 49% reduction in baseline cortisol between the start and end of the program (Bach et al., 2016).
Michelyn Gjurasic, a participant in one of our EFT tapping workshops, said: “My biggest challenge coming into this training was my upper limitation placed on my growth and self-expression; really, on my freedom to be myself. As I sat in class the phrase ‘Bull in a China Shop’ kept shouting at me from behind. My mother who was a quieter, softer person, used to say that to me and about me when I was growing up.
“During a class break I sat by the ocean and tapped on that phrase, “Bull in a China Shop.” The first unwinding came around ‘China Shop.’ What good is a china shop anyway? It’s full of breakable stuff, disaster waiting to happen. And it is full of beautiful delicate creations of beauty.
“The second unwinding came around the Bull. What good are bulls anyway? Noisy, smelly, destructive, oversized creatures! Also, bulls are protectors. Fierce protectors, powerful protectors of cows and herds. Big and strong. Why would a bull want to go into a china shop anyway? Is there ever a reason for that? I might want to shop around and I could choose to be careful for the period of time in the china shop. Maybe the china shop has wide aisles just for me!
“That was a big shift for me, and I feel an expansion around my chest, a freedom in my heart and throat. Thank you, Dawson, for sharing your knowing.”
Michelyn Gjurasic. Research shows that sessions
with certified Clinical EFT practitioners reduce cortisol.
The result of reducing your stress daily with EFT results in better health and longevity. When your attitude changes and becomes positive, it produces beneficial changes in your body. Optimists have half the mortality rate of pessimists (Giltay et al., 2004). Lower stress levels can add 10 years to your lifespan (Diener & Chan, 2011). That’s 10 more years to enjoy your family and friends, check items off your Bucket List, flourish in retirement, and volunteer for causes that make the world a better place. All these and more are the benefits of reducing your cortisol levels.
Use the resources on this page to reduce your own cortisol levels with EFT tapping. You’ll find that with proper instruction and regular use, your stress levels go down. You can get your cortisol tested by a medical professional when you start tapping, and then later on, to find out the effects that EFT tapping is having on your personal hormone levels.
I want to see you thriving! I’d like to see you dropping that stress and claiming the wonderful life that is your birthright. I’ve watched thousands of people release a lifetime of negative thinking and claim emotional freedom, and I’d love to see you joining this wonderful community. Welcome!
EFT Tapping Stress Reduction Stories
- Moving Mindfully Through Stress Response by Tapping
- How to Use EFT to Stop Stress from Causing Stomach Pain
- Reducing Stress In Kids Is Easy With EFT Tapping
Free Tap-Along EFT Videos
- Anxiety About Making a Living
- EFT Tapping to Beat the Holiday Fears and Stress with Dawson Church
- Overcoming Public Speaking Fear
Studies of EFT Tapping and Cortisol
- Effect of EFT on perceived stress, quality of life, and cortisol salivary levels in tension-type headache sufferers: A randomized controlled trial
- The effect of EFT on stress biochemistry: A randomized controlled trial
- Influence of Spiritual Therapy EFT (SEFT) on cortisol levels and immunoglobulin E (study of anxiety in pregnant women in independent practice midwives Semarang)
Learn EFT Tapping at a Live Workshop
Clinical EFT workshops are offered all over the world. Find one here.
Find a Clinical EFT Practitioner
Certified Clinical EFT practitioners are rigorously trained. Find one here.
