EFT Tapping for Election Stress: A Step-by-Step Guide
If election stress is showing up as a knot in your stomach, tight shoulders, repetitive worry, or that keyed-up feeling that makes it hard to stop checking what happened next, EFT tapping gives you something concrete to do with the response.
And yes, tapping on points on your face and body while talking about what is bothering you can sound a little strange the first time you encounter it.
I know. I was skeptical too.
But EFT is one of those methods that can sometimes produce a change that feels surprisingly large compared with how simple the technique looks. You do not have to believe it will work before you try it. You do need a specific target, a few minutes, and a willingness to notice what actually happens.
This guide will walk you through the tapping points, the sequence, what to say, how to measure the response, and how to decide whether tapping is actually the right tool for the election stress you are experiencing.
Key Points
- EFT, or Emotional Freedom Techniques, combines focused attention on a specific concern with tapping a sequence of points on the face and upper body.
- Use a specific target instead of trying to tap on “the whole election.” The headline, conversation, uncertainty, image, or physical response bothering you right now is usually a better place to start.
- Rate the intensity before and after a tapping round. The purpose is to observe what changes, not force yourself to produce a particular result.
- If constant news exposure, social media, poor sleep, or repeated political arguments are creating the stress, address those practical triggers too. Tapping should not have to compensate for unlimited exposure.
- If a specific response keeps returning despite practical changes and self-directed tools, that is useful information. A more targeted processing approach such as Brainspotting may be worth considering.
What Is EFT Tapping?
EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Techniques. It is commonly called tapping because the method involves gently tapping a sequence of points on the face and upper body while keeping your attention on a specific issue.
The technique grew from approaches that combined psychological focus with stimulation of acupuncture or acupressure points. In practice, the basic method is straightforward: identify what is bothering you, notice how strongly you are responding to it, tap through a sequence of points while acknowledging the response, and then reassess.
You may hear explanations of EFT that describe balancing energy or correcting disruptions in the body's energy system. You do not need to adopt a particular explanation in order to use the technique. The practical question is simpler: What happens to this specific response when you tap?
Research on EFT has reported reductions in anxiety and other forms of distress in a number of studies, although researchers continue to examine the quality of that evidence and how the technique produces its effects. That uncertainty about mechanism does not require us to pretend the method has no value. It means we separate what we can observe from explanations we cannot confidently prove.
When EFT Makes Sense for Election Stress
Election stress is not one single experience. Sometimes the problem is the amount of information you are consuming. Sometimes it is uncertainty. Sometimes one particular conversation, headline, or possibility produces a much stronger reaction than the rest.
EFT is most useful as an in-the-moment tool when you can identify something specific that is activated.
You can name the trigger
“That conversation keeps replaying in my head” gives you a clearer tapping target than “everything about politics.”
You can feel the response
You notice tightness, agitation, worry, dread, frustration, or another recognizable response when you focus on the issue.
You need something active
If sitting quietly with your thoughts makes you want to crawl out of your skin, tapping gives your hands and attention a structured job.
The obvious trigger is already handled
If you have changed the news exposure or boundary and the response is still hanging around, tapping gives you a way to work with what remains.
When the Practical Solution Comes First
If you are checking election coverage every ten minutes, sleeping with notifications on, arguing with strangers online, and consuming political content from breakfast until bedtime, you may not need a more sophisticated coping technique first.
You may need to stop feeding the stress response all day.
Turn off unnecessary alerts. Choose when you will check the news. Mute accounts that reliably send you into a spiral. Step away from conversations that are accomplishing nothing except increasing everybody's blood pressure.
Then notice what remains.
If changing the input substantially changes the problem, excellent. Keep the practical solution. Not every uncomfortable response needs deeper work.
If you have already made reasonable changes and a particular response is still activated, EFT becomes much more interesting.
The useful question
Do not ask, “Will tapping fix my election anxiety?”
Ask, “What happens to this specific response when I tap on it?”
The 8 Main EFT Tapping Points
You do not need to hit each point with anatomical precision. Tap gently with two or three fingertips. The sequence matters less than becoming familiar enough with the points that you can focus on the issue instead of worrying about whether your fingers are three millimeters off.
1. Side of Hand
The fleshy outer edge of either hand, sometimes called the karate-chop point. This is commonly used for the setup phrase.
2. Eyebrow
The inner edge of the eyebrow near the bridge of the nose.
3. Side of Eye
The bone at the outside corner of the eye.
4. Under Eye
The bone directly beneath the eye.
5. Under Nose
The area between the bottom of the nose and the upper lip.
6. Chin
The crease between the lower lip and the chin.
7. Collarbone
The area just below the inner end of the collarbone.
8. Top of Head
The crown of the head.
How to Use EFT Tapping for Election Stress
For your first round, resist the temptation to make the target enormous. “I am anxious about the future of the entire country” may be true, but it gives you a lot to work with at once.
Instead, choose the piece that has your attention right now.
Choose One Specific Target
Your target might be:
- the headline you cannot stop thinking about,
- a political conversation that left you upset,
- the urge to keep refreshing election coverage,
- uncertainty about an outcome,
- the tight feeling in your chest when you think about the election, or
- a particular “what if?” thought that keeps returning.
Notice what happens when you bring that one thing to mind.
Rate the Intensity Before You Start
Give the response a number from 0 to 10, where 0 means you are not bothered by it at all and 10 means the intensity feels as high as it could reasonably be right now.
This is not a test, and there is no correct number. You are simply creating a before-and-after reference point.
If numbers do not work particularly well for you, describe the response instead. Maybe it feels tight, heavy, buzzy, hot, restless, constricted, or like you want to get away from it. That information counts too.
Create a Setup Phrase
Start tapping gently on the side of your hand while acknowledging what is actually happening.
A traditional EFT setup phrase often follows this structure:
You can use that wording if it feels natural. You do not have to.
I would rather have you use language that is believable than repeat a sentence that sounds like something printed on a mug you would never buy.
For election stress, you might say:
Repeat your setup phrase about three times while tapping the side of your hand.
Tap Through the Sequence
Now move through the tapping points, gently tapping each point several times while using a short reminder phrase that keeps your attention connected to the target.
You do not need a beautifully written script. In fact, simpler is usually better.
For example:
- Eyebrow: “All this worry about what happens next.”
- Side of Eye: “I keep thinking about this election.”
- Under Eye: “There is so much uncertainty.”
- Under Nose: “Part of me keeps looking for certainty.”
- Chin: “I can feel how activated I am.”
- Collarbone: “All this tension around this.”
- Top of Head: “This whole response I’m having right now.”
Those phrases are examples, not magic words. If your actual thought is, “I cannot believe that conversation happened,” use that. If what you notice is, “My chest gets tight every time I see another update,” say that.
The goal is not to talk yourself out of the response while you tap. Stay close enough to what is actually true that your mind and body do not have to argue with your script.
Pause and Reassess
After one round, stop tapping and bring the original target back to mind.
What is the intensity now?
If you started at an 8, maybe it is a 5. Maybe it is still an 8. Maybe the number is the same but the tightness in your chest has changed. Maybe the original worry suddenly feels less important and a different part of the issue is now bothering you.
All of that is information.
Do not decide the technique “worked” only if you reach zero. You are looking for what changed.
Follow What Changed
This is the part that often gets lost when tapping is reduced to a memorized script.
If the response changed, follow the change.
Suppose you started with:
After a round, that fear drops, but now what stands out is:
That becomes the next target.
Or perhaps you begin with frustration about a headline and suddenly realize the strongest part of the response is actually a conversation you had with someone you care about.
Tap on what is present now, not what the original script says you are supposed to still be feeling.
Do You Need Positive Phrases?
Not immediately.
One thing I would change from the way EFT is sometimes taught is the rush to replace an uncomfortable statement with a positive one.
If you are genuinely upset and you start tapping while saying, “I am completely calm, peaceful, and in control,” part of you may respond with the psychological equivalent of, Have you met us?
You do not need to force a positive conclusion.
Once the intensity begins to shift, you can experiment with language that feels possible:
The important word there is possible. You are not trying to win an argument with yourself. You are noticing whether the response has enough room to shift.
Sometimes Tapping Works Far Better Than You Expected
I did not expect it to work either
About 12 years ago, I developed a sudden claustrophobic response. One of the biggest triggers was feeling physically stuck in clothing, such as getting caught while pulling off a shirt or a pull-over bra.
It was intense. And because it seemed to appear so suddenly, it also felt a little ridiculous to me. Knowing that the situation was not actually dangerous did not stop the response.
I tried tapping without expecting it to do much.
The symptoms stopped.
Not just for the next hour. In my case, the relief lasted for roughly a year.
That is a personal experience, not a promise about what EFT will do for someone else. But it shaped the way I think about techniques like tapping. A method can look almost absurdly simple compared with the intensity of the response, and the change can still be surprisingly significant.
I am not interested in turning that experience into a scientific explanation it cannot provide. I also am not interested in pretending it did not happen because the result seems disproportionate to tapping on a few points.
Sometimes a tapping round produces a modest shift. Sometimes very little seems to happen. And sometimes the change can feel almost magical because the response changes much faster than you expected it to.
The useful approach is to stay curious enough to test it and grounded enough to observe the actual result.
What If Your Number Does Not Change?
Do not immediately conclude that you are doing EFT wrong.
First, check the target.
“The election” is enormous. “The feeling I get when I think about that conversation with my sister” is specific.
If nothing changes, try narrowing the target:
- What exact thought is bothering you?
- What image keeps coming to mind?
- Where do you notice the response physically?
- What are you imagining will happen?
- Is there one part of the situation that feels more charged than the rest?
Then tap on that.
You can also try a second or third round. But I would not spend an hour mechanically repeating the same sequence while becoming increasingly annoyed that you are not relaxed yet.
If the target is clear and the response is not changing, that tells you something too.
EFT Is a Tool, Not a Requirement to Tolerate Too Much
This distinction matters with election stress.
If every visit to a particular social media platform leaves you agitated, you do not have to tap yourself calm enough to keep scrolling.
If a political conversation repeatedly becomes hostile, you do not have to regulate yourself well enough to stay in it.
If checking election coverage at midnight is interfering with your sleep, the first intervention can be putting the phone down.
EFT is useful for working with a response. It is not an obligation to become endlessly tolerant of inputs you can reasonably change.
Practical first still applies
If changing the exposure, boundary, routine, or environment solves the problem, use the practical solution.
If a specific response remains after reasonable practical changes, then working directly with that response makes sense.
When a Recurring Response May Need More Than Self-Directed Tapping
Sometimes EFT helps in the moment, but the same highly specific response keeps returning. Or perhaps you can reduce the intensity temporarily, yet a particular trigger continues to produce a strong emotional or physical reaction.
That does not mean you failed at tapping.
It may mean you have reached the point where another method is a better fit for the target.
Where Brainspotting Fits
Brainspotting is a brain-body based processing modality developed by David Grand. It uses eye position and focused attention as part of the processing work.
I use Brainspotting when there is a clearly defined response that continues to carry activation and the goal is to work with that response more directly, rather than simply managing it each time it appears.
For election-related stress, that might be a specific recurring fear, a physical reaction that reliably appears around a particular trigger, or an emotional response that continues even after you have changed your news exposure, set reasonable boundaries, and tried self-directed tools.
The purpose is not to change your political beliefs, persuade you that your concern is unwarranted, or make you care less about an issue that matters to you. The target is the response that is interfering with your ability to function the way you want to.
I am a certified Brainspotting practitioner, not a therapist. I also bring approximately 25 years of paramedic experience, including years in clinical emergency practice. That experience informs how I assess what I am seeing, stay within scope, and recognize when practitioner Brainspotting is appropriate versus when someone needs assessment or treatment from a licensed mental-health or healthcare professional.
You do not need to make that determination before contacting me. I can screen for fit and scope and refer out when another level or type of care is appropriate.
How Often Should You Use EFT?
There is no requirement to tap every day for EFT to “count.” Use it when it is useful.
If you notice the same election-related trigger regularly, you might intentionally work with it for several rounds and observe whether the response changes over time.
If tapping helps quickly and you do not need it again for a while, that is fine too.
The goal is not to become exceptionally dedicated to tapping. The goal is to have a tool you know how to use when you need it.
Frequently Asked Questions About EFT Tapping
How long does an EFT tapping round take?
A basic round can take only a few minutes. You can pause afterward, reassess, and decide whether another round would be useful.
Can I do EFT tapping by myself?
Basic EFT is commonly used as a self-directed technique. A practitioner can be useful when you want help identifying a target, following changes that emerge during tapping, or working with something that feels more complex than you want to address alone.
Do I have to say the phrases out loud?
No. Speaking can help you stay focused on the target, but you can use the phrases silently when saying them aloud is impractical.
What if tapping makes me more aware of the emotion?
Pause and notice what is happening rather than pushing through automatically. You can stop the exercise at any time. If the response feels too intense to work with on your own, that is a good reason to seek appropriate professional support rather than treating more tapping as the only answer.
How quickly should EFT work?
There is no number of rounds you are required to complete and no guaranteed amount of change. Sometimes people notice a shift quickly. Sometimes the change is gradual. Sometimes a particular target does not respond much at all. Rate, tap, reassess, and use what happens as information.
Use the Tool That Fits What Is Actually Happening
EFT tapping gives you a practical way to work with election stress when you can identify a specific response and want something you can do in the moment.
You do not need to decide in advance that tapping is going to work. Pick the target. Rate what is happening. Tap through a round. Then check again.
If the intensity drops, follow what changed.
If a different part of the issue becomes more noticeable, work with that.
If nothing changes, get more specific or recognize that this may not be the right tool for this particular response.
And if the real problem is that you have spent the last four hours consuming election coverage, start there. Close the app. Turn off the television. Go do something that belongs to your actual life.
The Bottom Line
EFT does not have to look complicated to be useful. A few minutes of focused tapping can sometimes create a noticeable shift in a response that felt surprisingly difficult to change by thinking your way through it.
Use it as an experiment rather than a performance: identify what is active, tap on what is actually true, reassess, and follow the response.
If the practical problem can be changed, change it. If tapping helps with what remains, use it. If the same specific response continues to return despite both, that is when it makes sense to consider working with it more directly.
Suggested Reading
Election stress does not always need the same tool. These articles will help you choose what to try based on what is actually creating the stress.
Quick Mindfulness Techniques to Ease Election Stress
Try several in-the-moment techniques for repetitive worry, physical tension, restlessness, overwhelm, and difficulty pulling your attention away from election stress.
Manage Election Stress With a Simple Digital Detox
Start here when the amount and frequency of political news, notifications, or social media exposure appears to be creating much of the stress in the first place.
Using Brainspotting to Relieve Election Anxiety
Learn where Brainspotting fits when practical changes and self-directed tools help temporarily but a specific emotional or body-based response continues to return.
EFT tapping can be useful when you can identify a specific activated response. If the problem feels broader, visit How to Deal With Election Anxiety: Election Stress Resources to sort out what is happening and choose the resource that fits.
