Researchers discovered that women and men respond very differently to working long hours. When stressed, women tend to eat more unhealthy snacks, drink more caffeine, smoke more and exercise less. The researchers emphasized the importance of adhering to a balanced diet. However, they did not have solutions for women who use food to help them deal with stress. A simple acupressure technique may be that solution.

Women have been using Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) to address the effects of stress, and to curb emotional eating for more than a decade. It involves fingertip tapping on select acupressure points while focusing on the stressor in question. EFT can be learned freely by downloading the EFT Many Stressed Women Abandon Healthy Lifestyle Habits: Simple Acupressure Technique Offers a Solution Manual at emofree.com/downloadeftmanual.asp

Fortunately, a growing number of practitioners are addressing the emotional roots of stress using EFT. According to Leonie McMahon, Secretary of the Acupuncture Association of Australia, who uses EFT in her practice, “Whenever we are pushed above our threshold we become stressed and anxious. We then try to deal with that stress through a variety of coping mechanisms learned during childhood. These include anger, depression, fear, substance abuse, and overeating.”

According to Gary Craig, the Stanford-trained engineer who developed EFT, “This technique balances the body’s energy meridian system (Chi or Qi) which becomes disrupted when under stress. We focus on the emotions that may be triggered by stress and when anxiety, frustration and fear are dissolved with EFT, overeating stops being the automatic response.”

An overwhelming body of evidence shows the importance of maintaining a balanced diet, including eating a low fat diet and five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Yet there is a clear link between stress and a tendency to eat more unhealthy snacks like fast foods and sugary confections and to consume fewer fruit and vegetables and low fat snacks.

According to Leonie McMahon, “In my experience, when patients seem to have an inability to adhere to healthy lifestyle choices, in spite of the dire consequences, it is because they have a severely disrupted energy meridian system. This disruption may be caused by unresolved negative emotions or past traumas. EFT is one treatment option available to address this disruption, correct the self-sabotaging behaviours, and allow people to choose healthier alternatives.”

At least 85% of medical problems are physical manifestations of how stress/anxiety/past traumas are held in and processed by the body. The best technique to address these issues and to clear them out of the body is EFT.

Although most Australians have yet to hear of it, EFT may be the world’s fastest-growing self-help technique because people are getting results where nothing else has worked for them. Over 350,000 have downloaded Craig’s free training manual and another 10,000 download it each month. The official EFT Manual has been translated by volunteer practitioners into nine languages.

The EFT Manual explains the basics so that anyone can begin applying EFT right away. It can be freely downloaded at emofree.com/downloadeftmanual.asp However more complex issues may need professional help. Don’t hesitate to contact me for advice. Leonie McMahon.