EFT Cheat Sheet: Metaphor Tapping For Physical Symptoms
Written by Amy B. Scher
In my energy therapy practice, I hear the same concern over and over from clients: “I don’t know what to say like you do while using EFT.” I will admit that I’m the “metaphor queen!” and for me, it happens to come very naturally. Finding metaphors and interpreting them so often reveals the hidden roots of physical symptoms. I truly believe metaphor work is one of the most efficient tools we have for figuring ourselves out – and then clearing what no longer serves us.
I realize finding metaphors is a combination of skill and listening to your intuition – and I think all of you EFT tappers can master it. However, I’m excited to give you a cheat sheet so you can get the most out of your EFT if you haven’t quite gotten there yet.
Steps For Metaphor Tapping with EFT
1. Look at the condition or issue you are trying to clear using EFT. This can be a physical issue like headaches.
2. Look at the list below and see if any of the metaphors resonate for you, specifically around the time period when the symptoms started.
3. When you choose the one that resonates for you most, integrate that phrase or idea into your tapping.
Common Metaphors For Physical Issues
While each person will be individual, here is a starting point for using metaphors in your EFT. There are countless metaphors that can be used with EFT, but these are some I commonly see in clients. When integrated into tapping work, they can often help to clear a physical issue faster and deeper than you otherwise would.
- Head: Dizzy with anger, spinning with confusion, overwhelmed, unable to clear your head, a head-strong person, can’t think about one more thing (being overwhelmed), being clouded, can’t stop thinking about something, can’t get “your head around” something.
- Neck pain: Frozen in fear, afraid to turn in any direction. Afraid of making a mistake and heading the wrong way in life, having a “pain in the neck” (usually a person), afraid to stick your neck out in the world.
- Throat: Choking on words, swallow emotions (anger, pain, grief), feeling choked by someone else, unable to swallow the truth, afraid to speak up, being “choked up” but unable to express it.
- Chest: Carrying a burden on your chest, having a heavy heart, being in a suffocating situation, racing heart/racing with fear, someone being cold hearted, feeling broken hearted, carrying something on your chest (unable to “get it off your chest”).
- Stomach: Unable to digest something, sick with worry/guilt/fear, disgusted, being “gutted”(really upset), hating someone’s guts, something eating away at you, feeling stuck, can’t metabolize or process something (thoughts, emotions, a situation).
- Back: Carrying everything on your back, unable to stand up for yourself, being stabbed in the back, afraid to turn your back, turning your back on someone (guilt), turning your back to something scary, living in the past (behind you), wishing you could go back and change something, afraid of your past following you.
- Legs/feet: Not feeling safe moving forward, being ungrounded, unsure of your next step, feeling stuck in the mud, too scared to move, feeling like you’re sinking, carrying too much emotional weight, unable to walk away from something, having to walk away from something, feeling lost/wandering around.
Remember, it’s not enough to just identify the metaphor; you have to still clear the issue under it. This is a great start though!
Example of Metaphor Tapping Script
For the EFT example below, I’ll use someone being angry at something a friend did.
Step 1: First, rate the intensity of your headache (if it’s current) from 1-10, 10 being the most intense pain. Write it down. If it’s a chronic issue, but not present at the moment, just tap anyway.
Step 2: Second, rate the intensity of whatever event you’ve linked the metaphor to. Write it down.
Step 3: Now, it’s time to start tapping!
Karate chop point:
- Even though I have these chronic headaches because maybe I’m dizzy with anger from _______ (plug in a situation you could be very angry about), I love and accept myself.
- Even though I’m spinning with so much emotion from the time _________, I am ready and willing to release it.
- Even though my head is so clouded with confusion, I choose to heal.
Remainder of points:
*It doesn’t matter which order or what you say at each. Just keep tapping and talking.
- Spinning with confusion about why he did this
- All this anger I can’t stop thinking about
- So overwhelmed with emotion
- All these thoughts about ____ stuck in my head
- I can’t get my head around what happened
- I don’t understand this
Continue to tap and describe the situation using effective EFT tapping techniques and include as many metaphors as you can. Once you’ve done a few rounds of metaphor tapping, take a few deep breaths and then check in with your body. See how you are feeling about the event you were tapping on. Also check in and notice if your headache has shifted at all.
You’ll likely need to do more rounds and be consistent with your tapping if it’s a chronic issue, but working these metaphors in will really help.
In no time at all, you’ll be coming up with your own to use in your EFT, making it even more effective than before. Happy metaphor tapping!
Have you created any metaphors that help your tapping? If so, how did you come up with them? let us know below!
I have been struggling with neck pain & headaches and used your metaphors in my tapping. I realised that I have been afraid of moving forward and being successful because it would upset my sister who has a very closed mind when it comes to EFT and alternative therapies. The metaphor I came up with was that when my marriage fell apart and I had no money we were on a level playing field but that if I move on with my life she will be left behind and I don’t want to hurt her. The pain hasn’t completely gone yet but now I know what I need to keep tapping on.
Hi Amy,
Funny how I came across your article because this morning I was doing just that for the first time: metaphor tapping!
I was concentrating on my throat and chest, in relation to clearing away my unhealthy relationship patterns with men. In relationships, I tend not to speak up for myself and over time build up resentment and get very angry (all suppressed though). I am now single (single mum!) and am working through all my issues so I can well and truly leave them in the past.
Another one I was working on was my big toes. They have been very sore the last month, I thought I was getting an ingrown toenail or even getting an infection! I now realise that it’s my feeling like I can’t properly move forward, and being ungrounded (always in my mind, thinking thinking). Now that I’ve identified these metaphors I will continue doing the tapping around these… I’m sure they will shift pretty quickly! Thanks again for your article!
I’m going to take a look at your book now… I’m interested in writing a book too!
See ya,
Kate 🙂
I’m a big proponent of using both EFT and metaphors to heal–and they combine together particularly well. As Carl Jung said, “Images have the power to initiate healing without the cooperation of the intellect.” Working with your mind/body metaphors bypasses the limited understanding of your conscious mind and gets to the core of your issues. I like your suggestions, Amy!
You might also want to look into the work of David Grove called Clean Language. He developed a way help clients explore and change their metaphors in a profound way. See my workbooks on the subject: Mining Your Client’s Metaphors: How-To Workbook on Clean Language and Symbolic Modeling.
Thank you for your valuable input, I think all those who practice EFT this information is invaluable, Thanks. -Gracias por su valiosa aportación, creo que a todos los que practicamos EFT es muy valiosa esta información, Gracias.