Why does tapping work? In a nutshell, it’s biochemistry and electricity. The amygdala – your survival mechanism The amygdala is a part of your brain that is located at the base of your brain stem. Also known as the lizard brain, it is a survival feature of your brain whose function is to keep you alive and safe. It records your life experiences -- along with how you felt about them – in a giant database. Any time you experience something new, your brain scans the database in search of an answer to the question – have I seen anything like this before? If it seems similar to a trauma you had in your life where you felt unsafe or unable to deal with the situation you were experiencing, the emotion associated with that traumatic memory are reactivated. The amygdala can’t tell the difference between the actual event and the memory of the event. It signals the body to go into a fight, flight or freeze mode. No amount of reasoning can override this reaction, because it funnels all the body’s resources to that end, including blood from other parts of the brain like the digestive system and the frontal cortex, which is the center of your logic, reason, and values. Tapping sends a calming signal to the amygdala, releasing and redistributing the body’s resources to their proper function. It creates a space where we can make a conscious choice, a choice based on our values and logic. Every emotion has a unique signature Every thought or emotion that you experience causes a reaction in a specific area of your brain. Every emotion has a unique and distinctive frequency which the brain can easily distinguish one from the other. Modern electronic imaging technology allows us to view the intricate dance in your brain’s energies that accompany every thought and feeling. As mentioned before, the brain can’t tell the difference between the actual traumatic event and the memory of it, automatically stimulating all the emotion that accompanied it. Though you may not realize it, this pattern is at the root of many of your difficulties, from dysfunctional patterns in relationships, self-defeating choices on the job to unnamed anxieties, unprovoked bouts of depression, and irrational fear or anger. Energy psychology shows how you can stimulate specific points on your skin that will send electrochemical signals directly to your brain. If at the same time you hold in your mind a situation that triggers and unwanted emotional response, you can actually shift your brain’s response to that situation. (Feinstein, The Promise of Energy Psychology) Tapping on meridians Why do we tap on the meridian endpoints? Acupuncture meridians are like rivers of energy that run through the body. There are certain points on these pathways that have a higher concentration of receptors that are sensitive to mechanical stimulation; and specific points, when stimulated, send signals directly to areas of the brain that are associated with emotions. These points have a lower electrical resistance and have been called “windows” into the body’s energy system (Energy Psychology in Psychotherapy, pp 167-178). A study by K. K. S. Hui, et al, demonstrated by using an MRI that stimulating specific points on the skin not only changed brain activity, it also deactivated areas of the brain that are involved with the experiences of fear and pain. Stimulating certain acupuncture points also causes the secretion of serotonin and dopamine. (Energy Psychology Interactive: Rapid Interventions for Lasting Change).