A: Your body is 70% water, and water is an electrolyte that conducts electricity. Water is essential for the biochemical processes by which your cells signal each other. Many people are dehydrated without knowing it, because we’re rarely trained to drink enough water. We’ve become accustomed to being dehydrated and may mistake our body’s signals of thirst for hunger, anxiety, or compulsive behavior. It’s a good idea to drink water before and during an EFT session, to make sure that you and your client, if you are working with someone, stay well hydrated.
During the experience of strong emotion, your sympathetic nervous system becomes active. It shifts resources toward body systems required for fight or flight, such as blood circulation and your muscles. It shifts resources away from nonessential systems like immunity and digestion. That’s why your mouth goes dry when you’re under stress. Remember that intense job interview during which your salivary glands dried up? Or when you proposed marriage to your spouse? Or when you had to make that public speech, you were very nervous, and your mouth went completely dry? Those are symptoms of the fight-or-flight response.
The simple antidote is to have water handy during each EFT session, and take frequent sips. This helps reassure your body that it’s being taken care of, even though you’re processing strong emotion.
–from The EFT Manual, by Dawson Church
