07:52

Why Do We Tap On The Negative First In EFT Tapping? - E32

by Annie Moussu

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Some newcomers to EFT Tapping assume that healing should feel like a blissful meditation. They ask me: “Why do we tap on the negative first in EFT? Shouldn’t I feel relaxed right away? Isn’t it better to focus on positive statements?” Yet addressing the "negative" stuff—like disempowering thoughts and painful emotions—is essential to EFT's high efficacy rate. Without an understanding of what to expect, we might too easily assume that the modality doesn’t work. Tune into this episode to learn why we must first address the negative stuff in EFT.

EftNegative EmotionsAnxietyBoundariesAcceptanceTraumaLimiting BeliefsResilienceGrowthMind Body ConnectionHealingDisempowering ThoughtsPainful EmotionsRelaxationPositive StatementsEft TappingAnxiety ReductionBoundary SettingSelf AcceptanceTrauma HealingEmotional ResiliencePersonal GrowthBody Mind Spirit ConnectionLimiting Beliefs Removals

Transcript

Hello,

I'm Annie Musu,

A certified EFT tapping master practitioner.

I help women build confidence,

Set boundaries,

And enjoy healthy relationships.

Welcome to my podcast,

Hush Your Mind,

Building a better relationship with yourself.

On this show,

I offer practical wisdom to help you clear fears,

Limiting beliefs,

And trauma so that you can gracefully create a life you love.

Welcome to episode number 32 of my podcast,

Hush Your Mind,

Building a better relationship with yourself.

People sometimes ask me,

Why do we tap on the negative first in EFT tapping?

The negative phrases feel interruptive,

Shouldn't I feel relaxed?

Isn't it better to focus on positive statements?

Newcomers to EFT tapping may not understand that addressing negative thoughts and emotions is essential to its high efficacy rate.

A mind-blowing study includes 5,

000 anxiety patients who received either cognitive behavioral therapy,

CBT,

With medication if needed,

Or tapping with no medication for five and a half years.

90% of patients who used tapping showed improvement versus 63% of the CBT patients.

Only three EFT sessions reduced the patient's anxiety compared to 15 for CBT.

76% of the EFT people got complete relief compared to 51% of the CBT people.

Tapping is certainly a powerful stress relief tool,

But without an understanding of what to expect,

We might too easily assume that the modality doesn't work.

I hope to clarify these misunderstandings so that more people may benefit from EFT.

So let's dive in.

EFT tapping is most effective when we acknowledge the negative first.

This includes conscious and subconscious negative thoughts,

Tough emotions,

Limiting beliefs,

Past hurts,

And trauma.

It's futile to deny that we all carry negative baggage.

Our negative thoughts exist whether we like it or not,

And resisting them can keep us from enjoying peace of mind and a fulfilling life.

Let's say you want to set a boundary with a loved one.

You feel extremely nervous about having the conversation.

What if they take it badly?

You try to brush it off,

But you can't help observing some uncomfortable physical sensations.

Your pounding heartbeat,

Shallow breathing,

Bodily tension.

These are signs that your amygdala,

The part of your brain that controls the fight-or-flight response,

Has been activated.

This automatically happens in reaction to a perceived danger.

If your amygdala could talk,

It'd most likely say,

Oh we've seen this before.

Remember what happens when you speak up for yourself?

You get criticized,

Minimized,

Abandoned.

That's painful.

Don't do that again.

Danger,

Danger.

But you don't have to stay in this stressful state.

You can use EFT tapping to quickly calm your mind and reduce your anxiety.

In this example,

We could address your fears by tapping on the phrase,

Even though I'm afraid they'll take it badly,

And I'll get minimized.

I love and accept myself.

We acknowledge what's true for us in the moment and validate our experience,

Which can be liberating in itself.

As you tap,

You're sending calming signals to your brain,

Thus rewiring it to feel at ease about your issue.

Stress and pain are no longer associated with speaking up.

So the next time you set a boundary,

You'll find that it's much easier to say no and stay grounded.

Some people tell me,

I want to be in a relationship.

I want to prioritize myself.

I want more money.

As we dig into the issue,

They sometimes find that they're not quite ready to do what it takes.

They may have the best intentions,

But their fears outweigh their desires.

And it's completely understandable.

Change can be terrifying,

Especially if we've built many walls to protect ourselves.

Grief naturally arises as we acknowledge the pain of the past to make room for new perspectives.

Who wants to eagerly face their pain?

And yet,

This is often what's necessary to create a life of peace,

Joy,

And abundance.

Some people seem to think that healing should feel like a blissful meditation.

I've included a meme by author Heidi Preby in my blog article that sums up the actual process.

At the top,

It says,

What we think healing will look like.

Then there's a pie chart with the entire section labeled,

Meditating peacefully.

At the bottom,

It says,

What healing actually looks like.

There's another pie chart,

But this time with five sections labeled,

Unpacking trauma,

Having difficult conversations,

Taking radical responsibility for your actions,

Implementing healthy routines,

And setting and enforcing boundaries.

A few of my fellow EFT practitioners have offered this analogy.

Imagine if you had intense tooth pain.

Your dentist asks you to show her the tooth and describe the sensations.

But instead,

You prefer to talk about rainbows and kittens to make you feel better.

That would just be ridiculous.

You may have heard of the saying,

What you resist persists.

So much of our energy and potential gets depleted when we fight or flee our shadows.

The chaos in the world often reflects this inner battle.

Thankfully,

It's much easier with EFT tapping.

In the hands of a skilled EFT practitioner,

EFT is a safe and effective healing modality that gently releases our deepest fears so that we can make peace with ourselves.

Sometimes tapping can temporarily make us feel worse.

We might not feel relaxed immediately after a round of EFT.

There may be deeper layers to work through.

That's normal.

Again,

An experienced EFT practitioner knows how to guide you to the other side of the shore.

So as we make room for new growth,

Please keep in mind,

Every body has unique needs.

A certain healing modality may be helpful for one person and not another.

Or the modality may not be right for you at this time,

But it becomes helpful in the future.

My best advice?

Listen to your intuition and stay open and curious.

In my signature method,

Release and replant,

We use EFT tapping to remove the roots of an issue,

Which are the underlying fears,

Limiting beliefs,

And past wounds that sustain it.

Then we replant with empowering seeds,

Affirmative beliefs of who we want to be,

Preparing the soil for new growth.

Ultimately,

Each of us is like a seed.

Our full potential has always been there.

It's just a matter of removing the false beliefs and nourishing ourselves.

Let me leave you with this quote by Rumi.

Your task is not to seek for love,

But merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.

Thank you so much for joining me in this episode of Hash Your Mind.

If you enjoyed it,

Please feel free to write a review,

Visit my profile,

And follow me to get notifications about new content and live group tapping sessions.

If you have any questions,

Comments,

Or suggestions,

Just send me a DM.

I'd love to hear from you.

May you have the courage to love and accept yourself.

Be well and take care.

Meet your Teacher

Annie MoussuCalifornia, USA

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© 2026 Annie Moussu. All rights reserved. All copyright in this work remains with the original creator. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

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