Tapping — for one specific tension.
You tap gently with your fingertips through a series of points on your face and upper body. The method is also called tapping or EFT. Choose one specific tension that is bearable right now, before a conversation or after an argument, say. Spoken cues and illustrations guide you through it.
Naming it
You write in a few words what is pressing on you — or pick one of the six practices, each of which brings its own suggestion. The text stays on your device.
A number
How strong is it right now, from zero to ten? Just for you, just for this moment.
The sentence beforehand
Flat hand on your chest, circling slowly — not tapping — while you say a sentence along three times.
The points
Tap gently with your fingertips: karate chop point, eyebrow, side of the eye, under the eye, under the nose, chin crease, collarbone, under the arm. All the way round, three times, while you stay with the thing itself.
The interlude
You keep tapping on the back of your hand. Eye movements, some humming and counting are guided as you go. You don't have to remember the order.
One more number
At the end you look once more: how does it feel now? The number may have changed, or stayed the same.
“Even though my head will not stop right now, I do not have to solve the thoughts now.”
You combine attention for what is bothering you with touch and simple movements. These four elements run through the round.
Staying with it
You choose one specific thing that is bearable to look at right now.
Naming it
You describe in a few words what is on your mind.
Directing attention
You follow the cues and put your attention on the movements as well.
Touch and breath
You tap gently and let your breath keep flowing naturally.
At your own pace
You can pause, skip a step or stop at any time.
Choose something you feel safe enough to look at briefly. Distressing memories are not something to work through on your own with this practice. Gentle is not a replacement for medical or psychotherapeutic treatment.
Six practices for different occasions
The sequence is the same in all of them. What differs is the sentence beforehand, the length of the interlude, and whether you type in your own concern or the practice suggests one.
When it boils over
For tension with no clear cause
Just before the appointment
Before a talk, an exam, a conversation
When your head will not stop
For churning that will not stop
When you are hard on yourself
For a kinder inner tone
After the argument
For anger still sitting in your body
Awake in bed
Quiet version, no scale
The points
Paired points exist on the left and the right — one side is enough. If a point feels uncomfortable, leave it out or just rest your hand there. The app includes two illustrations with every point marked.
- 1
Karate chop point
The outer edge of the hand below the little finger
- 2
Eyebrow
At the inner end of the brow, above the bridge of the nose
- 3
Side of the eye
On the bone at the outer corner of the eye
- 4
Under the eye
On the bone below the pupil
- 5
Under the nose
Between the nose and the upper lip
- 6
Chin crease
In the hollow below the lower lip
- 7
Collarbone
Just below the inner end of the collarbone
- 8
Under the arm
About a hand's width below the armpit
When not to do this on your own
The practice deliberately brings something uncomfortable to the front. That is the point — and it is also why it doesn't suit everything. If something heavy sits behind it, that belongs with a person who listens, not in an app. If nothing shifts after three rounds, Gentle stops on its own and says so, instead of asking for a fourth.
Free, confidential helplines by country: findahelpline.com. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.