Can tapping calm your nervous system?

There's a scene in the Devil Wears Prada 2 where a character is so stressed she starts "tapping" to calm herself down.

What is this self-soothing technique, and should you try it out?

Norman and Tegan talk through what Emotional Freedom Techniques, or tapping is and whether there's any evidence it lowers anxiety.

References:

• How ‘tapping’ is dividing opinion in therapy circles
• Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Improves Multiple Physiological Markers of Health
• Neural changes after Emotional Freedom Techniques treatment for chronic pain sufferers
• Emotional freedom techniques for treating post traumatic stress disorder: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis
• Commentary: Emotional freedom techniques for treating post traumatic stress disorder: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis
• A Randomized Controlled Comparison of Emotional Freedom Technique and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy to Reduce Adolescent Anxiety: A Pilot Study
• Food for Thought: A Randomised Controlled Trial of Emotional Freedom Techniques and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in the Treatment of Food Cravings
• The impact of emotional freedom techniques on anxiety, depression, and anticipatory grief in people with cancer: A meta-analysis and systematic review

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