How to reduce pre-surgical fear? A study says, try EFT!
Many people who face surgery are looking for ways to reduce pre-surgical fear. Hearing about possible complications and “what might go wrong” can increase these fears. Those of us who work with energy psychology understand how tools like EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) can help. For instance, I (Sarah) have often used EFT with my clients who are fearful of an upcoming operation, and I know – and my clients have learned! – how effective it is.
Moreover, reducing pre-surgical fear is important. A 2021 study found that while pre-surgical fear does not seem to affect survival rates, it does impact quality of life, cognitive performance, memory and attention, and depression. It also is associated with longer hospital stays and increased physical disability.
A study on EFT for presurgical fear, by Manevse and Yavla, appears in the October 2023 edition of the Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing. This adds to the body of research supporting EFT for pre-surgical fear. In the study, EFT significantly reduced fear by 54.4%.
The study setup
The research used a pretest, post-test, and randomized controlled experimental research design. A total of 112 patients participated and were randomly divided into EFT experimental and control groups. In order to have data to compare, the control group received standard treatment practices. Meanwhile, the experimental group received EFT.
Measures
Researchers used a patient information form, an Anxiety Specific to Surgery Questionnaire, a Surgical Fear Questionnaire, and Subjective Units of Disturbance (SUD) to collect the research data. There were no significant pretest differences between the groups in terms of descriptive and clinical features (P > .05).
The surgery
All participants were facing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This is a surgical procedure where the surgeon removes the gall bladder through small punctures in the abdomen to permit the insertion of a laparoscope and surgical instruments.
Results
The post-test score averages of EFT group in the Surgical Fear Questionnaire, Anxiety Specific to Surgery Questionnaire, and SUD were significantly lower than in the control group (P < .001). Significantly, the EFT reduced the SUD scores of the patients by 54.4% (P < .001).
The authors concluded: "EFT was found to be useful in clinical practice in the preoperative period, reducing surgery-specific anxiety and surgical fear. EFT can be recommended for application during the preoperative period in clinics."
Why this study matters.
Pre-surgical fears and anxieties are risk factors for post-surgical complications. Reducing or eliminating pre-surgical fears reduces complications and may shorten post-operative recovery time. Clinicians and healthcare workers can help their patients by sharing EFT. Most people would love a tool that gives them a 50+% reduction in their fear. That tool exists, and we should be using it.
Want to learn more?
ACEP offers gold-standard training, designed especially for licensed clinicians, in EFT. Want to learn more about the science behind energy psychology while earning CE’s? Take our science of energy healing course. You can stay up to date with the research on energy psychology here, or ask research committee chair John Freedom to add you to the research (research_committee@energypsych.org). Want to be involved in energy psychology research? You can participate in ACEP’s research collaboration with Peta Stapleton.
Authors
John Freedom, CEHP, serves as chairman of ACEP’s research committee. The author of Heal Yourself with Emotional Freedom Technique, he presents seminars and events throughout the US and in Europe.
Sarah Murphy, LPC, ACP-EFT, is an ACEP board member and communications committee chair. She is a counselor in private practice and specializes in working with people who have serious illnesses.
Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash
