The Tapping Evidence Base
Anxiety

A study to assess the effectiveness of emotional freedom techniques on anxiety among wives of alcoholics

Jameela, S., Thapa, K. S. · Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences · 2024

Outcome study👥 100 participantsPreliminary✓ Source-checked📍 India
In plain English. A hundred wives of men with alcohol use disorder learned EFT to deal with the anxiety of living with an alcoholic spouse. Before tapping, 30% had at least mild anxiety; afterward, only 15% did, and almost nobody was left with moderate anxiety. There was no comparison group, so some of the change could reflect simply retaking the questionnaire, but the shift is large.

What they found

100
people took part

The proportion of women with no anxiety rose from 70% pretest to 85% post-test, while moderate anxiety fell from 18% to 2%, after an EFT intervention.

How the study worked

Who took partwives of alcoholic patients (n=100)
What they didParticipants received tapping and were measured before and after, without a separate comparison group.
Measured withGeneralized Anxiety Disorder scale (7-point)

💡 Where this could help

If findings like these hold up in larger trials, the promise is simple: a low-cost, self-administered tool that could reach people struggling with anxiety who can't easily access traditional care — at home, between appointments, or where there aren't enough clinicians to go around.

🔬 What to study next

The natural next step: a head-to-head trial against an established treatment like CBT, and a randomized controlled design.

The full record

DesignOutcome study
Participants100 people
Populationwives of alcoholic patients
Outcome measuresGeneralized Anxiety Disorder scale (7-point)
JournalJournal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences
Year2024
CountryIndia
LanguageEnglish
MethodEFT / tapping
Publication typeStudy / trial
Verification✓ Confirmed against the primary source

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Cite this study

APA

Jameela, S., & Thapa, K. S. (2024). A study to assess the effectiveness of emotional freedom techniques on anxiety among wives of alcoholics. Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences. https://doi.org/10.4103/jpbs.jpbs_551_24

This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/tapping. Explore more studies on Anxiety

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THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE Anxiety 100 participants WHAT THEY FOUND The proportion of women with no anxiety rosefrom 70% pretest to 85% post-test, whilemoderate anxiety fell from 18%… Outcome study · 100 participants Jameela · 2024 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com