Step I: Identify the difficult emotion you would like to clear. A common difficult emotion for students is fear of taking a test, so I’ll base this example on this particular emotion.
To get started, focus on a test that you once had to take and that you were afraid of taking, or focus on a test that you have coming up. The idea is to activate in your mind and/or body the feeling of the fear that you associate with taking this test.
Step II: On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the most intense and 1 being the least, rate the intensity of the emotion you are feeling. If you are unable to actually experience the emotion, but you have a strong memory of having this emotion, rate the intensity of the emotion as you remember experiencing it. Write down the number that comes to mind.
Step III: Use your index and middle fingers to tap lightly on the karate chop point of your opposite hand. The karate chop point is the point on the side of your hand that, if you were trying to karate chop a block in two, would actually meet the block.
While tapping on the karate chop point, repeat the setup statement three times. Be sure to adjust the first part of the statement so that it accurately reflects the situation you are working with.
For this situation, the setup statement that you will repeat three times while tapping is as follows:
Even though I have this fear of taking that math test next Tuesday, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Step IV: Now refer to the tapping chart on page 58 to identify the eight remaining tapping points you are going to use to complete the basic recipe. Tap each point seven times or the number of times it takes you to completely say the reminder phrase. For this example, the reminder phrase is this fear. So you repeat the phrase this fear while tapping first on the eyebrow point, then on the side of the eye, then beneath the eye, then beneath the nose, then on the chin, then the collarbones, then under the arm, and finally on the top of the head.
When you have finished tapping, take a deep breath and focus your attention on the problem, which in this example is the fear associated with taking a test. Once again, rate your fear on a scale of 1 to 10. Observe whether any change in the intensity of the emotion has occurred. Have you lowered the intensity? If the intensity is still above a 2, tap through the points again, this time repeating the phrase this remaining fear. Then once again rate the intensity of the emotion. Continue tapping until you have lowered the intensity to at least a 3. While people are very often able to reduce the intensity to zero, in some cases it may take some time for the intensity of a feeling to dissipate.
Pay attention to anything that arises in your mind or body once you have completed the round of tapping. It is not unusual for a new emotion to arise, or a troubling memory to surface. Some people even begin to focus on doubts they have about ever getting over their fear of test-taking or other fears they may have in their lives.
At this point you may find it useful to write down everything that comes up for you. All of this is information that can be helpful to you, especially if you are able to identify additional emotions, memories, or self-limiting beliefs that you would like to clear with EFT.
When you are ready, do another round of EFT, this time focusing on the emotions, memories or beliefs that you identified at the end of your previous tapping round.